Nulls are really essential in After Effects. The problem with Null is that they act like a regular layer in the viewer, making it really hard to expand its use into rigging. The configuration of the trusted Null in Ae is… well, it is ridiculous, unwieldy, and not helpful at all.
A minimal tool to create controller layers by importing Illustrator files as shape layers in After Effects.
It is difficult to select, see, differentiate from other nulls, and the null has a pivot that is in the strangest place possible. Thankfully there are tons that will allow you to make custom null-type objects that are better suited for rigging in After Effects.
One of them, of course is Duik. Now there is another. The newly released Control Maker is a simple script for after effects that will allow you to create custom controls for all your rigging and animation tasks.
Control Maker acutely allows for any illustrator-drawn vector to be used as a custom control, making it really easy to create a library of custom control sets that you can reuse in your projects. Create controls that are easily selectable, easy to see, and easy to create, with Control Maker’s simple panel UI.
Find out more about Control Maker for After Effects, which is filed under the “name your own price” structure.