How to add adjustment layers in After Effects

Adjustment layers let you apply effects to everything beneath them — it’s perfect for color grading, grain, and global blur without affecting individual layers.

Steps to add adjustment layers

Go to Layer → New → Adjustment Layer or press Ctrl+Alt+Y (Windows) / Command+Option+Y (Mac). An adjustment layer appears at the top of your timeline.

Apply any effect to the layer — Glow, Curves, Gaussian Blur, whatever you need — and it automatically affects all the lower layers beneath it.

Trim or mask the layer to limit the effect to specific times or areas of your comp.

One more thing

Use multiple layers for modular grading. One for contrast, one for glow, one for grain. Way easier to tweak individual elements later without rebuilding everything.

Related how-tos

How to add a new solid layer in After Effects
How to add a new text layer in After Effects
How to create a blur effect in After Effects

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