Paint Link offers a revolutionary new workflow for frame-by-frame animation. Create a dynamic connection between After Effects and Photoshop to unlock the best of both tools.
As a Battle Axe Timelord user, is there anything that sets Paint Link apart to convince me to use it instead of (or in collaboration with) Timelord?
You can think of Paint Link as a dynamic link with Photoshop.
Paint Link allows you to open and paint on each frame in Photoshop without having to save or export.
As soon as you are done painting in Photoshop the frame is immediately available back in the After Effects timeline.
So there is no saving, rendering, exporting or importing.
Paint Link uses the After Effects timeline instead of the PS timeline. The advantages of this should be obvious but this means you are able to leverage the full power of After Effects on your animation. You can retime the animation, use the speed graphs, add effects, pre-comp, mask, etc, etc
As a Battle Axe Timelord user, is there anything that sets Paint Link apart to convince me to use it instead of (or in collaboration with) Timelord?
You can think of Paint Link as a dynamic link with Photoshop.
Paint Link allows you to open and paint on each frame in Photoshop without having to save or export.
As soon as you are done painting in Photoshop the frame is immediately available back in the After Effects timeline.
So there is no saving, rendering, exporting or importing.
Paint Link uses the After Effects timeline instead of the PS timeline. The advantages of this should be obvious but this means you are able to leverage the full power of After Effects on your animation. You can retime the animation, use the speed graphs, add effects, pre-comp, mask, etc, etc
I see... so they are similar in function, but vary in execution. I can see Paint Link being better for my workflow.
Have you selected a price point or thought about doing a limited launch sale?
This plugin looks amazing! I was wondering how the saving concept works with Team Projects? If it's dependant on a saving process in after effects, how is this affected when, in team projects, you don't actually ever save. Hope this makes sense.
This plugin looks amazing! I was wondering how the saving concept works with Team Projects? If it's dependant on a saving process in after effects, how is this affected when, in team projects, you don't actually ever save. Hope this makes sense.
Hi, this looks awesome but since i installed the trial I can't RAM preview propertly, is like is constantly starting to RAM preview but never ends. So I can not use it at all. Any fix for that?
Hi, this looks awesome but since i installed the trial I can't RAM preview propertly, is like is constantly starting to RAM preview but never ends. So I can not use it at all. Any fix for that?
I've been having that issue in Ae even when Paint Link is not installed on my laptop, I'm not sure when or how it was introduced. You press SpaceBar and the timeline starts turning green, but it never actually plays?
Restarting After Effects always seems to work for me. Also, I would recommend de-selecting Paint Link when trying to playback animation. That's unrelated to the RAM issue, but Paint Link is processing between Ae and Photoshop while selected, so regular processes should be faster when it's unselected.
I was really looking forward to your plugin and my fist test was very great. Unfortunately my Comp Viewer stopped refreshing properly as long as the plugin was installed. Scaling and moving a layer was only refreshed when moving the time indicator. Rotation was refreshed immediately though.
Hey I'm very excited about this plug in, but I downloaded the trial to see if I'd like to buy it. I installed the trial with AEscripts manager, did the settings in Photoshop, and then opened ae21, and under effects I only have "Paint Stick" as an option. Not Paint Link. Is this because I downloaded the trial? Or did I do something wrong in the set-up?
Thanks! Really looking forward to using this tool.
Paul Connors said:
Hey I'm very excited about this plug in, but I downloaded the trial to see if I'd like to buy it. I installed the trial with AEscripts manager, did the settings in Photoshop, and then opened ae21, and under effects I only have "Paint Stick" as an option. Not Paint Link. Is this because I downloaded the trial? Or did I do something wrong in the set-up? Thanks! Really looking forward to using this tool.
Did you restart After Effects? You should be able to find it at the bottom of the Effect menu under aescripts + aeplugins
Looks pretty exciting! I’m just wondering if the link transfers only regular PS brush actions or would it also work with, say, the Healing Brush? KrzysieK
Looks pretty exciting! I’m just wondering if the link transfers only regular PS brush actions or would it also work with, say, the Healing Brush?
KrzysieK
it saves a PSD file so you can do anything you want in Photoshop!
Did you restart After Effects? You should be able to find it at the bottom of the Effect menu under aescripts + aeplugins
Hey thanks for replying! So yea I restarted After Effects, and I can see aescripts + aeplugins, but still I only have Paint and Stick as an option. Mind you I have never downloaded Paint and Stick, just the trial for Paint link
I was really looking forward to your plugin and my fist test was very great. Unfortunately my Comp Viewer stopped refreshing properly as long as the plugin was installed. Scaling and moving a layer was only refreshed when moving the time indicator. Rotation was refreshed immediately though.
