How to Animate a PNG Logo in After Effects (No Vector Needed)

One of the most frustrating moments in motion design is receiving a low-resolution PNG when you explicitly asked for a vector file. You want to create a professional line reveal animation, but without vector paths, you are stuck with a static block of pixels. Most designers assume they need to redraw the entire logo in Illustrator, but there is a much faster workflow directly inside After Effects.

You can actually force pixels to behave like vectors using the Auto Trace feature. This method allows you to detect edges, create masks, and apply stroke effects to any transparent image, saving you hours of manual tracing time. Here is how you can transform a standard PNG logo into a smooth, professional line animation in under five minutes.

Preparing Your Composition and Asset

Before applying any effects, you need to ensure your workspace is set up correctly. Create a new composition, 1920x1080 is standard, and set your duration to around 10 or 20 seconds. Drag your PNG logo into the timeline.

It is critical that your image has a transparent background. If your logo has a white or black background, this technique will try to trace the square frame of the image rather than the logo itself.

Once your logo is in place, you should create a backup. Select your logo layer and press Ctrl + D (or Command + D on Mac) to duplicate it. Turn off the visibility of the bottom layer for now; we will use it for the final reveal later.

Generating Masks with Auto Trace

Select your top layer and navigate to the top menu: Layer > Auto Trace. This is the secret tool that converts pixel data into workable masks. A dialog box will appear with several settings, but the most important one here is Tolerance.

The Tolerance value dictates how strictly After Effects follows the edges of your logo.

• High Tolerance: Results in fewer anchor points but may smooth out sharp corners, causing the shape to lose detail.
• Low Tolerance: Creates many more anchor points, adhering strictly to the pixel edges.

For a complex text logo or an intricate shape, you generally want a lower tolerance to keep the shape accurate, but be careful not to go too low, or you will end up with thousands of unnecessary points. Make sure Current Frame is selected and click OK. You should now see yellow mask paths outlining your entire logo.

Applying the Stroke Effect

Now that we have paths, we can apply the line effect. With your traced layer selected, go to Effect > Generate > Stroke.

In the Effect Controls panel, you will see a checkbox for All Masks. You must check this box; otherwise, the effect will only apply to the first letter or shape in your logo.

Here is the most critical step that many beginners miss: Change the Paint Style setting from On Original Image to On Transparent. If you skip this, your white lines will sit on top of the original logo, and you won't see the animation clearly. Switching to On Transparent isolates the lines, giving you a clean canvas to animate.

You can also adjust the Brush Size here. A value of 3 or 4 usually looks professional—thick enough to be visible but thin enough to look elegant.

Animating the Line Reveal

To make the lines draw themselves on the screen, we animate the End property within the Stroke effect.

1. Move your playhead to the 0:00 second mark.
2. Set the End value to 0%.
3. Click the stopwatch icon to set a keyframe.
4. Move forward to the 2-second mark.
5. Set the End value to 100%.

Press spacebar to preview. You should see your logo being drawn in by the lines. It works, but it likely looks a bit robotic and linear. We need to add some life to it.

Polishing the Animation for a Pro Look

Linear keyframes rarely look natural. To fix this, select both keyframes you just created and press F9 on your keyboard. This applies Easy Ease, which softens the start and end of the motion.

For even more control, open the Graph Editor. By dragging the influence handles, you can create a custom speed curve. A popular curve for this type of reveal is to start slowly, speed up in the middle, and slow down gracefully at the end. This dynamic movement makes the animation feel much more premium.

To take it one step further, search for the CC Force Motion Blur effect in your Effects panel and drag it onto your layer. Unlike standard motion blur, this effect analyzes the movement of the stroke and adds a simulated shutter blur, making the drawing action look incredibly fluid.

The Final Reveal

You now have a beautiful line animation, but you eventually want the full, solid logo to appear. This is where our backup layer comes in.

Go back to the bottom layer you duplicated at the start and turn its visibility back on. Press T to open the Opacity property.

1. Move your playhead to where the line animation finishes (around 2 seconds).
2. Set Opacity to 0% and click the stopwatch.
3. Move forward 10 or 20 frames.
4. Set Opacity to 100%.

Now, as the lines finish drawing the shape, the solid logo will gently fade in, completing the transition. This technique saves you from having to ask the client for new files and allows you to deliver a high-end result using nothing but a simple PNG.