How to hand off an After Effects project without missing assets

Prepare your imported Figma animation for handoff with its supporting files and a checked After Effects project.

• You will: Package an imported animation and verify it on another computer.

• Prerequisites: MotionUI on macOS or Windows, After Effects, imported Figma project, required fonts, recipient computer

How do you locate and package the imported assets?

Step 1: Save the project in its handoff folder

Save your After Effects project in a dedicated folder before your first import whenever possible. MotionUI, the desktop app by HIVER, connects Figma, After Effects, Claude Code and Codex. The MotionUI app is the entry point, including access to plugin setup.

For an existing animation, locate the current .aep and establish where its imported files actually live before moving anything. Use these documented locations as your starting point:

Expected result: You know whether the import belongs to the project folder or the local fallback location. Saving before import gives future imports a predictable home.

Step 2: Reveal each import and confirm its files

Open the Figma tab in the MotionUI app. Find the relevant item under Recent imports, then click Reveal to open its saved files in Finder on macOS or File Explorer on Windows. Repeat for imports used by the animation.

Check the revealed locations against the files you intend to deliver. The imported assets help page documents the folder behavior and moving-project guidance.

Expected result: You have located the supporting images and artwork, including files outside the project folder.

Keep the files, not just the history. Recent imports is a status and location aid, not a project backup. Sharing the .aep alone does not embed imported files or fonts.

Step 3: Put the project and associated assets together

Keep the MotionUI Assets folder beside the saved project when preparing the handoff. Include any associated files discovered in the fallback location rather than assuming that saving the project later relocated them.

If you move fallback files into the handoff folder, relink affected footage in After Effects to those saved files and save the project again. Keep the original files until the packaged copy passes the reopening checks.

Example: For a checkout animation, place Checkout.aep and its existing MotionUI Assets folder inside a Checkout handoff folder. If an earlier product-image import lives under Documents/MotionUI/Figma Imports, include its associated files too, then relink the project to that delivered copy.

Expected result: The handoff folder contains the project and the imported files it references.

How do you make the animation easy to reopen and edit?

Step 4: Identify the delivery composition and its dependencies

In the After Effects Project panel, inspect MotionUI Imports. Imported content is organized by Figma file name and frame folders; grouped imports also include precompositions. Identify the composition the recipient should open first and record its name in a handoff note.

Keep nested compositions needed by that scene. If you create a separate delivery variant with the comp duplicator, choose deliberately whether to duplicate nested compositions, footage and solids. Click Duplicate Comp, then inspect the resulting structure. See the composition tools instructions for these controls.

Expected result: The recipient can find the intended animation and understand which imported scenes support it.

Step 5: Check fonts and appearance

Review text in the imported scene and list the required fonts in the handoff note. Confirm that those fonts are installed and available in After Effects on the recipient computer. Share font files only when their license permits it; otherwise, provide the font names and an appropriate acquisition source.

Compare the composition with the Figma source. Some text styling transfers differently: gradient-filled text or certain effects can become images, while underline and strikethrough are not carried over by the current collector. Check rasterized elements at the animation's largest planned zoom.

Expected result: Editable text has its required fonts, and image-based elements look appropriate at delivery scale. Use the import appearance checklist for any differences.

Step 6: Reopen the delivered copy on both Macs

Save and close After Effects, then reopen the project from the handoff folder. Check for missing footage, open the named delivery composition, and preview the animation through its full timeline.

Copy the entire handoff folder to the recipient computer and repeat the check there. Verify images, text, nested compositions and any animated cursor. If footage needs relinking, point it to files inside the delivered folder, save, and reopen again.

Expected result: The recipient can reopen and preview the animation using the delivered assets rather than paths available only on your computer.

Troubleshooting: What should you fix before sending?

• Missing footage after moving: Locate the associated saved files, include them in the handoff, and relink After Effects to that location.

• No assets beside the project: Check Documents/MotionUI/Figma Imports and use Reveal to locate imports created before the project was saved.

• Text changes on the recipient computer: Confirm the required fonts are installed and available in After Effects, then review the composition again.

• The wrong scene opens: Add the exact delivery composition name to the handoff note and confirm its nested compositions remain in the project.

Need to set up the app first? Follow the MotionUI setup guide for Mac and Windows.