Layers
Create, rename, order, parent, and style text, shape, solid, and null layers in After Effects with Prism — the AI reads your live layer set first, then writes native objects.
Layers are where most After Effects work happens, so they are where Prism does most of its reading and writing. You ask in plain language, the AI inspects the layers already in your active composition, plans the change, and then creates or edits real, editable layers — the same objects you would make by hand in the timeline. Nothing is baked or flattened; the output is yours to keep editing.
Read before write
Prism never works blind on your layers. Before it touches anything, the AI calls read tools that report the true state of your active comp: which layers exist, their stacking order, their types, and their property values. This is the live composition, not a description you typed — part of Prism's read-then-write loop, explained in how Prism works.
Because the AI sees real names and indices, you can refer to layers the way you naturally would — "the title text," "the background solid," "the null I just made" — and it resolves them against what is actually there.
Layer types you can create
| Type | What it is | Ask for it like |
|---|---|---|
| Text | An editable text layer (real glyphs, not outlines) | "Add a headline that says Launch Day" |
| Shape | Vector shapes, strokes, and fills | "Draw a rounded rectangle behind the title" |
| Solid | A flat color layer for backgrounds or mattes | "Make a dark background solid" |
| Null | An invisible control object for parenting | "Create a null to drive these layers" |
Text stays text — you can retype, restyle, and re-keyframe it. Shapes stay shape layers with editable paths. Prism's SVG import also brings artwork in as real text and shape layers rather than flattened outlines; see AI-native tools.
Rename, reorder, and parent
These are first-class operations, not afterthoughts.
Parenting to a null is the common pattern for moving a group together; the AI will create the null and wire the children up in one request.
Order of creation
When Prism builds several layers at once, it creates them in a deliberate sequence so the final stack matches what you described. New layers tend to land at the top of the stack, so Prism works from the bottom of your intended layout upward — backgrounds first, foreground last. You do not have to manage this; just describe the finished result.
Describe the layout you want, not the build order. Prism handles the sequencing so the timeline ends up the way you pictured it.
Styling layers
Fills, strokes, fonts, sizes, and color are all part of the same conversation — ask for the look you want and Prism writes it onto the native layer. A few After Effects quirks can trip up text styling (PostScript font names, a default stroke that eats thin glyphs, ops that need a second run); these are collected in troubleshooting.
A worked example
| You say | Prism does |
|---|---|
| "Add a headline that says Launch Day in HelveticaNeue-Bold, draw a dark rounded rectangle behind it, and parent both to a new null" | Creates the background solid first, then the rounded-rectangle shape, then the text layer on top, then a null, and parents the headline and rectangle to it |
What you get back: native text, shape, solid, and null layers in the correct stacking order, all editable — re-type the headline, recolor the rectangle, or move the group by its null.
If a layer name doesn't resolve: ask for a layer that isn't in the comp and Prism reports the names it actually sees instead of guessing, so you can re-ask with the exact one. For font or styling snags, see troubleshooting.
Related
- Compositions — the active comp is the context for every layer operation.
- Expressions — when to drive a layer with keyframes versus an expression.
- The JSON pipeline — edit a whole layer structure at once instead of layer by layer.
- AI-native tools — SVG import that lands as real text and shape layers.
Lifelike motion
Prism teaches your AI the laws of animation — the Disney principles, real spring physics, and 50+ named eases — so its motion feels designed, not robotic. Anticipation, follow-through, squash and stretch, arcs, and overshoot, applied by intent.
Compositions
Create, nest, and switch After Effects compositions with Prism — set dimensions, fps, and duration in plain language, then scaffold whole scene structures with AI.