Squash & Stretch makes the shape taller and thinner (or shorter and wider) along an axis, preserving its area. With From motion it stretches with speed. Deformers move points, not whole clones: the path is warped before it is filled and stroked, so nothing clips at the layer bounds.
How to use it
- Choose Geo Ops ▸ Deformers ▸ Squash & Stretch, or Effects ▸ Distort ▸ Squash & Stretch. On a shape or text layer it becomes a Geo Op; on footage, precomps and other pixel layers it is added as a raster effect with the same parameters.
- Set Stretch (above 1 stretches, below 1 squashes).
- For automatic stretch on movement, turn on From motion.
Parameters
| Name | What it does | Default/range |
|---|---|---|
| Stretch | How much longer along the axis. | 1.5×, min 0.01 |
| From motion | Stretch with speed: the layer's own movement and its shapes' (a keyframed Transform, moving copies). Still adds no stretch. | Off |
| Sensitivity | (From motion) Extra stretch per 1000 px/s. | 1 ×/1000px/s |
| Align to motion | (From motion) Point the stretch along the direction of travel. Off uses Axis. | On |
| Preserve | How much the width compensates to keep the area. | 1, 0–1 |
| Axis | Direction of the stretch. | 90°, −360–360° |
| Length | Length of the cage. 0 fits the shape. | 0 px (fit), min 0 |
| Offset X / Y | Moves the cage. | 0, 0 px |
| Pin | Which part of the cage stays put while the rest deforms: Start, Center or End. | Start |
| Link Pins to Nulls | Makes a null for each end of the cage, named Start and End and parented to this layer, and lets them be the cage. Move, animate or parent the nulls to pose the deformer. Unlink Nulls goes back to Axis, Length and Offset; the nulls stay. | — |
| Scope | Whole Layer deforms everything above it as one (a row of copies becomes an arc). Each Clone deforms every copy in its own frame. | Whole Layer |
| Deform stroke | The stroke thickens and thins with the warp (the AE look). Off keeps its width and strokes the warped path. | Off |
| Falloff | Where it acts. See Falloff. | off (everywhere) |