What It Does
Crazy Shapes extends After Effects’ shape layer path tools with expression-based animation rigs, wave generators, and path manipulation controls. Built by Motion Design School, it adds automated secondary motion to illustrations and creates custom path rigs without extra effects or layers.
Key Features
Custom rigs. The plugin adapts expressions to your illustration’s structure, letting you connect prepared artwork in ways standard tools don’t support. Useful for character rigging or mechanical illustrations that need coordinated movement.
Wave on Path. Adds looped wave animations directly to paths with controls for multi-path offsets, tangent animation, and simple waves. The recent v1.1.0 update improved this with better tangent handling and parametric shape conversion.
Path Stretch. Stretches any shape illustration with style controllers, offering more control than After Effects’ native path operations. The stretch adapts to your path’s topology.
Path Delay. Creates offset animation across path points with built-in elastic timing. Version 1.1.1 improved how this interacts with parent layer motion and added a simple version (hold Shift while clicking) for better performance.
Len Rig and Slider Rig. Version 1.1.2 added colored keyframes in AE 23 and improved state morphing. These rigs connect sliders to path deformation, enabling squash and stretch or shape transitions.
Support tools. Includes utilities to reset position/rotation/scale within shape layers, link nulls to path points in five different ways, convert parametric shapes to paths, convert expressions to keyframes for export, and toggle visibility of nested shape groups.
Expression-to-keyframe conversion. All animations run on expressions, so you can bake them to keyframes for use in web or app animations. The Bake Expressions tool handles this automatically.
Who It’s For
Motion designers working with illustrated characters, infographics, or any shape-layer-heavy projects. Especially useful if you’re animating custom illustrations that need coordinated movement or secondary actions. The plugin assumes you’re comfortable working with paths and expressions, though the docs include video tutorials.
Pricing
$45 for a single-user license. Trial version available. The plugin is regularly updated (most recent version 1.1.8 in December 2025) with bug fixes and feature improvements. Check aescripts for floating server license pricing if needed.