How to 10x Your Motion Workflow: Using AI to Build UI Mockups in After Effects

In the world of motion design, time is your most valuable currency. We’ve all been there: a client needs a high-fidelity "Facebook Post" animation for a vertical ad, and you spend the first two hours of your project manually drawing rounded rectangles, sourcing icons, and formatting fake comment text.

What if you could skip the "grunt work" and jump straight into the animation?

By leveraging an AI Assistant within After Effects, you can transform a simple text prompt into a fully realized, accurate UI layout in seconds. Here is how one simple prompt saved hours of manual labor and provided the perfect starting point for a professional project.

The Power of the "Starting Point"

The goal of using AI in motion design isn't necessarily to finish the project for you—it’s to eliminate the "blank composition syndrome." When you use AI to generate UI elements like Facebook posts or Instagram interfaces, you’re getting a structured, layered foundation that you can immediately begin to animate.

The Winning Prompt

To get the best results, your prompt needs to be specific about intent, dimensions, and accuracy. Here is the exact prompt used to generate a perfect vertical Facebook UI:

"Make a Facebook post mobile version fit in a vertical HD composition and its comments. Search online for visual references and be as accurate as possible."

Why This Prompt Works

If you are looking to integrate AI into your After Effects workflow, this prompt hits three critical requirements:

1. Technical Constraints: By specifying "Vertical HD" ($1080 \times 1920$), you ensure the AI doesn't give you a standard square post that you’ll have to resize later.

2. Asset Depth: Asking for "comments" ensures the AI generates a complex hierarchy of layers, rather than just a simple image box.

3. Real-World Accuracy: Instructing the AI to "search online for visual references" forces it to mimic the current Facebook UI (padding, font weights, and icon placement) rather than guessing.

From Prompt to Keyframes: The Workflow

Using AI to generate your assets creates a seamless bridge to the creative part of your job. Here’s how to handle the output:

1. Layer Organization

The AI Assistant typically generates layers that are ready to be converted into shapes or editable text. This allows you to parent the "Like" buttons to the main post or create a scrolling "null" for the comments section instantly.

2. Customization

Once the AI provides the "perfect starting point," you can swap out the profile pictures, adjust the brand colors, and change the copy to match your client’s needs. You're starting at 90% completion instead of 0%.

3. Focus on Motion

Because you didn't spend your morning building a UI from scratch, you can spend that extra time on secondary motion:

• Adding "pop" transitions to the comments.

• Simulating a thumb-scroll with easing.

• Adding realistic motion blur and light wraps.

The Future of Motionist Workflows

At Motionist.studio, we believe that AI is not a replacement for the designer, but the ultimate assistant. By automating the technical layout of social media interfaces, you free up your brain to do what it does best: storytelling through movement.

The next time you’re tasked with a social media mockup, don't reach for the Pen Tool first. Reach for the AI Assistant, use the prompt above, and get back to the art of motion. Youtube tutorial