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How to change anchor point in After Effects

The anchor point is the pivot for rotation and the center for scale. Move it, and your transforms behave exactly how you want them to.

Steps to change anchor point

Press Y to switch to the Pan Behind (Anchor Point) Tool.

Pan Behind Tool selected in the After Effects toolbar to move the anchor point

Drag the anchor point crosshair to wherever you need it — like the bottom of a logo if you want it to swing from the base.

Anchor point being dragged to a new position in the After Effects composition viewer

Press V to return to the Selection Tool and test rotation and scale — they’ll now pivot around your new point instead of the default center.

Object rotated in After Effects

One more thing

Press Ctrl+Alt+Home (Windows) / Command+Option+Home (Mac) to instantly center the point inside the layer if you ever need to reset it.

Related how-tos

How to rotate objects in After Effects
How to scale objects in After Effects
How to animate text in After Effects

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