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Build up your post production library with the the best free plugins and filters for AE!
Take your After Effects work to the next level with these free plugins and filters. From color presets to advanced lighting and 3D tracking, these free AE effects can enhance your projects and save you time. Timetool. Let’s dig in…
3DCG – Normality & Atlas
Charles Yeager (www. Yeagerfilm.com) shows us how to create seamless planet textures with Mantra VR, CC Sphere, and the built-in Immersive features in After Effects CC 2018. He goes over the basic technique, which can be used to create endless variations. My objectives on this blog is to show and explain in easy term what are the difference between all the After Effects blur effects and presets.
Normalityis a free lighting and shading plugin for After Effects. No longer supported by the developer, but packed with a set of professional features. DOWNLOAD
Normality in Action (from 3DCG)
Atlas is a free tone-mapping/HDR plugin for After Effects – bring out loads of detail in your video footage. DOWNLOAD
Atlas in Action (from 3DCG)
Digital Anarchy’s Ugly Box
Make your talent uglier! Most editors try to smooth out skin and make talent better looking. Ugly Box is a free After Effects plugin does the exact opposite. Great for Halloween or zombie related content. From the makers of the popular skin smoothing software, Beauty Box. Although free, you will need to register your info to DOWNLOAD
Noise Industries Free AE Plugins
When you install FXFactory by Noise Industries (free) you’ll have access to several free After Effects plugins. You can get more info and download each of these AE plugins here. Note: FXFactory is only supported by Mac/OSX. Let’s highlight a few of these AE effects:
Swish pans are a popular choice for transitions in television programs. Andy’s Swish Transitions brings this effect into AE and won’t cost you a dime:
Pan and Zoom is another FXFactory based After Effects plugin. This effect simplifies the process of creating a slideshow or giving your photos/videos the classic “Ken Burns” effects. Add motion to your images/video in After Effects without having to create keyframes:
CoverFlux 2 is a neat After Effects plugin that allows you to quickly create a coverflow style slideshow – perfect for showcasing images or creating a highlight video. You may recognize the coverflow look from iTunes or Mac OSX Finder:
Create unique effects with the Random Text generator from Luca Visual FX. This free AE plugin is ideal for sci-fi or business projects that require a high tech feel:
Copy Image Plugin for AE
Copy Image is a simple utility plugin that allows you to copy the current composition as a flattened image. By using Copy Image you can paste a ‘screenshot’ of your AE comp in another application (like Photoshop) without having to export out a still image and reopening in another app. DOWNLOAD
VFX Bro: Camera Shake and Camera Shake Pro
Our friend Aaron at VFXBro.com has created several free After Effects plugins for manipulating your footage.
Real Camera Shake is a preset that can add realistic camera movement to your still video shots. This is ideal for footage that requires a handheld look but may not have been shot that way. Real Camera Shake Pro applies similar effect but to a virtual camera inside of After Effects. DOWNLOAD both here.
Real Camera Shake:
Real Camera Shake Pro:
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Acceleration of suguri 2 steam.
Coremelt EQ Animator and Plugin Pack
![Fast Blur Legacy After Effects Fast Blur Legacy After Effects](/uploads/1/1/9/3/119346334/105742216.jpg)
Coremelt makes industry leading plugins for After Effects and video editing apps. Luckily, they give away two products FREE.
VeeYou is an After Effects plugin that reacts to audio in your project. Apply these EQ, VU, analog dials and waveform generators to an audio layer in AE. Watch as the visuals react to the sound. DOWNLOAD
Free Lesson Begin Here. Online Guitar Lessons straight from the Pros! 'Pro Lessons is the only place where you get the insight and experience from actual pros!' 'Pro Lessons is a fantastic, fun, and safe way to learn all different styles of music from actual professional players.' Country Guitar Soloing Concepts. In this lesson, we're focusing on different concepts that will help us become better improvisers in this style. How to use the major pentatonic scale over each chord, how to use the mixolydian mode over each chord, how and where to use chromatics, open string licks and more! Guitar pro lessons.
