For After Effects motion designers

Messy PSD handoffs. Clean After Effects timelines.

Open the PSD you received, analyze the buried folders, then make a new comp with the layers exposed, color-coded and ready to animate. The original import stays untouched.

Get Motion Prep See the before/after

After Effects 2026 prepared comp

After Motion Prep: opened PSD layers in an After Effects timeline

Before Motion Prep: closed PSD precomps in After Effects — **Before**Closed folders

After Motion Prep: exposed layers with color-coded timeline — **After**Layers exposed

6PSD folders opened

27layers exposed

0source comps changed

The real handoff problem

The artwork is approved. The timeline is buried.

You do not need a prettier PSD. You need the animatable pieces out of the folders before the deadline starts moving.

A polished file arrives

Folders, artboards, backups and alternate layouts make sense inside Photoshop or Illustrator.

After Effects closes the structure

The comp looks right, but the animatable pieces are trapped inside precomps and nested folders.

You lose the first hour

You open precomps one by one, rebuild the file by hand, or ask the designer for a cleaner export.

Before and after

Closed PSD folders become layers you can animate.

This was recorded inside After Effects 2026. Motion Prep makes a new comp for animation and leaves the original import there for reference.

Before: closed folders Click: Open folders After: exposed layers Original: untouched

Before Motion Prep: After Effects timeline with PSD folders as closed precomps — **Before** 7 items on the main timeline. 27 animatable layers hidden inside folders.

After Motion Prep: After Effects timeline with layers opened and color-coded — **After** 27 layers exposed in a new comp, color-coded by source folder. Original preserved.

Demo file created for this page. The import, cleanup and final comp were recorded in After Effects.

Tested mess

Built around the files motion designers actually get.

A perfect handoff does not need Motion Prep. The product is being shaped around layered files that arrive late, overbuilt, and hard to animate.

Nested PSD groupsFolders inside folders, imported as precomps.

Hidden backup layersOld versions and unused options sitting inside the file.

Multiple layoutsSeveral design directions living in the same PSD.

Illustrator handoffsAI files that need a readable After Effects structure.

Original preservedThe source comp stays available for comparison.

After Effects test battery

Not just the hero demo.

Motion Prep has been run through a local After Effects 2026 battery with PSD, PSB and AI imports. The goal is simple: open what can be opened, preserve the original, and call out files that still need a manual pass.

30files imported

10folder-opening runs

0failed imports

Large PSD set111 folders opened, 265 layers exposed.

Nested group PSD5 folders opened, 12 layers exposed.

PSB texture handoff2 folders opened, 13 layers exposed.

Illustrator importImported cleanly; no internal folders needed opening.

What it does

Choose the file. Open the folders. Start animating.

Motion Prep handles the repetitive prep pass before the keyframes begin.

Open nested PSD folders

Pull internal layers out of source precomps into a new working comp.

Color by source folder

Keep the timeline readable when a file has dozens or hundreds of layers.

Preserve the original

Work from a new comp while the original import stays available for comparison.

Flag risky files

Spot hidden layers, generic names, nested structures and files that need a second look.

Production note: Motion Prep prepares the timeline. It does not pretend every production file is simple. Complex masks, blend modes, Illustrator structures and rigs may still need a manual pass.

Production scope

Clear about what it solves.

Motion Prep is for the boring After Effects prep work between an approved design file and an animatable timeline.

Does

Creates a new working comp for animation.
Pulls layers out of nested PSD/PSB folder comps.
Uses color labels to keep source folders readable.
Preserves the original import for comparison.
Flags structures that may need a manual review.

Does not pretend

That every Illustrator file has the same internal structure.
That masks, blend modes and effects never need checking.
That production rigs are simple just because layers are exposed.
That a bad design handoff becomes perfect automatically.
That source files should ever be overwritten.

Motion Prep

For motion designers who inherit other people's files.

If one messy handoff costs thirty minutes, Motion Prep can pay for itself quickly. Use it on the files you would normally rebuild by hand.

Product license Updates Direct file review Priority fixes

Motion Prep US$79

License for After Effects motion designers who regularly receive messy PSD, PSB or AI handoffs.

Get Motion Prep Includes a 14-day refund window. Complex files may still need review. Source files are not modified.