Are you up to date with the latest version of Ae and Photoshop? It's the only thing I can think of that may be causing issues. Feel free to send in a help ticket with a screen recording or other info.
Hey thanks for replying! So yea I restarted After Effects, and I can see aescripts + aeplugins, but still I only have Paint and Stick as an option. Mind you I have never downloaded Paint and Stick, just the trial for Paint Link.
Paint & Stick is the wrong plugin, you must've clicked the wrong trial. Please go to Account/Add Trial in the aescripts manager app, and add Paint Link. You can uninstall Paint & Stick, the two tools are unrelated.
I was really looking forward to your plugin and my fist test was very great. Unfortunately my Comp Viewer stopped refreshing properly as long as the plugin was installed. Scaling and moving a layer was only refreshed when moving the time indicator. Rotation was refreshed immediately though.
I tried the plugin again. Still the same problem. It's messing with my preview. Preview is getting very slow and some changes are not updated until updating the comp time by hand.
I am using the latest versions. Opening a help ticket. Maybe there is a solution.
What are the feature differences between Paint Link and Paint & Stick?
They are completely different plugins. Paint Link dynamically links with Photoshop so you do all painting in Photoshop. P&S has limited paint capabilities all inside After Effects. Please watch the many Paint Link tutorials to familiarize yourself with the workflow.
Great plugin Chris! Got it yesterday and have had a lot of fun since. I was used to use illustrator and now I will have to learn some PS, but it is all good!
Recommend it to everybody. Easy to use, seamless workflow between AE and PS and works perfectly fine on my MacBook Pro and AE2022. Haven't crashed even once.
Great plugin Chris! Got it yesterday and have had a lot of fun since. I was used to use illustrator and now I will have to learn some PS, but it is all good!
Recommend it to everybody. Easy to use, seamless workflow between AE and PS and works perfectly fine on my MacBook Pro and AE2022. Haven't crashed even once.
Glad to hear! Always happy to have feedback, and please feel free to send any of your work as inspiration!
This seems like a such good plugin, however i was watching some of the videos on the aescript YouTube channel and there's one deal breaker for me
Does the folder the paint link plugin create have to be in the same folder as the after effects file? or is there a way/plans to make you to be able to change that? I watched the file management video and you haven't touched up on this topic
It's a deal breaker for me cause it will disrupt the way i manage me AE files and folders
Hi! I was wondering when is the next update coming? Thank you.
we don't have any reported issues to fix at the moment. if you're having an issue please open a support ticket so that we are able to assist you directly https://aescripts.com/contact/?direct=1
This seems like a such good plugin, however i was watching some of the videos on the aescript YouTube channel and there's one deal breaker for me
Does the folder the paint link plugin create have to be in the same folder as the after effects file? or is there a way/plans to make you to be able to change that? I watched the file management video and you haven't touched up on this topic
It's a deal breaker for me cause it will disrupt the way i manage me AE files and folders
Thanks
Sorry to say the current build only saves and stores files next to the Ae file. In the future this may change, but this feature is currently not in development.
I've been loving this, my brain doesn't process how it works but it's an amazingly fluid link between photoshop and after effects. Any plans to update for 23?
I've been loving this, my brain doesn't process how it works but it's an amazingly fluid link between photoshop and after effects. Any plans to update for 23?
It does work for Ae 2023, but it may not show in the old version of the manager app. Please update your aescripts manager app, and it should show 2023 compatibility upon restarting. Feel free to send in a help ticket if you have any issues!
This seems like a such good plugin, however i was watching some of the videos on the aescript YouTube channel and there's one deal breaker for me
Does the folder the paint link plugin create have to be in the same folder as the after effects file? or is there a way/plans to make you to be able to change that? I watched the file management video and you haven't touched up on this topic
It's a deal breaker for me cause it will disrupt the way i manage me AE files and folders
Thanks
Sorry to say the current build only saves and stores files next to the Ae file. In the future this may change, but this feature is currently not in development.
Cheers Chris Paint Link Product Manager
Thank you for clarifying, not buying it then. this is a huge deal breaker for me, plus it seems like you're not updating it that much, so yeah not worth it i'd say
I'm having trouble with this plug in. I cannot seem to get it to show up in after effects (I tried 21, 22, and 23.) I can't even see the "aescripts + plugins" dropdown in the effects window. And in the Windows windows, I cant see anything indicating Paint Link. I have bought the plug in, done all the steps in photoshop and after effects, and I still can't seem to get it to work. Hope you can help. Thanks!
