What It Does
TweiNa eliminates the traditional import process when moving assets from Photoshop or Illustrator into After Effects. Select your layers, click push, and they appear in After Effects with transformations intact. The plugin converts Photoshop vector layers to editable shape layers and text layers to native After Effects text, letting you continue editing without rendering static graphics.
The After Effects panel (added in version 1.1) lets you pull layers directly into your composition from either source application.
Key Features
Smart object preservation. Position, scale, and rotation transformations carry over from Photoshop smart objects. Toggle the link button to maintain these properties or import as standard layers.
Auto-crop comps. When importing layer groups, enable the crop toggle to fit compositions to their content boundaries automatically.
Vector to shape conversion. Photoshop vector layers become editable After Effects shape layers. No need to trace or redraw.
Editable text. Text layers import as native After Effects text, not rendered pixels. Change copy, adjust tracking, or animate type without returning to Photoshop.
Illustrator support. Push Illustrator layers using the same workflow. The plugin imports based on layers (not individual objects within a layer), so group objects first if you want them treated as a single element.
M1 compatibility. Mac users with Apple Silicon run TweiNa through the UXP panel and listener extension. Version 1.2.1 added a reload function for when the panel button stops responding.
Who It’s For
Useful for motion designers working with layered Photoshop files for title sequences, lower thirds, or UI mockups. Also valuable for anyone building compositions from Illustrator graphics who wants to keep shapes editable rather than importing flattened artwork.
Constraints
Smart objects become linked layers. If the source file moves or gets deleted, the link breaks. Photoshop deformations like perspective, liquify, or warp won’t look identical in After Effects. Layer masks, root-level group clip masks, and smart filters don’t import. Multiple artboards are treated as a single composition.
To reduce import times, keep layer counts low, convert groups to smart objects before pushing, and delete unused Photoshop assets from your After Effects project.
Pricing
One-time purchase at $49.99. No subscription required. A trial version is available.
