Utilize randomized motion using the wiggle expression in After Effects. This article breaks down how to apply and customize wiggle parameters for more organic animation effects across multiple properties and layers.
Key Insights
- The wiggle expression in After Effects adds randomized oscillation to properties like position, rotation, and scale by specifying two values: frequency (how often it wiggles) and amplitude (how far it moves).
- Users can easily copy and paste the wiggle expression across multiple layers, then customize frequency and amplitude values individually for varied, layered motion effects.
- Noble Desktop explains that while wiggle adds randomness to properties, combining it with keyframes allows for greater control over timing and structure within animations.
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So in this section of your introduction to expressions, we're going to use the wiggle expression. Wiggle basically will work if you have keyframes or not, and basically, what it's used for is to oscillate a property around itself. So you could use it to oscillate like the movement, the rotation of something, so it kind of moves like a Geiger counter or something like that.
In this case, I want to put it on this little four-layer animation of the rolling pin, also on top pin. And what I'm going to do is I'm going to basically wiggle the position of this. So I can add expressions right from properties as well.
I'm holding down Option or Alt if you're a Windows user, and click on the position in the properties panel. I'm going to have the layer highlighted, and it will jump right to show you the expression. So I'm just going to use wiggle, W-I-G-G-L-E, and I'm going to use the completion. Just double-click on that word wiggle when it pops up on the list.
And now I need two numbers in here. The first number is the frequency of the wiggle, how often to wiggle. The second number is called the amplitude, it's basically how much to wiggle by.
So let's say I say four for the frequency, comma, and then 20 for the amplitude. I'll click out of the expression text field to finalize it, and the preview comes back. And now when I preview, what I have is a layer whose position varies, what I now have is a layer whose position varies, it oscillates four times a second up to 20 units.
And the units are based on whatever the property uses. So for position, that would be pixels, rotation, that'd be degrees. For scale, that would be a percent.
So I don't have to specify that, it's just built in to use whatever the unit of measure of that property itself is. So what if I wanted to go faster? Well, maybe instead of four, I'm going to say 20. I'll test that.
Now it's wiggling a lot faster, a lot more often, but it's not moving much further away. So let's say I want to let it move further away. Let's say instead of 20, I'm going to do 200.
Again, click away to finalize. And now 20 times a second, it's allowed to move 200 units in any direction. And I'm getting this kind of like hummingbird behavior.
Okay, that's a little too much. Okay. So I'm going to go back to what I had before.
I'm actually going to do a relatively low number. Let's try, let's say 40. And I want to have it actually move around very little.
So let's say 2 and 40. So now it's just kind of like 40 units, but it's not really moving very much, very fast like that. And it's kind of cool.
Okay. So it really just depends on how you want it to move. Now, keep in mind, it's a randomized motion, so you can't control where it goes.
Really. If you add key frames, you can pretty much make it appear at those points in certain times, but wiggle is designed to add randomness. That's what it does.
Okay. Now, what I want to do is take that wiggle. Okay.
I'm going to highlight position. I'm going to go to edit, copy expression only. I'm going to highlight the other layers and then I'm just going to paste.
So that would be edit, paste or the keyboard shortcut. And what it does is it takes wiggle and applies it to every single one of them. Okay.
Let me hide this property for a second. So I'm going to grab all of my layers. I click on it to be spaced and dragged up to select all.
You can also use the keyboard shortcut if you like. That's command A on Mac, control A on Windows. Now my keyboard shortcut to reveal expressions only is E twice.
E E. And it will reveal anything that has expressions. Like so. Now, if I want this, I can actually go into each and just adjust it.
So maybe this one will be again, back to four and 20. And then I can grab another one and change that as well. There's a little ghost image.
If you're not careful, you don't leave the field first. Maybe this one will be five and maybe 10. So I can adjust each of them individually.
And then I'll get randomized motion inside of randomized motion. And that's wiggle. Again, it can be used with almost any property.
There are certain things that will not accept wiggle, but most properties and all the transform properties definitely will.
