Mastering Paint Tools in After Effects: The Ultimate Guide to Painting on Video & Effects

07 Apr,2025
5 Min Read
After Effects
Video Editing

Table Of Contents

Getting Started with Paint Tools
Painting on Video
Advanced Painting Techniques
Tips and Tricks for Efficient Painting
Troubleshooting Common Painting Issues

Imagine seamlessly removing unwanted blemishes from footage, sketching dynamic hand-drawn animations directly over your video, or even simulating brushstroke transitions that feel handcrafted. All of that — and more — is possible when you master the paint tools in After Effects.

If you’ve ever wondered how to paint in After Effects or how to paint on video in After Effects, you’re in the right place. Adobe After Effects offers a powerful set of paint tools that let creators bring their vision to life, frame by frame. Whether you’re correcting imperfections, animating hand-drawn elements, or retouching clips with finesse, the paint tools are an essential yet often underused powerhouse inside AE.

In this ultimate guide, we’ll walk you through everything from the basics of the Paint panel to advanced techniques like rotoscoping, animated masks, and object removal — all while exploring creative workflows that integrate beautifully with your motion design projects. And if you’re looking for ready-to-use templates and paint-style effects, check out our After Effects video templates to find drag-and-drop solutions to speed up your process and inspire new ideas.

Ready to transform your footage like a pro? Let’s dive in.

Professional After Effects Templates

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Getting Started with Paint Tools

Before jumping into creative effects and object removal, it’s essential to get comfortable with After Effects’ paint environment. Most painting tasks in AE are done within the Layer Panel, not directly on the composition — which can catch many users off guard.

Overview of the Paint Tools Panel

The Paint panel gives access to all your brush-based tools. Once your footage is open in the Layer Panel, you’ll see options for:

Brush Tool (Ctrl+B / Cmd+B)
Clone Stamp Tool (Alt+B / Option+B)
Eraser Tool (Ctrl+Shift+B / Cmd+Shift+B)

These tools all share the same brush settings and are influenced by your timing (constant, single frame, or custom durations).

Brush Tool

The Brush Tool allows you to manually draw strokes on individual frames or across multiple frames. This is perfect for effects like sketch animation, highlights, or animated textures.

Clone Stamp Tool

The Clone Stamp Tool samples pixels from one area and paints them onto another, helping with blemish removal or object cleanup — an essential part of professional video retouching.

Eraser Tool

The Eraser Tool works similarly to the Brush Tool but instead removes painted strokes. It’s handy for fine-tuning or adjusting your work without deleting the entire layer.

Creating a New Paint Stroke

Once a layer is selected and opened in the Layer Panel, simply choose your tool and draw. After Effects automatically creates a “Paint” effect on that layer, which you can animate or modify later.

Customizing Brush Settings

Fine control over your brush makes all the difference:

Size & Hardness: Adjust the diameter and edge softness for precision.
Opacity: Blend strokes seamlessly with the footage.
Brush Dynamics: Enable pressure sensitivity (with a tablet) to create more natural, expressive lines.

These settings live in the Brush panel (Window > Brushes), and they’re crucial whether you’re creating stylized strokes or retouching footage.

Painting on Video: The Essentials

So, how to paint on video in After Effects? It starts with importing your footage properly and knowing how AE handles frame-by-frame painting.

Importing and Preparing Your Video Footage

Import your footage into the Project panel.
Right-click > New Comp from Selection.
Double-click the video layer to open it in the Layer Panel — this is where all painting takes place.

❗ Painting directly in the Composition Panel won’t work — it has to be the Layer Panel.

Applying the Paint Tool to Video Layers

With the Brush Tool selected, begin drawing on your video. AE will auto-create the Paint effect for that frame or range. You can toggle the duration setting between Single Frame, Constant, or Custom depending on your goal.

Using the Paint Tool for Basic Retouching

Let’s say you need to clean up a distracting blemish or object. Just use the Clone Stamp Tool:

Alt-click (Option-click) to sample pixels.
Brush over the unwanted area.
Adjust your brush softness to make it seamless.

This simple technique is foundational to all paint on video workflows and opens the door to professional-level polish.

Advanced Painting Techniques

Once you’re comfortable with the basics, it’s time to explore the more powerful capabilities of After Effects’ paint tools. These techniques can dramatically elevate your post-production workflow.

Rotoscoping with the Brush Tool

Rotoscoping is a technique used to isolate or remove elements from video — and the Brush Tool is a common choice for this, especially when combined with frame-by-frame painting.

