Best Visual Effects (VFX) Software for Adobe After Effects

Creative Cloud encompasses over 20 applications and services for desktop and mobile that cater to photography, design, video, web development, user experience, and beyond. With tools like Photoshop available on the iPad, and the ability to illustrate and paint through Adobe Fresco, your creative vision can flourish in innovative ways. Engage with a worldwide community of creatives and collaborate to elevate your projects. Dive into a diverse array of applications such as Photoshop, InDesign, and Premiere Rush, all designed to fuel your inspiration. Within Creative Cloud, you can seamlessly access thousands of fonts tailored for your assignments. Discover and showcase creative masterpieces while efficiently managing your assets through integrated libraries. Additionally, you can create and personalize your own portfolio website, ensuring your work stands out. With 100GB of cloud storage available, file sharing and teamwork become effortless. Enhance collaboration with features for sharing, reviewing, and providing feedback. Whether your focus is on photography, video production, design, UI/UX, 3D and AR, or social media content, Creative Cloud provides all the necessary tools to bring your imagination to life and embark on limitless creative journeys.

Already in a serious partnership with your editor? No worries at all. Ignite Pro offers an impressive collection of 190 professional plugins designed to enhance your experience in After Effects, Premiere Pro, Final Cut Pro, or any other major editing software. Dive into a vast selection of over 565 visual effects, presets, and a comprehensive suite of 360° filters that are second to none. There are no hidden strings attached, no arbitrary limitations, and absolutely no time constraints to worry about. Ignite Pro seamlessly integrates with Adobe After Effects, FCPX, or any compatible host, ensuring a smooth editing process whether you're working on a Mac or PC. Each license provides you with access for up to 3 users, allowing you to utilize Ignite Pro at home, in your studio, or while relaxing on the beach—effortlessly. The extensive range of customizable plugins available in Ignite Pro is unparalleled, giving you over 565 professional visual effects and presets that can elevate any project, from imaginative sci-fi shorts to adrenaline-pumping action films and more. If you seek a touch of drama, you can infuse your short films with Hollywood flair; with plugins like Blood Spray, Gunfire, and Witness Protection, your action sequences are guaranteed to impress and captivate. This level of versatility and creativity ensures that your projects will stand out in any competitive landscape.

Stay updated on the newest offerings in Red Giant Complete, where Trapcode integrates advanced 3D particle systems directly into After Effects. You can utilize particle emitters to simulate effects like fire, water, smoke, and snow, or design futuristic visuals and interfaces using particle grids and three-dimensional shapes. By subscribing to Red Giant, you gain additional options for inputting 3D geometry through the import of Cineware .c4d files. This allows you to incorporate Cinema 4D files, including animations, into your particle systems or as 3D models within After Effects. Additionally, Magic Bullet provides a comprehensive suite of plugins for color correction, finishing touches, and achieving cinematic looks. Equipped with powerful real-time color grading, video denoising, and cosmetic retouching tools, you can elevate the quality of your footage directly on your editing timeline. Furthermore, Universe includes a range of video transition and effects plugins tailored for both editors and motion graphics designers, expanding your creative possibilities even further.

Sapphire plug-ins enable the creation of breathtaking organic aesthetics that surpass the capabilities of any built-in effect tools provided by host applications. Among the prominent features are more than 270 effects and over 3000 presets, a robust effect and transition builder, alongside integrated tracking and masking powered by the award-winning Mocha software. The exceptional image quality, control, and rapid rendering speed of Sapphire contribute to significant time efficiency, allowing creators to concentrate on what truly matters: making an impactful impression that keeps viewers engaged. Mac users will be thrilled with the arrival of Metal GPU acceleration in Sapphire 2021, which enhances over 60 effects. With Metal acceleration, dramatic improvements in speed are possible; for instance, S_Rays can render more than four times faster compared to CPU-only processing. Although performance can fluctuate based on the specifications of the GPU, host application, operating system version, and specific Sapphire effects, Sapphire 2021 with Metal acceleration typically achieves rendering speeds that are 20% quicker than when using CPU alone, making it an essential tool for professionals aiming to elevate their work. This makes Sapphire an indispensable asset in the toolkit of any creative professional.

Silhouette, an award-winning VFX tool recognized by both the Academy and Emmy Awards, is a top-tier, GPU-accelerated compositing software that offers unparalleled non-destructive paint and roto capabilities tailored for feature films and visual effects teams. Since its inception in 2005, Silhouette has played a crucial role in the production of some of Hollywood’s most iconic film and television projects, such as Avatar, Black Panther, and Stranger Things, among others. It is proudly endorsed by the Netflix Post Technology Alliance in the VFX category, positioning itself as the go-to artist tool for Roto, Paint, and Tracking. The latest release, Silhouette 2020.5, transcends conventional roto and cleanup methods, providing a professional stereoscopic-enabled node-based compositing environment with an impressive array of 146 nodes specifically crafted for various finishing tasks. Available as a standalone application for macOS, Windows, and Linux, Silhouette also offers flexible floating license options for enterprises. Additionally, the introduction of the new Silhouette Paint plug-in enhances the functionality of the paint tools, which are now seamlessly integrated into a multi-host plug-in compatible with Adobe and OFX platforms, and is provided free of charge to all owners of Silhouette 2020. This advancement underscores Silhouette's commitment to evolving and meeting the dynamic needs of visual effects professionals in the industry.

