Red Giant 2027: Relight, Noise, Schmutz
Red Giant 2027 brings AI relighting to After Effects, procedural Maxon Noise, custom lens dirt, Autograph distortion and smarter Capsules.
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Adobe After Effects
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Advanced Radial Blur Lets RGB Wander
Mirza Beig’s free After Effects plug-in combines zoom blur, Gaussian softness and RGB smear, with separate masks and GPU shader passes.
Autograph 2027 Lets Agents Join the Comp
Autograph 2027 gains an MCP server, Cinema 4D scene transfer, improved typography, integrated Maxon Studio and broadcast demo projects.
ShotLink Brings Unreal Renders into After Effects
ShotLink feeds Unreal renders into After Effects, with separate passes, surface nulls and camera baking. A Blender integration is in beta.
Expression Alchemist: Nodes for AE Expressions
Expression Alchemist builds visual node graphs into native After Effects expressions. A clever workflow tool, with AI firmly optional.
Higx Optics ray-traces the glass instead of faking the bokeh
Higx Optics uses ray-traced virtual lenses for bokeh and optical effects across Nuke, After Effects and Resolve Studio. We compare the approach with ZEISS LensCore.
Beauty Box 6.5 Finds Teeth So You Don’t Have To
Beauty Box 6.5 adds AI masks for teeth and eye whites, a new local inference engine and improved face tracking across major finishing hosts.
Pixel Lab Sells Gems Cheaper Than GPUs
Pixel Lab packs 30 gemstones and 40+ ancient tree stumps into PLY Gaussian splats. The gems are cheap. Your workstation probably isn't.
Digital Anarchy for the Adobe UXP Rewrite
CEP panels still run, but their comfortable retirement is approaching. Jim Tierney explains what UXP migration really costs.
Adobe Puts a Prompt Layer Across Pro Video
Premiere gains in-timeline generation while After Effects turns plain English into native project work. Adobe’s bigger shift is the interface itself.
PostPro Analytics Counts Creative Work
PostPro Analytics logs project activity across nine Mac creative apps and turns it into local dashboards, CSV reports and billing evidence.
Command Frame: After Effects macros without writing scripts
Command Frame turns After Effects actions into reusable command chains. The duller and more repetitive the job, the more sense it starts to make.
KIRI Brings Gaussian Splats to After Effects
KIRI Innovations releases a free, open-source After Effects plugin for rendering, styling and animating Gaussian Splat scenes from PLY files.
Let’s talk to the Caddis developer.
Digital Production spoke with developer Mike Gaynor about the creation and implementation of Caddis.
Rebelle 8.3 Adds EXR Heightmap Export
Rebelle 8.3 adds brush colour jitter, interactive selection controls, smoother gradients and Pro-only 16-bit EXR impasto heightmaps.
Beauty Box Gets Premiere AI Prompts
Digital Anarchy tests Beauty Box with Premiere AI Assistant and publishes Q&A tips for masks, skin tones and body retouching.
Ancient Relics, Modern Splats
Ten free splats bring statues, ruins and dinosaur skulls into Octane and After Effects, complete with captured texture and scene lighting. Or, whatever you use Splats for.
Callipeg Studio Heads to Desktop
Callipeg goes desktop with macOS and Windows builds, familiar 2D tools, beta caveats and a price that avoids subscription bingo.
Adobe trims Premiere and After Effects
Premiere adds faster masks and timeline tools, while After Effects tackles roto, SVG and 3D work. Deadlines keep their poker face.
Mocha Pro 2026.5 Tracks Through Trouble
Point Track ML tackles occlusions, shadows and drifting surfaces, while smarter matte tools and exports reduce routine cleanup.
BadFX Packs Assets Into Adobe Panels
BadFX puts stock media and adjustable animation presets inside Adobe timelines. The plugin is free, though an account is compulsory.
