Choose an end and a style
Select a shape layer containing a stroked pen path. Click the sample’s upper-left tip for Start, or its lower-right tip for End. The first click uses First Style from Settings.
Each tip cycles independently through Triangle, Chevron, Dot, Square, and Bar. Shift-click cycles backward. Alt/Option-click removes that end.
For a direct choice, right-click any Butthead control and choose an icon in the Start or End row. Hover an icon to read its name.
Changing a style updates an existing Butthead group. Repeated clicks do not add extra copies of that tip.
Size the tips
Drag either sample tip horizontally. Drag right to enlarge it and left to shrink it. The sample changes during the drag, and the selection updates when you release.
For a number, right-click a control and edit Size. Choose ×w to size tips in stroke widths, or px for a fixed pixel size.
Switching modes starts from that mode's saved default rather than converting the current size.
Both ends use one size setting. Resizing either tip updates existing arrowheads at both ends across the selection. The styles have different proportions, so the same Size does not give every style the same visible dimensions.
Make the tips follow Trim Paths
- Use one pen path and its Stroke in a shape group.
- Add Trim Paths after the path in that group’s Contents.
- Animate Trim Paths’ End, then add an End arrowhead in Butthead.
The tip follows the trimmed end and turns with the path’s tangent. At zero visible length, it hides. A start arrowhead follows the lower of Trim Paths’ Start and End values. Both tips also follow Offset.
Butthead uses the first Trim Paths after the path in its group. If there is none, it looks outward through parent groups. It accounts for the intervening groups’ position, anchor point, rotation, and scale. Adding or moving Trim Paths later requires reapplying the arrowhead so it finds the new operator.
Prepare paths that Butthead can follow
Arrowheads bind to the nearest pen path above the Stroke in the same Contents group. A rectangle, ellipse, or polystar that is still parametric produces Arrowheads need a pen path. Convert it to a Bezier path in After Effects before retrying. No path above this stroke means you need to place a pen path above the Stroke in that group.
Each group gets one start/end pair. Multiple paths or strokes in one group do not receive independent pairs. Put each line in its own group when it needs its own arrowheads. For precise targeting, use the selection rules.
On solid strokes, tips follow the stroke’s color and opacity. In ×w mode, they also follow width changes. Gradient strokes can receive tips, but the tips do not inherit the gradient or its colors. Use a solid stroke when matching color matters.
Remove the tips
Alt/Option-click Start or End to remove one end. To remove both, right-click a control and click Remove arrowheads.
With whole layers selected, Remove arrowheads deletes every Butthead arrowhead group in those layers. With specific strokes selected, it removes the pairs associated with those strokes. It leaves the original paths, caps, joins, taper, and dashes in place.