After Effects can feel complicated at first, and beginners often make the same few mistakes.

The first is using linear keyframes for everything. Realistic movement usually involves acceleration and deceleration, so learning easing early will immediately improve your animations.

The second mistake is adding too many effects. Glow, blur, shadows and transitions can be useful, but they cannot fix weak composition or poor timing.

The third is ignoring project organization. Leaving layers with names such as Shape Layer 1, Shape Layer 2 and Shape Layer 3 quickly becomes confusing.

Focus first on fundamentals: clean compositions, good typography, clear visual hierarchy, timing and smooth movement.

Once those foundations are strong, effects become much more useful because they enhance an animation that already works.