Silhouette 2026 gets smarter roto and 3D heads
Silhouette 2026 upgrades AI mattes, adds Head Track ML and better tracking, boosts paint tools and performance, and finally gets serious about pipelines.
Caddis mixes layers with nodes per layer
Caddis shows a familiar timeline, then drops a node graph inside each layer, exports common formats, and launches in June with one-time pricing.
Boris FX Sapphire 2026.5 adds Advanced Defocus
Sapphire 2026.5 doubles down on lens looks with Advanced Defocus, new Texture Ridges, a rebuilt Glare, Builder updates, and fresh flares.
Boris FX Continuum 2026.5 tunes AI and FX Editor
Continuum 2026.5 stacks AI deinterlacing, sharper ML masks, saner FX Editor isolation, refreshed warps and wipes, and tighter Particle Illusion linking.
KeenTools GeoTracker enters Houdini open beta
GeoTracker lands in Houdini as a SOP node for OBJ and Solaris, free in open beta. Geometry driven tracking, lens estimates, and quick sim colliders.
KeenTools 2026.1: Nuke 17 and Blender 5.1
New host support, calmer refinements, fewer UV surprises. 2026.1 targets the unglamorous stuff that breaks shots at 2 am.
Adobe After Effects 26.2 adds Object Matte and more
For those who don’t know the tool: Adobe makes After Effects, a compositing and motion graphics workhorse that…
Maxon Autograph 2026 is here
Maxon Autograph went free for individuals, learned USD, and picked up OpenFX. Nice.
Beeble Background Remover hits Cloud app
Background Remover unbundles fast AI masking into a standalone workflow with preview, refinement, and RGBA or alpha-only exports for comps.
Adobe Turntable spins into Illustrator
Turntable hits Illustrator and turns one vector into a pile of editable angles, so turnarounds stop demanding unpaid overtime.
ProductionCrate Plug-in Suite with docked footage database
ProductionCrate bundles a huge asset library in its Suite, so you can grab a glow, a glitch, or an explosion fast, then pay for it yearly.
Neat Video 6.1 updates OFX and host support
Neat Video 6.1 adds Baselight 7 support, new default profile controls and OFX updates across Windows, macOS and Linux.
Adobe After Effects 2026 Lands With 3D, Text and Performance Boosts
After Effects 26.0 debuts 3D parametric meshes, Substance 3D materials, SVG import and core workflow improvements.
Premiere drops the “Pro” and picks up some serious AI
Adobe has released the Creative Cloud 26.0 updates for its video apps, headlined by a big shift in Premiere. The “Pro” label is gone, and in its place comes a more capable editor. The new release centres on automated masking, improved tracking, and a creative pipeline that’s tighter than ever.
Sapphire gets the “Essentials” treatment
Boris FX adds a free 11-part Sapphire Builder Essentials course to its training library, covering professional multi-host workflows.
DIY Gravity: Make Your Own Black Hole (In After Effects)
Free After Effects plug-in creates cinematic black holes using ray marching, volumetric fog and physically-based parameters.
SynthEyes Essentials Training is here and Free for the Holidays
Boris FX unwraps a holiday gift: SynthEyes Essentials, a free, three-hour matchmove training course for VFX artists, free until 31 December.
KeenTools 2025.3 Brings Blender 5, Character Creator 5 & AE Exports
KeenTools 2025.3 expands host support with Blender 5, Character Creator 5 export from FaceBuilder and Alembic output from GeoTracker for After Effects.
Work Hard, Sort Fast: Project Sorter 1.75
Project Sorter 1.75 auto-sorts your Premiere and After Effects imports by type, path, or metadata. Fewer bins to drag, more time to cut.
Text2Spreadsheet bridges AE and spreadsheets with one click
Text2Spreadsheet exports all text layers in After Effects to a spreadsheet for editing, then re-imports them in one click. Simple.
