by Ian Pinder·Motion Graphics
Illustrative cover generated by AnyPlugins — no product screenshot available.
Smart Posterizer earns its place in the aescripts library for a specific trick: turning detected visual change in an animation into control over time posterization on other properties. Its version support, spanning CC 2014 through After Effects 2026, adds to its reach.
Smart Posterizer is a script for After Effects, built by Ian Pinder, that automatically detects visual change in an animation and uses that change to control time posterization on other properties. Instead of setting posterization by hand, it takes the animation's own visual change as the driving input.
The tool runs as a ScriptUI panel. You install it by copying the jsxbin file into the ScriptUI Panels folder, then open it from the Window menu like any other ScriptUI panel. It supports a wide range of releases, from CC 2014 and several Creative Cloud versions through the 2024, 2025 and 2026 releases of After Effects.
Version 2.2 updated the licensing framework and optimised processing to improve scanning and baking speed. An earlier update added beta functionality for automatically pinning textures to rendered animation with squash and stretch. A demo video is available, and two known issues are documented on the developer's page.
Smart Posterizer is best for after Effects artists who want time posterization on properties driven automatically by detected visual change in an animation.
Smart Posterizer is completely free to download and use.
Smart Posterizer lists compatibility with After Effects 2026, 2025 and 2024, along with CC 2019, CC 2018, CC 2017, CC 2015.3, CC 2015 and CC 2014. That range covers both current releases and a number of older Creative Cloud versions, so it should fit into most established After Effects setups. If you are on a version outside that list, check the developer's page before installing, since behaviour on untested releases is not documented.
Smart Posterizer installs by copying the SmartPosterizer jsxbin file into your ScriptUI Panels folder. On Mac that path is /Applications/Adobe After Effects <version>/Scripts/ScriptUI Panels, and on Windows it is Program Files\Adobe\Adobe After Effects <version>\Support Files\Scripts\ScriptUI Panels. Once the file is in place, open the script from the Window menu, the same way you access any other ScriptUI panel. There is no separate installer step beyond copying the file into the correct location.
Smart Posterizer has two documented issues. On CC 2019 only, there have been reports of crashing when the escape key is used during processing, so it is best to avoid pressing escape while the script works until a fix is added. Separately, there is an issue with baking expressions to keyframes on shape layer path properties, which the developer notes will be addressed in a future version. Both are called out directly, so plan your workflow around them if you are affected.
Smart Posterizer is listed as free in this catalog. Licensing terms can change over time, and version 2.2 updated the underlying licensing framework, so for current details it is worth checking the developer's page on aescripts before relying on any particular arrangement. The tool is distributed as a ScriptUI panel file that you place in your ScriptUI Panels folder, so there is no purchase or activation step described here beyond obtaining and installing the script.
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