Here are some After Effects tips and tricks that you may find helpful:

1. Use pre-compositions to organize your project and make it easier to work with. Pre-compositions allow you to group layers together and apply effects to all the layers at once.
2. Use the Puppet Tool to add movement to static graphics. The Puppet Tool allows you to create simple animations by placing pins on an image and animating the movement of those pins.
3. Use the Roto Brush Tool to quickly and easily separate foreground elements from their backgrounds. The Roto Brush Tool allows you to paint over a subject to create a selection that you can then use to isolate the subject from the rest of the image.
4. Use the Graph Editor to fine-tune your animations. The Graph Editor allows you to adjust the speed and easing of your animations, making them look more natural and realistic.
5. Use parenting to link layers together and create complex animations. Parenting allows you to link layers together, so that one layer’s movements are controlled by another layer. This can be used to create complex animations and save time by not having to animate each layer individually.
6. Use expressions to create dynamic animations. Expressions are small snippets of code that allow you to create dynamic animations based on certain parameters. They can be used to create things like bouncing balls, flickering lights, and more.
7. Use the RAM Preview to test your animations before rendering. The RAM Preview allows you to preview your animation in real-time, allowing you to see how it will look and make any necessary adjustments before rendering.
8. Use the Mask Tracker to quickly and easily track masks to moving objects in your footage. The Mask Tracker allows you to track masks to moving objects in your footage, making it easy to isolate and manipulate specific areas of your footage.
9. Use the Keyboard Shortcuts to speed up your workflow. There are many keyboard shortcuts in After Effects that can help you work faster and more efficiently. Some of the most useful ones include the Spacebar to preview your animation, the Enter key to render, and the F9 key to enable or disable the Fast Draft preview.