Optics serves as the ultimate digital toolkit for photography enthusiasts. Developed by expert visual effects artists from the film industry, it aims to replicate various optical camera filters, unique lenses, different film stocks and their accompanying grain, lens flares, optical lab techniques, color correction methods, as well as effects related to natural light and photography. By utilizing Optics, you can elevate your images to new heights, with the software currently available as a plug-in for Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom, as well as a standalone application compatible with both macOS and Windows platforms. With Optics, users can explore a vast library of 160 filters and an extensive range of presets that enhance creative possibilities. The software allows for film-style color grading and the transformation of images from realistic to otherworldly with stunning lighting effects. Moreover, all filters can be applied selectively to specific areas of the image through user-friendly yet advanced masking controls. It also features a layering system for utilizing multiple filters simultaneously, along with a built-in painting tool for precise touch-ups, making it an indispensable resource for anyone looking to refine their photographic artistry. This comprehensive functionality ensures that every user can achieve their desired aesthetic with ease and precision.

Streamlining tight deadlines has become more manageable than ever before. The most comprehensive collection of plugins in the post-production sector offers nearly 350 creative effects across 20 categories, over 4000 presets, integrated Academy Award-winning Mocha for advanced planar tracking and masking, a beat reactor that syncs visual effects with music, and an FX Browser for easy navigation. Editors and creative professionals depend on Continuum to efficiently complete their projects. The 2021 iteration marks the largest release in the collection's extensive history, introducing over 80 new effects, more than 1000 professionally-crafted presets, 3 additional Unit categories, substantial enhancements to particle illusion, a new keying effect, improved Mocha planar tracking, and additional features. The Cinematographer’s Toolkit offers users 80 new effects, 3 fresh Continuum Units, and an impressive array of over 1000 new presets that evoke the classic charm of shooting on film. With the user-friendly FX Editor, artists can easily browse through presets and craft personalized options directly within the interface, making it a breeze to replicate iconic Hollywood aesthetics with just a single click. This innovative approach not only enhances efficiency but also inspires creativity among users.

Mocha Pro is an acclaimed software solution recognized globally for its capabilities in planar tracking, rotoscoping, and object removal. Integral to the workflows of visual effects and post-production, it has garnered prestigious accolades such as Academy and Emmy Awards for its significant impact on the film and television sectors. Recently, Mocha Pro has been employed in blockbuster hits like The Mandalorian, Stranger Things, and Avengers: Endgame, among others. The latest advancement in Mocha introduces PowerMesh, which features an innovative sub-planar tracking engine designed for visual effects, rotoscoping, and stabilization. This new technology allows for tracking on warped surfaces while maintaining precision, effortlessly handling complex organic shapes even through occlusions and blurs, all within Mocha’s user-friendly layer-based interface. It is not only easy to use but also quicker than many traditional optical flow methods. Users can apply it to source files for authentic match moves, transform data into AE Nulls to enhance motion graphics, render a mesh for stabilized or reversed plates in compositing, and even export dense tracking data for compatibility with other applications, further expanding its versatility and utility in modern visual effects production.

Experience real-time rendering that exceeds HD quality with the innovative Conduit Effect System, allowing the seamless integration of numerous high-quality effects such as keyers, blurs, and tone curves while still in live editing mode. Similar to high-end video effects platforms, PixelConduit employs a node-based interface that excels at crafting intricate effects. Its user-friendly interface is modern and ergonomically designed to align perfectly with your desktop environment. This lightweight application can be effortlessly incorporated into your existing workflows. Additionally, Conduit serves as plugins for leading video and graphics software like Final Cut Pro and After Effects, enabling you to create an effect once and utilize it anywhere. Every aspect of PixelConduit is meticulously crafted for real-time performance alongside superior color accuracy. With flexible user interface options and advanced capabilities for extensions, PixelConduit is perfectly suited for diverse video-related tasks, including live effects, dynamic video installations, and post-production activities such as compositing and process automation. Overall, its adaptability makes PixelConduit an invaluable tool for any video professional looking to enhance their creative projects.

Final Effects Complete Version 7 showcases the remarkable versatility of transitions designed for Avid editing systems, with the ability to easily adjust them to achieve the desired visual outcome. This software boasts an impressive collection of features, including 120 filters and 800 presets, the capability to swiftly create 3D particle animations, and the innovative BCC Beat Reactor that allows for the synchronization of effects with music. Additionally, users can explore stylized filters like Vector Blur, Glass, Kaleida, and 3D Relief, as well as auto-animating transitions such as Blur Dissolve, Glass Wipe, and Light Wipe. An integrated pixel chooser enhances the masking capabilities, providing even more creative options. Furthermore, this software is compatible with major platforms including Adobe After Effects, Premiere Pro, and Avid Media Composer, making it a versatile tool for video editors across various applications.