RealFX Part 2: From the loading bar to the keyboard
Three scripts, one goal: easyRulers, LoadUP and keyboardFX bring clean, functional motion graphics utilities for everyday After Effects work.
Photoshop Joins Overlord 2.6
Overlord 2.6 links Photoshop to After Effects for the first time, with a new image scale selector and expanded 265 MB transfer limit.
RealFX Part 1: Perfectly formed scripts
The landscape of plug-in providers for After Effects (and other host applications) has thinned out noticeably in recent times. Whereas in the 2000s and 2010s we used to receive press releases about new and interesting plug-ins several times a week, nowadays we are lucky to receive one announcement per month. But we found a few beauties!
After Effects Gets Hands-On: Victoria Nece Shows Off Quick Offset & Co.
At IBC 2025, I talked with Adobe’s Victoria Nece about Quick Offset, Smooth Zoom, and 3D compositing in After Effects. It’s tactile, fast and oddly fun.
Premiere Pro gains 90+ Film Impact effects – plug-in now built-in
Premiere Pro 25.5 folds Film Impact into the app. 90+ GPU-accelerated effects now ship natively, real-time playback, no plug-in, no red render bars.
After Effects 25.4 Lands in August: HDR Metadata, Text-Format Paste, and Layer Staggering
Adobe After Effects 25.4 introduces Quick Offset, Paste Text Formatting Only, and HDR CICP metadata support.
After Effects 25.3 Adds Smooth Zoom
After Effects 25.3 brings smooth zoom, file reveal, and serious 3D model handling—ready for professional use but test in your pipeline.
Achoo-Free Effects: “3D Dust & Pollen Free” for After Effects
New free preset "3D Dust & Pollen Free" for After Effects simulates pollen, dust, spores, dander and other floating irritants – without triggering allergies.
Adobe’s Premiere Pro and After Effects 25.2
Adobe unveils Premiere Pro and After Effects 25.2 at NAB 2025, introducing AI-driven tools like Generative Extend, enhanced search capabilities, and HDR monitoring.
Using 3D Objects in After Effects
Since 2024, it has been possible to integrate 3D objects into After Effects Beta. The updated version of the Adobe compositing solution now also has this functionality.
Color Monitoring for Cheapskates?Part 1
Colour Monitoring is cheap, easy, and fast. As usual, you can pick two of those adjectives — and in this series, we are going for cheap and will make it easy for you!
Richard Rosenman Unveils IK Studio: Advanced Inverse Kinematics Plugin for After Effects
IK Studio introduces sophisticated inverse kinematics capabilities to After Effects, enhancing animation rigging and VFX workflows for professionals.
The Rise and Fall of Cyborg
When we think of compositing systems of the late nineties and early two thousands, Discreet and Quantel come to mind. But for a brief time, there was a real contender to those two powerhouses: 5D Cyborg!
Adobe After Effects Beta: HDR Preview for Precision Workflows
The latest After Effects beta introduces HDR composition previews, supporting more accurate workflows for HDR-ready monitors.
Autograph 2025: Sign Here for New Features
Left Angle's Autograph 5.1v0 introduces a revamped UI, 3D text extrusion, and enhanced interoperability with DaVinci Resolve and After Effects.
New After Effects Stuff!
Adobe has rolled out major updates to After Effects, enhancing 3D workflows for motion designers and VFX professionals. The new features focus on embedding 3D animations, improving shadows, and offering more depth mapping options.
Magic Nodes 2: New functions
The "Magic Nodes" extension for "Adobe After Effects" has
has been around for a while. This enables compositing in a Nodes network
with the Adobe programme. A look at the changes
and improvements in version 2.
Update to the MAX
As always, numerous innovative, experimental technologies were
experimental technologies were presented by Adobe researchers and engineers. Surprisingly, the focus was on artificial intelligence.
