Tools and Production Workflow

After Effects is the industry standard for complex motion graphics: character animation, particle effects, 3D camera moves, and broadcast-quality output. Figma's Smart Animate handles UI prototyping transitions—ideal for demonstrating microinteractions to developers. CSS animations and transitions are best for implementing web UI motion directly in code (no export needed). Lottie (by Airbnb) bridges After Effects and code—create complex animations in AE, export via the Bodymovin plugin as lightweight JSON, and render natively in web and mobile apps at any resolution. Choose the simplest tool that achieves your goal: don't use After Effects for a button hover state.