How to Use the Repeater in After Effects Shape Layers

The Repeater modifier in Adobe After Effects allows you to procedurally duplicate shapes, creating complex patterns, radial bursts, and geometric animations with minimal keyframing. This guide explains how to add the Repeater to a shape layer, configure its core parameters, set up linear and radial arrays, and animate its properties for dynamic motion graphics.

1. Adding a Repeater to a Shape Layer

  1. Select your Shape Layer in the Timeline panel (or create a new shape using the Pen or Shape tools).
  2. Twirl open the layer contents in the timeline.
  3. Click the Add button located to the right of the "Contents" line (represented by a small play icon inside a circle).
  4. Select Repeater from the dropdown menu.

Once added, the Repeater immediately creates default duplicates of your vector path based on its internal settings.

2. Core Repeater Parameters

Twirl open the newly created Repeater 1 group to access its primary properties:

  • Copies: Sets the total number of shape instances generated, including the original shape.
  • Offset: Shifts the positioning indices of the duplicates. This is especially useful for creating looping cycle animations or staggering duplicates.
  • Composite: Determines whether instances render Above or Below preceding copies in the layer stack.

3. Understanding the "Transform: Repeater" Group

Inside the Repeater menu, twirl open Transform: Repeater 1. This transform group operates differently from standard layer transforms: it applies transformations cumulatively to each subsequent duplicate.

  • Position: Dictates the distance between each copy. By default, it is set to (100.0, 0.0), which creates a horizontal row of shapes spaced 100 pixels apart.
  • Scale: Multiplies the size across instances. Setting Scale to 90% causes each consecutive copy to be 90% the size of the one before it.
  • Rotation: Rotates each subsequent shape relative to the previous copy.
  • Start Opacity & End Opacity: Controls transparency across the sequence. Setting Start Opacity to 100% and End Opacity to 0% fades out the copies linearly from the first to the last.

4. Creating a Radial Array (Burst Effect)

To arrange duplicates in a circle around a center point:

  1. Draw a shape (such as a line or small circle) slightly offset from the layer's center anchor point.
  2. Add a Repeater.
  3. Under Transform: Repeater 1, set the Position to (0.0, 0.0).
  4. Decide on your number of Copies (for example, 12).
  5. Set the Rotation to 360 / Copies (e.g., 360 / 12 = 30°). You can type 360/12 directly into the rotation field, and After Effects will calculate the math automatically.
  6. Adjust the original shape’s native Position or Anchor Point within its own shape group to expand or contract the radius of the circle.

5. Creating a Grid Using Multiple Repeaters

Repeaters evaluate hierarchically from top to bottom. You can nest multiple repeaters to create a 2D grid:

  1. Configure Repeater 1 to generate a horizontal row (e.g., 5 Copies, Position [150, 0]).
  2. Click Add > Repeater again to create Repeater 2 below the first.
  3. In Repeater 2, set the Position under Transform: Repeater 2 to vertical only (e.g., [0, 150]).
  4. Set the number of Copies on Repeater 2 to your desired number of rows. Repeater 2 will duplicate the entire output of Repeater 1 vertically.

6. Animating the Repeater

  • Keyframe the Copies property: Animate the count from 0 upwards to make shapes progressively appear.
  • Animate the Offset property: Shift shapes along a path or rotation continuously to create seamless, looping background elements.
  • Animate Transform Properties: Keyframing Rotation, Position, or Scale inside the Repeater's transform controls creates synchronized cascading transitions without the need for manual layer duplication.