Using the aescripts + aeplugins manager app, select Paint Link, right-click and select 'Custom Install' and make sure you are installing into the same version of AE that you are using. Make sure to restart AE after you install and you will find it under the Effect menu.
The plugin looks great and I am really interested.. Someone already asked what the differences are between Paint Link and Paint and stick. So Are there more differences between them other then Photoshop capabilities vs just in AE painting with paint and stick?
And To get things clear for me, I can use Paint link for tracking anything made in and linked to Photoshop to any footage in AE?
And I could also use the plugin for some sort of substance painter/texture painter in any (3D) footage and it will always be tracked perfectly? So Also when painting something and sticking it to a more comples 3D object/animation?
The plugin looks great and I am really interested.. Someone already asked what the differences are between Paint Link and Paint and stick. So Are there more differences between them other then Photoshop capabilities vs just in AE painting with paint and stick?
And To get things clear for me, I can use Paint link for tracking anything made in and linked to Photoshop to any footage in AE?
And I could also use the plugin for some sort of substance painter/texture painter in any (3D) footage and it will always be tracked perfectly? So Also when painting something and sticking it to a more comples 3D object/animation?
Thnx
They are totally different tools. Photoshop has a much larger and robust toolset. Think Kyle Webster brushes, selection tools, A.I. filters, etc.
You can think of Paint Link as a dynamic link with Photoshop.
Paint Link allows you to open and paint on each frame in Photoshop without having to save or export.
As soon as you are done painting in Photoshop the frame is immediately available back in the After Effects timeline.
So there is no saving, rendering, exporting or importing.
Paint Link uses the After Effects timeline instead of the PS timeline. The advantages of this should be obvious but this means you are able to leverage the full power of After Effects on your animation. You can retime the animation, use the speed graphs, add effects, pre-comp, mask, etc, etc
Please download the free trial and try it for yourself!
Hello. I'm thinking of using this tool for motion picture wire removal using PS content-aware fill. Does PaintLink work fully in 32-bit mode without clipping overbrights?
Hello. I'm thinking of using this tool for motion picture wire removal using PS content-aware fill. Does PaintLink work fully in 32-bit mode without clipping overbrights?
K.
Sorry, but to my knowledge it will clip overbrights with any of the settings I've tried between Ae and Photoshop.
Using the aescripts + aeplugins manager app, select Paint Link, right-click and select 'Custom Install' and make sure you are installing into the same version of AE that you are using. Make sure to restart AE after you install and you will find it under the Effect menu.
It shows up as installed in my Aescripts manager but Aescripts does not show up in my AE effects dropdown. I also did the custom install, restarted and still does not show up (also setup photoshop according to the pdf). What else can I do to get the aescripts to show up in the effects dropdown (or to get this plugin to show up at all in AE?
Using the aescripts + aeplugins manager app, select Paint Link, right-click and select 'Custom Install' and make sure you are installing into the same version of AE that you are using. Make sure to restart AE after you install and you will find it under the Effect menu.
It shows up as installed in my Aescripts manager but Aescripts does not show up in my AE effects dropdown. I also did the custom install, restarted and still does not show up (also setup photoshop according to the pdf). What else can I do to get the aescripts to show up in the effects dropdown (or to get this plugin to show up at all in AE?
Not sure what happened. I enjoyed the trial, purchased the license around two weeks ago and enjoyed that. But suddenly today I can't get it to push artwork from PS to AE. I'm able to link the timelines just fine and AE pushes to PS with no problem. But when I paint on the PL_paint/PL_fill or any created layer, besides creating a keyframe on the AE timeline, AE does nothing, as if they're not synced, and my Paint link layer remains blank. I've triple checked the recommended settings in the PS preferences and they are fine. I had a lot of plans for this plug-in, any suggestions? Thanks!
Not sure what happened. I enjoyed the trial, purchased the license around two weeks ago and enjoyed that. But suddenly today I can't get it to push artwork from PS to AE. I'm able to link the timelines just fine and AE pushes to PS with no problem. But when I paint on the PL_paint/PL_fill or any created layer, besides creating a keyframe on the AE timeline, AE does nothing, as if they're not synced, and my Paint link layer remains blank. I've triple checked the recommended settings in the PS preferences and they are fine. I had a lot of plans for this plug-in, any suggestions? Thanks!
Unfortunately it looks like a recent update to either Photoshop or After Effects has changed something that causes the plugin to not work, and we're trying to fix it now. Would it be possible for you to try to install older versions of both so you can continue working for now? I don't yet have an estimate on how long it will take to fix, but it's our first priority for obvious reasons. Sorry for the inconvenience, we'll try to make this quick.