CoremeltFREE is an effects bundle of 39 free plugins for After Effects (also works with FCP, FCPX and Premiere Pro). Included in the pack are color effects, dynamic transitions and filters. See the full list of effects here or DOWNLOAD here.
VideoCopilot Free AE Presets
Aside from being a fantastic online training resource, Andrew Kramer from VideoCopilot.net has made available 15 free After Effects presets. Among the presets are film grains, day for night color preset, a reflection plugin (great for logos) and a tool for better controlling the AE 3D camera. Big bonus: with each of these AE presets you can also view a video tutorial on how to use them. Head over to VideoCopilot to check them out and DOWNLOAD.
AEFlame: Free Fractal Plugin for AE
Aescripts.com is a great resource for the latest After Effects tools. The following plugin, AE Flame, alows you to create beautiful fractal images in AE. DOWNLOAD
Cineblur’s Instagram Plugin
Premiumbeat blogger Brent Pierce created a set of AE color filters that mimic the looks popularized by Instagram. With one-click you can apply these looks to your video – great for experimenting with your footage. DOWNLOAD
Digital Typewriter Text Preset
If you’re working on a project with futuristic or Internet-related content this free After Effects plugin may come in handy. Typominal creates a ‘digital typewriter’ look, characteristic of Apple’s Terminal or MS-DOS. See our previous post on this AE plugin or go here to DOWNLOAD.
Unleash your inner Jedi (or Sith) with this quick guide to creating a lightsaber in After Effects.
Image above from Star Wars: The Force Awakens
If you’ve used AfterEffects for any amount of time, chances are you’ve wanted to create a Star Wars effect at least once or twice. Let’s take a look at how to create your very own lightsaber in AfterEffects using 100% native plugins. (Subtly waves hand.) This is the tutorial you’re looking for.
Step 1: Create a Solid
The first thing you need in order to create a lightsaber effect is some great footage. In this tutorial I’m using a clip from Shutterstock. Once you’ve imported your footage into a new AfterEffects composition, create a new white solid. The label I chose for my solid: Purple Lightsaber.
Fast Box Blur After Effects
Step 2: Mask and Keyframe
Next, mask and keyframe the solid so that it surrounds the motion blur of the lightsaber from your reference footage. Try to keep your mask to only four points. If you use more than four, you might begin to get confused about which part is supposed to be at the base of the lightsaber and which part is supposed to be at the top of the lightsaber. By using four mask points, you can keep the exact same points at the top and bottom throughout the entire animation.
After Effects Lens Blur Plugin
Step 3: Create an Inverted Alpha Mask
Next, create a mask so your lightsaber will not cross in front of your subject if it’s actually supposed to be behind your subject. To do this, create a new solid and mask out the areas where your lightsaber should be behind your subject. Our example above is fairly easy; we’ll just have to mask out our subject’s head.
Quick Tip: Make sure to trim your mask layer so that it doesn’t accidentally cover up your lightsaber in any other parts of your composition.
Fast Blur Legacy After Effects Download
After you mask and keyframe your alpha mask, it’s time to set your track matte. Position your masking layer above your lightsaber layer and change the track matte to Alpha Inverted. This will automatically hide your masking layer in your timeline and create a hole where your subject should be.
Step 4: Add Stylization Effects
Precompose both your alpha mask and your lightsaber layer. Now it’s time to add a few quick stylization effects. The two that I use every time are Fast Blur and Glow. The Fast Blur effect makes your lightsaber seem a little more organic, while the Glow effect adds color to the white layer if you’ve set the Glow Colors to A&B Colors. After you add your stylization effects, simply turn your transfer mode to Screen and adjust any of your effects as needed.
Here’s what our final result looks like.
Want to see a step-by-step tutorial about how to create this cool lightsaber effect? Check out this great tutorial by Legacy Entertainment that uses the same layer technique outlined in this blog post.
This is just one of the many different ways you can create a lightsaber in After Effects. Another popular method is to use the lightsaber preset designed by Andrew Kramer of Video Copilot. I highly recommend checking out their tutorial.
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