How to Animate a Ferris Wheel in After Effects

Learn how to create and animate a Ferris wheel in After Effects using shape layers, parenting, rotation, and expressions.

Introduction

Animating a Ferris wheel is a great way to practice rotation, anchor point setup, and expressions in After Effects. In this tutorial, you’ll learn how to build a simple Ferris wheel with cabins that rotate correctly while staying upright during the animation.

Step 1: Create the Ferris Wheel Structure

Open your project and use the Pen Tool (G) and Shape Tool (Q) to create the main elements:

A base/foundation that holds the wheel
A large circle that represents the Ferris wheel itself
A rounded rectangle with a smaller white rectangle inside to form one cabin

Duplicate the cabin shape until you have the desired number (for example, 8 cabins).

Step 2: Center the Anchor Point of the Wheel

Select the Ferris wheel layer, then use the Pan Behind Tool (Y) to move the Anchor Point exactly to the center of the wheel. This ensures clean and accurate rotation.Step 3: Animate the Wheel Rotation

Open the Rotation property of the Ferris wheel layer.

At the start of the composition, click the stopwatch and set Rotation to 0°
At the end of the composition, set Rotation to 360°

This creates a full wheel rotation.

Step 4: Parent the Cabins to the Wheel

Select all cabin layers and use the Pick Whip tool to parent them to the Ferris wheel layer. This makes the cabins follow the wheel’s movement.

Step 5: Center the Anchor Points of the Cabins

For each cabin layer, use the Pan Behind Tool (Y) to place the Anchor Point in the exact center of the cabin. This is essential for proper rotation control.Step 6: Keep the Cabins Upright Using an Expression

Select the first cabin layer and open its Rotation property.

Hold Alt / Option and click the stopwatch to add an expression.

Use the Pick Whip to link the expression to the Ferris wheel’s Rotation, then add *-1 so the cabin rotates in the opposite direction.

Final expression example:

thisComp.layer(“ferris wheel”).transform.rotation * -1

This keeps the cabin upright while the wheel rotates.

Step 7: Apply the Expression to All Cabins

Copy the Rotation expression from the first cabin layer and paste it onto the Rotation property of all other cabin layers. Now all cabins will remain level during the animation. Step 8: Preview and Refine

Press Spacebar to preview your animation. Adjust rotation timing, cabin placement, or add Easy Ease if you want smoother motion.

Conclusion

By combining shape layers, parenting, rotation animation, and a simple expression, you can create a realistic Ferris wheel animation in After Effects. This technique is perfect for motion graphics, explainer videos, and animated illustrations.