Not sure what happened. I enjoyed the trial, purchased the license around two weeks ago and enjoyed that. But suddenly today I can't get it to push artwork from PS to AE. I'm able to link the timelines just fine and AE pushes to PS with no problem. But when I paint on the PL_paint/PL_fill or any created layer, besides creating a keyframe on the AE timeline, AE does nothing, as if they're not synced, and my Paint link layer remains blank. I've triple checked the recommended settings in the PS preferences and they are fine. I had a lot of plans for this plug-in, any suggestions? Thanks!
Unfortunately it looks like a recent update to either Photoshop or After Effects has changed something that causes the plugin to not work, and we're trying to fix it now. Would it be possible for you to try to install older versions of both so you can continue working for now? I don't yet have an estimate on how long it will take to fix, but it's our first priority for obvious reasons. Sorry for the inconvenience, we'll try to make this quick.
Cheers Chris Paint Link Product Manager
Got it. Thanks for clearing that up. It was driving me nuts! NP on the downgrade, all is working properly and looking good. Best of luck on the upgrades. I know it can be rough keeping up with Adobe. Hope it works out, It's a great plug in!
Like someone else in the comment section, I can't get paintlink to work, I have followed the instructions and all the setup instructions.. and unistalled and reinstalled a number of times...
But no matter what I do I can't launch paintlink in after effcts as there is no aescripts + aeplugins tab in the effects menu. Im using 2023 AE and 2023 . Photoshop all up to date. and i installed using the aescripts manager. Has anyone found a fix for this ? Feeling disappointed
Like someone else in the comment section, I can't get paintlink to work, I have followed the instructions and all the setup instructions.. and unistalled and reinstalled a number of times...
But no matter what I do I can't launch paintlink in after effcts as there is no aescripts + aeplugins tab in the effects menu. Im using 2023 AE and 2023 . Photoshop all up to date. and i installed using the aescripts manager. Has anyone found a fix for this ? Feeling disappointed
So, the Plugins works or not with After Effects 2023 v23.5.0.52 and Photoshop 2023 v24.6.0.573
because with the demo version 1.0.4 - Jun 9, 2023, it does not work.
it creates the Paint Link folder and the .psd in the After Effects project folder But After Effects does not send a file to Photoshop...
By doing everything listed in the "IMPORTANT READ ME FIRST.pdf" file
Thanks
You can send in a help ticket, but make sure your Effects Controls are on, and you set this option in Ae: Edit > Preferences > Scripting & Expressions > select Allow Scripts To Write Files And Access Network = Enabled
So, the Plugins works or not with After Effects 2023 v23.5.0.52 and Photoshop 2023 v24.6.0.573
because with the demo version 1.0.4 - Jun 9, 2023, it does not work.
it creates the Paint Link folder and the .psd in the After Effects project folder But After Effects does not send a file to Photoshop...
By doing everything listed in the "IMPORTANT READ ME FIRST.pdf" file
Thanks
You can send in a help ticket, but make sure your Effects Controls are on, and you set this option in Ae: Edit > Preferences > Scripting & Expressions > select Allow Scripts To Write Files And Access Network = Enabled
Cheers
Chris
Yes, "Allow scripts to write files and access the network" is enabled
or let user custom sever password?
and hope to add so function to copy last onion layer to edit for current keyframe layer ,so that no draw whole everything again.
Restarting After Effects always seems to work for me. Also, I would recommend de-selecting Paint Link when trying to playback animation. That's unrelated to the RAM issue, but Paint Link is processing between Ae and Photoshop while selected, so regular processes should be faster when it's unselected.
Cheers
Chris
Paint Link Product Manager
Thanks! Really looking forward to using this tool. Did you restart After Effects? You should be able to find it at the bottom of the Effect menu under aescripts + aeplugins
KrzysieK
it saves a PSD file so you can do anything you want in Photoshop!
Cheers
Chris
Paint Link Creator
Cheers
Chris
Paint Link Creator
Cheers
Chris
Paint Link Creator
we don't have any reported issues to fix at the moment. if you're having an issue please open a support ticket so that we are able to assist you directly https://aescripts.com/contact/?direct=1
Cheers
Chris
Paint Link Product Manager
Cheers
Chris
Paint Link Product Manager
Cheers
Chris
Paint Link Product Manager
If you need further assistance please open a support ticket: https://aescripts.com/contact/?product_id=1943&direct=1
Cheers
Chris
Paint Link Product Manager
But After Effects does not send a file to Photoshop...
Yes, "Allow scripts to write files and access the network" is enabled