Physics Simulations in After Effects

Archive notice: This article was originally published on May 7, 2019. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.

Anyone who wanted to create physics-based animations and simulations in After Effects previously had to invest either a great deal of time or money. Crunchy Creatives (Jakob Wagner) recently released its 2D physics engine “Physics Now!”, which is integrated directly into After Effects. A comparable alternative – for example, Newton 3 – regularly costs 100 euros more. But what does Physics Now! offer?

Physics Now! Feature Overview

The plug-in automatically converts your shape and text layers into physical objects that can be moved under the influence of gravity or collisions. For this, a layer must be labeled DYNAMIC or STATIC. With a click on SIMULATE, the simulation can then be viewed and edited directly in After Effects. You can provide other layers, e.g. images or imported files, with custom “Collision Cages” in order to use them as well.

• Integrated UI in After Effects and AE Timeline with a total of seven buttons
• Tag system: Layers can be marked as DYNAMIC and STATIC
• Shape layers are analyzed automatically and can be solid or hollow and behave differently accordingly.
• Text layers can be retained as one layer or divided into individual characters. Use the actual font contours or the layer’s bounding box for a small distance.
• Animation of physical properties, including Bounce, Friction, Density, Gravitation or time scaling. You can animate all attributes from the timeline.
• ExtendScript Toolkit support , so that the physics simulations can also be used and automated in scripts.

After a short test, the plug-in as a whole appears significantly more orderly than Newton 3, for example – and with its good After Effects integration it also offers a simple and fast workflow. Even though the range of features still appears somewhat smaller in comparison, many AE users are likely to feel addressed simply because of the lower price. The developer has also promised us a major update for this summer – we are curious to see what comes! 

Availability

Physics Now! is available for all After Effects versions from CC 2018+ on Gumroad. The current price is still the equivalent of €86 until May 7, 2019 (discount code: simulate25). After that date, the price will rise to the regular 115 euros.

Further information: Can be found on the official website