With Mapcreator’s new Adobe After Effects extension, journalists, broadcasters, and designers can now create professional-grade map animations directly within their existing workflow—without switching between different tools.
In fast-paced news and broadcast environments, as well as for graphic and motion designers, delivering accurate, engaging visuals quickly is crucial. Whether covering breaking news, world events, or creating compelling visual content, map animations help tell the story effectively. Use the seamless connection between Illustrator and After Effects to animate roads, regions, country shapes and points of interest effortlessly—no manual setup required. Each map comes with a default animation template, like fade-ins for country labels and typewriter effects on city names. However, this template can be fully tailored by our team to better match your production needs. From icons popping up to highlighting full countries, the possibilities are endless.
Why use Mapcreator in Adobe After Effects?
Integrating Mapcreator into After Effects brings several key benefits:
- Faster workflow – No need to export and import assets manually; create and edit maps directly inside After Effects.
- Animation templates – Have your animation effects pre-loaded as a new map is generated. Use the default template or have our team set up a custom template for your team.
- Consistent look & branding – Load your predefined styles to match your station’s graphics package effortlessly.
- Real-time editing – Make quick adjustments to maps without switching between tools.
- Precision – Use After Effects’ powerful animation tools for smooth transitions, zooms, and data visualization while relying on Mapcreator’s high-quality vector maps.
How to install the Adobe extension
Installing the extension is quick and easy. Once set up, your personal styles and settings will automatically load from your activated API license. Simply install the extension, restart Adobe After Effects, and open it via Window > Extensions > Mapcreator. Please note to have Adobe Illustrator running in the background.
And you’re all set! Enjoy the ease of creating maps directly in your known Adobe After Effects environment.
For detailed installation steps, visit Mapcreator’s support page.
How to use Mapcreator in Adobe After Effects
Now that you’ve set up the Extension, it’s time to create your first map animation! As mentioned above, make sure you have Adobe Illustrator running in the background before you continue with these steps.
1. Define your map area
Pan and zoom within the map or use the convenient geocoder in the upper right corner to look for your specific map area. The extension panel’s width and height can be dragged and adjusted to set the desired map dimensions.
2. Generate the base map
Click the “Generate” button to create your first vector map directly within After Effects. Once you open the Composition panel you find all the individual map layers, ready to be animated.
3. Animate individual map elements
Mapcreator establishes an invisible connection between Illustrator and After Effects, enabling pre-scripted animations directly within the output SVG. This means elements like roads, regions, country shapes as individual polygons, and points of interest can be animated seamlessly without manual setup. By default, a template is applied to your generated map—this includes a fade-in effect on country labels and a typewriter animation on major city names.
In addition, since the map is generated with separate layers, you can further refine animations using After Effects’ tools. While these defaults can’t be modified directly in the extension, our team can fully customize the template for you—whether it’s zooming into a specific region, adding pop-up icons, or adjusting label animations to better suit your visual style. Watch the demonstration video below to see it in action.
4. Render & Export
That’s it! You are now ready to render and export your map animation made inside Adobe After Effects, ready to publish online or use for broadcast.
Why you will love the extension
Breaking news ready: Quickly generate maps for live reporting without disrupting your workflow.
Anyone can do it: With the template animation set up as soon as the new map is generated, anyone in your team can create quick and simple animations in just one click.
Enhanced storytelling: Clear, animated visuals help viewers understand geographical context instantly.
Integrated efficiency: No need for third-party tools; everything is handled within Adobe After Effects.
Start now!
Mapcreator’s Adobe After Effects extension is a game-changer for news and broadcast professionals. By bringing the map creation into your existing workflow, you can deliver compelling, high-quality visuals in record time. And the best thing? Anyone on your team can become a cartographer. Rely on Mapcreator’s data and focus on the animation. Whether covering global events or local reports, Mapcreator has made mapping easier than ever.