What about Roundtrips? Premiere Pro and DaVinci Resolve
Professionals experienced in teamwork will probably already be familiar with the following. But what about everyone else who, after initial successes, approaches projects that involve real money and real customers? Mistakes in the workflow and the need to fix them can push your real hourly wage well below the minimum promised by your government, not to mention the loss of your first important client.
Photoshop und Express Beta – Refill my Picture?
As soon as the Adobe Firefly beta is officially available to every Adobe Cloud subscriber, the features are also being introduced in the Photoshop beta and then immediately in the Adobe Express beta.
Adobe at the NAB
At NAB, Adobe presented innovations for the entire platform - here are the parts relevant for VFX and editing!
The Puppet Groove
The animated film "The Puppet Groove", which looks like a music video, shows a rocking puppet band on stage. In the background, the singer narrates their success story in an animated film sequence. But whether the musicians really have everything under control is only revealed at the end.
Creation Effects – Kreative Templates!
Creation Effects at DP reader price: As announced in the article, Noel has sent us a code for a 25% discount on the templates presented in the test!
After Effects! Substance! Oscars!
And once again news from Adobe: After Effects now supports every variant of OCIO and ACES, Substance Designer has received a bugfix, and there's also a Tech Oscar for the Substance team!
Release of the beta of GeoTracker 2022.2.2!
How can tracking and power moving be made easier in After Effects? GeoTracker from KeenTools is one possible answer. Now with support for After Effects 17.0!
Adobe announces the new After Effects!
The latest version of the compositing software will be presented at the Adobe Max industry event. One of the most exciting innovations for creative professionals is the Substance 3D Modeler. An overview.
News in After Effects?
The fun thing about IBC is that you meet interesting people - and as we were walking through Hall 7, we met Victoria Nece from Adobe!
Simplify lighting in After Effects with this free plugin
The ProductionCrate asset library has released Crate's Godrays - an AE plugin that can be used to generate volumetric lighting effects.
Is Motion Graphics Artist a crisis-proof profession?
Eric Say, founder of the agency Gameday Creative, talks about the importance of the motion graphics industry - and how artists manage look development with Cinema 4D and After Effects.
Adobe releases After Effects 22.5!
Speakers of Korean and Hebrew, prick up your ears: The latest version of the compositing software now recognises the Unicode area correctly! But also: Now you can finally animate left-hand fonts without errors!
Create VJ loops with Cinema 4D!
Insider tips from the content creator pope for musicians: Will Harvey, aka Revilo, teaches you how to create stylish VJ loops with C4D and After Effects. Not only does it look good, it sounds good too!
Substance 3D Sampler 3.3 released!
From Adobe: Version 3.3 of the 3D tool for surfaces. You can expect: new functions for working with materials and ambient lighting. Also: Tutorial for "Getting started with Lighting Environments" available!
Frame.io now also available in Adobe’s Creative Cloud!
Work more efficiently with the video collaboration platform Frame.io. Plus: Adobe presents innovations for After Effects and Premiere Pro.
Cinema 4D Lite R25 for After Effects
Cinema 4D Lite R25 arrives with After Effects, providing basic modelling, texturing, lighting and animation for motion graphics.
BlenderAE Transfers Scenes to After Effects
BlenderAE exports selected Blender objects, vertices and faces into After Effects for motion-graphics and compositing workflows.
After Effects Layer Binning Explained
Chris Zwar explains After Effects layer rendering order, 2D and 3D interaction, and the beta binning function.
Arnaud Mellinger on Event Motion Design
Arnaud Mellinger demonstrates a Cinema 4D and After Effects workflow for creating and rendering visuals for live events.
After Effects 22 Adds Multi-Frame Rendering
After Effects 22 introduces multi-frame rendering, render-queue notifications and Cinema 4D Lite Asset Browser support.
Foundation Main Title Sequence
The main-title sequence introduces Apple's Foundation series, adapted from Isaac Asimov's science-fiction novels.
