Archive notice: This article was originally published on July 12, 2012. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
Element 3D is the basic plug-in in an entire series of useful tools that artist Andrew Kramer newly offers through his website Video Copilot. According to Kramer, this plug-in for Adobe After Effects allows 3D objects including textures to be imported into AE and animated. In addition, there is intended to be no polygon limit for the objects, and OBJ files from all common 3D tools as well as C4D files are supported, the latter, however, without animation.
A particle arrangement system is intended to be included, allowing 3D objects to be treated like particles and brought into 3D shapes such as Sphere, Ring, Plane, Box, 3D Grid (XYZ), positions on the OBJ vertex points, or the AE Layer Alpha Channel.
Open GL Renderer
Instead of the traditional raytracing renderer of other 3D programs, the plug-in uses an Open GL renderer, which is intended to enable a direct view in AE of changes made to the lighting or the surface of objects. The main difference from raytracing is intended to be that with this rendering system, the objects do not reflect other objects in the scene. To generate the appearance of a reflection, according to Kramer, the renderer uses reflection mapping without slowing the overall speed.
Interface
The Element 3D plug-in has a clear user interface and a material selection for the surface of the objects. 3D text can be animated and edited just like objects, and there is also the possibility of creating the destruction of an object by importing fractured geometry. Element 3D is intended to be able to identify automatically the various parts from which an object is assembled, so that the artist can control each individual building block precisely.
Price
The Element 3D plug-in alone is available for 149.95 dollars. In addition, Andrew Kramer offers a Shader Library expansion package with 200 materials for 99.95 dollars, as well as six different 3D model packages on the themes of fruit, weapons, abstract forms, money, music, and sports. Each of these packages is available for 99.95 dollars. The complete Studio Bundle contains Element 3D, Pro Shaders, and six 3D model packages and costs 495.50 dollars.
DIGITAL PRODUCTION is already testing the Element 3D plug-in diligently and hopes to be able to present you with a detailed practical test in one of the next issues.
Further information and two videos presenting the plug-in and the rendering can be found here.
