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Layer image quality and subpixel positioningThe quality setting of a layer determines how precisely it is rendered, as well as influencing the precision of other calculations involving the layer, such as motion tracking and the use of the layer as a control layer for a compound effect. The default quality of new layers is determined by the Create New Layers At Best Quality preference in the General preferences category. Duplicated or split layers retain the Quality setting of the original layer. To toggle between Best and Draft quality of selected layers, click the Quality switch in the Timeline panel. To choose from all three options, choose Layer > Quality:
Subpixel positioningProperty values (like Position and Anchor Point) in After Effects are not restricted to integer values; they can have fractional values, too. This allows for smooth animation, as a value is interpolated from one keyframe to another. For example, if a Position value goes from [0,0,0] at a keyframe at time 0 to a value of [0,0,80] at time 1 second in a 25-frames-per-second composition, then the value at frame 1 is [0,0,3.2]. After Effects calculates all spatial values, like Position and effect control points, to a precision of 1/65,536 of a pixel. This is called subpixel precision. If the pixels of a layer aren't positioned directly on the pixel boundaries of the composition, a small amount of blur occurs—very similar to anti-aliasing. This blur is not a problem for an object in motion, because objects in motion have motion blur, but it can soften fine details in a static image. Also, if an image is moving slowly or at just the wrong speed, the image can appear to oscillate between sharpness and blurriness. Because the default anchor point for a layer is the center of an object, odd-sized objects have non-integer anchor points and appear soft when positioned at integer values. To minimize blurriness and in-and-out of focus result, follow these guidelines:
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