Loveletter
Who doesn't know it: the portable games console that saw the light of day at the end of the 1980s and gave us endless hours of fun and games for many years. We are, of course, talking about the Gameboy. A time when the potential of computer-generated graphics was in its infancy. But what if a creative team back then had had access to today's production pipelines and technologies?
Premiere listens – and types!
New functions and tools are added with every Creative Cloud update. In the last major update for Premiere, there was an entire subsection - transcribing. But how exactly does it work? (Including self-test and prize draw)
Cinema 4D Tutorial Recreates Free Guy’s Disintegration Effect
Jonas Pilz recreates the disintegration effect from Free Guy using Cinema 4D, Redshift, Red Giant tools and After Effects.
Trapcode 14 Review: New Tools for Particular, Form and Tao
A historical review of Trapcode 14 examines Particular 3.0, Form 3.0 and Tao 1.2, including the expanded Designer and multisystems.
Mocha Pro 2019 Review: Faster Removal and Better Rotoscoping
This archive review tests Mocha Pro 2019’s GPU-accelerated object removal, magnetic splines, simplified workspaces, high-DPI support and improved VR workflow.
Seth Worley Recreates Ghostbusters Proton Streams in After Effects
Director and educator Seth Worley demonstrates an After Effects workflow for recreating the iconic proton streams from Ghostbusters.
Jake Ferguson Creates Anime-Inspired Renders in Cinema 4D
Emmy-winning art director Jake Ferguson demonstrates modelling, lighting, animation and compositing for an anime-inspired short-film render.
Adobe Offered 20% Off Selected Creative Applications
Adobe offered a limited-time 20% discount on selected Creative Cloud applications including Premiere Pro, After Effects and Audition.
Skin Retouch: Smoothing Skin Without Losing Fine Detail
The free Skin Retouch script uses frequency separation in After Effects to smooth skin while preserving texture and detail.
Eran Stern Presents a Beginner Cinema 4D Workflow
Eran Stern demonstrates an accessible Cinema 4D workflow built around an astronaut scene for The 3D and Motion Design Show.
Trapcode Suite 16 Introduces New Particle Physics and Emitters
Trapcode Suite 16 expanded Particular with combined air and bounce physics, wind, flocking, meander behaviour and new Cinema 4D inputs.
Recreating Bill & Ted Face the Music VFX in Cinema 4D
Daniel Hashimoto demonstrates a Bill & Ted-inspired VFX workflow using Cinema 4D, After Effects, Trapcode and Magic Bullet.
DOF PRO Adds Photorealistic Depth of Field to After Effects
Richard Rosenman’s DOF PRO plug-in creates photorealistic depth-of-field effects in Adobe After Effects.
After Effects 17.5 Adds Roto Brush 2 and 3D Design Space
Adobe After Effects 17.5 introduces the machine-learning-assisted Roto Brush 2 and a redesigned 3D workspace for motion designers.
After Effects Public Beta Overhauls 3D Navigation
Adobe’s After Effects public beta introduced automatic scene cameras, revised orbit, pan and dolly controls, and new 3D transform gizmos.
Adobe Updates Premiere Pro and After Effects
Adobe’s September 2020 updates added Scene Edit Detection and Quick Export to Premiere Pro plus new 3D controls and faster EXR previews in After Effects.
After Effects Tutorial: Liquid Reveal Animation
Ben Marriott demonstrates a liquid reveal animation in After Effects using an illustration by Pierre Kleinhouse.
After Effects Tutorial: Create Realistic Fire
Ignace Aleya demonstrates a 15-minute After Effects workflow for adding a realistic forest-fire effect to live-action footage.
Assimilate Webinar Explores Modern DI Finishing
Leonardo Marini’s 2020 webinar examined modern DI workflows, client review and integrating After Effects with Assimilate Scratch.
After Effects Tutorial: Animated Gradient Backgrounds
Peter Arumugam of Move Shapes demonstrates a concise workflow for creating animated gradient backgrounds in After Effects.