Step-by-step guide:

Open your footage in the Layer Panel.
Select the Brush Tool and set Duration to Single Frame.
Paint the object you want to isolate or mask, frame by frame.
Use the timeline to navigate frames and adjust the mask over time.

This method is tedious but extremely precise — especially useful for complex shots that automated rotoscoping tools can’t handle.

Using the Clone Stamp Tool for Seamless Object Removal

To answer the question:
“How can I use the paint tools in After Effects to remove objects from video?” —
The Clone Stamp Tool is your go-to.

Alt-click (Option-click) to define a source point.
Carefully paint over the unwanted object using soft edges and short strokes.
Advance frame by frame and repeat to keep the removal consistent across motion.

Combine this with motion tracking (covered below) for even better accuracy.

Animating Paint Strokes

To create animated strokes — like writing effects, reveal animations, or doodles — After Effects lets you animate each stroke using keyframes.

In the Paint effect settings, twirl open your stroke.
Keyframe the End parameter from 0% to 100% to reveal the stroke over time.

You can layer this with other effects, such as glows, blending modes, or displacement maps for added flair.

Creating Masks with Paint Tools

Need to mask a moving object creatively? You can literally paint your own mask.

Use the Brush Tool to paint over your subject in the Layer Panel.
Set your paint strokes to Reveal Alpha.
Animate the strokes as needed.

This approach offers much more flexibility and organic motion than traditional shape-based masks.

Tips and Tricks for Efficient Painting

Painting in After Effects can be fast and fluid — if you know the right tricks. Here are some to supercharge your workflow:

Use Keyboard Shortcuts

Ctrl+B / Cmd+B: Brush Tool
Alt+B / Option+B: Clone Stamp Tool
Ctrl+Shift+B / Cmd+Shift+B: Eraser Tool
Page Up / Down: Step frame by frame
Alt+Page Up / Down: Paint previous/next frame

Optimize Brush Settings by Task

Use soft brushes for blending retouches.
Use hard-edge brushes for precise lines or animation.
Enable pressure sensitivity if you’re using a drawing tablet for more control.

Work with Layers and Effects

Apply paint tools on pre-comps to isolate effects.
Use adjustment layers with stylized effects over painted areas.
Combine animated paint strokes with effects like Glow, Turbulent Displace, or CC Light Sweep for dramatic results.

💡 Looking for ready-to-use templates and paint-style effects? Check out the After Effects video templates from Pixflow — you’ll find drag-and-drop solutions to speed up your process and inspire new ideas.

Troubleshooting Common Painting Issues

Even with a solid workflow, painting in After Effects can come with a few headaches. Here are some common problems — and how to fix them.

1. Shaky or Wobbly Strokes

This usually happens if your brush settings aren’t calibrated properly or you’re painting frame-by-frame without smoothing.

Fix:

Use a smoother brush with higher spacing and lower hardness.
If using a tablet, make sure pressure sensitivity is enabled.
Try applying the Smooth effect afterward to reduce jitter.

2. Unwanted Artifacts or Ghosting

Ghosting often happens when paint strokes aren’t aligned perfectly across frames.

Fix:

Check that you’re working in Single Frame mode for frame-by-frame consistency.
Make use of the Onion Skin feature to better visualize previous strokes.
Manually adjust brush positions frame by frame when necessary.

3. Paint Not Appearing on Timeline

Sometimes paint strokes don’t show up — which is often due to working on the Composition panel instead of the Layer panel.

Fix:

Make sure you double-click the video layer to open it in the Layer panel before using paint tools.
Confirm that you’re applying effects to the correct layer.

4. Inconsistent Brush Behavior Between Frames

This usually comes down to not setting duration correctly for animated strokes.

Fix:

For animated strokes: Set Duration to Custom or Write On.
For manual frame painting: Use Single Frame to avoid stroke dragging across multiple frames.

Conclusion

Painting in After Effects opens up a world of creative and technical possibilities — from cleaning up footage and removing objects to crafting stunning frame-by-frame animations and stylized effects.

Whether you’re learning how to paint in After Effects for basic retouching or mastering how to paint on video in After Effects for animation and compositing, this guide gives you everything you need to start strong.

So go ahead — open After Effects, grab that Brush Tool, and start experimenting. Whether you’re creating a masterpiece or just cleaning up a shot, the paint tools are now part of your creative toolkit.