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Activity Forums Adobe After Effects How would you create this kind of star distortion in After Effects?

  • How would you create this kind of star distortion in After Effects?

    Posted by luke di on July 16, 2026 at 6:01 pm

    Hi, I’m trying to recreate this four-pointed star animation style in After Effects.

    The rotation and particle part are easy, but I can’t figure out how to make the star shape feel so organic when it stretches and contracts.

    It doesn’t look like a simple scale animation. Is there a specific effect or technique used for this kind of fluid shape distortion?

    Any ideas would be appreciated. Thanks!

    John Martin replied 1 month, 2 weeks ago 2 Members · 7 Replies
  • 7 Replies
  • John Martin

    July 17, 2026 at 5:11 am

    hey Luke! I recorded a custom tutorial with the solution and i included the project file for you to study the technique, hope you like it! 🔥

    https://youtu.be/y2Py1Yukw5w

  • luke di

    July 17, 2026 at 8:42 am

    Sorry, man.

    My file didn’t upload properly. My main issue isn’t the star explosion itself—there are plenty of ways to handle that; basically, any particle effect would work.

    The real challenge is the transformation of the four-pointed star. I’ve managed the rotation by moving the anchor point outside, but I can’t figure out how to achieve a natural-looking distortion effect (I don’t think keyframing the scale for expansion and contraction would yield a smooth enough result).

  • John Martin

    July 17, 2026 at 8:57 am

    got it! to replicate that you need to involve shape morphing with the path along with the classic properties, lemme send you the project file replicating the perfect motion 1:1, let me know if this makes you slightly happier 🔥

    https://we.tl/t-gE73GVDvRrSgKUJK

  • luke di

    July 18, 2026 at 1:25 am

    Well, it looks like I have no choice but to set keyframes.

  • John Martin

    July 18, 2026 at 6:11 am

    Yup, you got it! btw, if you have Claude Pro, you can give it a reference and make it do the animation for you while you sleep, by using a protocol called MCP, here’s how to install and use it, you’re welcome! 🔥

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YTOwQj-n7ME

  • luke di

    July 19, 2026 at 5:42 am

    AI is a great solution, but the price is simply beyond my means as an After Effects hobbyist (even though it could solve my problem).

    I’ll keep looking for other alternatives.

  • John Martin

    July 20, 2026 at 4:17 am

    Don’t worry! There is an open-source free equivalent of the tool i told you,
    you simply need to install this: https://ollama.com/download
    and this: https://github.com/jonigl/mcp-client-for-ollama

    and you need to have a decent gpu in your local system, for example a 3090.

    then you need to install all of this!

    I already did it successfully in a couple of hours, and i control after effects in a crazy new way, it’s like having Jarvis, no paid Claude or other services, needed, just pure local gpu power!

    in case you need help installing this, send me a private message and we schedule a 2 hour session, thank you! 🔥

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