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True 3D distortions right inside of After Effects.
This is not your father's mesh warp. Anyone who has tried to distort an image using AE's 2D Mesh Warp has probably given up or settled for an inferior result. Most mesh warps don't have refined enough controls to get an accurate result. FFAE has two features that give you refined control over the mesh, allowing you to create complicated distortions easily in true 3D space.
TWO WAYS TO DISTORT YOUR MESH
Freeform AE offers 2 great 3D tools in one plugin. Mesh Warp gives you broad control over the shape of your mesh. Create cylinders, curves, ribbons, folds and an infinite amount of basic shapes. Mesh warp includes two settings that make the 3D manipulation of your mesh simple.
Tangent Alignment- Select On or Off. A very intuitive, easy to use method for aligning or breaking your tangent handles.
Create smooth curves or sharp angles easily with FFAE's Tangent Alignment. You choose to turn alignment on or off with no confusion.
Manipulation X,Y,Z - A much needed feature missing from most mesh warp tools. You select on which axis your vertex points move by choosing X,Y or Z.
If you want to "freeform" it, you can select the fourth option and move in all 3 axes freely.
Dispalcement Mapping gives you the ability create detailed organic shapes quickly and easily. Use greyscale "maps" to define the height of displacement on your mesh. A black & white cloud pattern can quickly become a mountain range. A simple gradient makes a curved ramp. Displacement maps can also be animated, giving you rippling water, flowing curtains and blowing flags. (B&W Maps beside the final rendered result).
Use each tool separately or combine the two for truly amazing results!
3D Mesh Controls - Move and rotate your 3D layer in 3D space with FFAE's Mesh Controls. Position X,Y,Z ; Rotation X,Y, Z ; and Anchor Point X,Y,Z controls.
3D Mesh Quality - Get perfectly smooth final renders. The 3D Mesh Quality property gives you full control over the final quality of your warped layer. Mesh subdivision raises and lowers the density or smoothness of your mesh. As if that's not enough, refine the detail further with 3 levels of anti-aliasing and Image Filtering.
Manage CPU usage - The 3D Mesh Controls are also great way to work fast. Choose your rendering level: Full, shade or wireframe, adjust Mesh Subdivision and anti aliasing to lower settings and work fast. Then pump them up for the final preview and render.
Surface Controls - FFAE also brings more dynamic lighting properties to AE. Adjust the Diffuse, Specular and Roughness properties to create a wide variety of "textures". From a a highly reflective surface like water to a totally diffused surface like cloth. FFAE even has controls that can map a different image to the Backside of your 3D layer. Perfect for "signs" or "maps" that fold, roll, or crumple and reveal the back side.
USES
A complete 3D workshop inside of AE. Use FFAE to roll layers into tubes, fold them like paper, create flags, banners, rippling and choppy water surfaces, terrain and 3D textured surfaces.
"FreeForm AE offers After Effects a huge feature that used to push artists to other systems; no longer must a job go to Flame for what Autodesk calls "extended bicubics," and the result is fully integrated with AE's own 3D camera and lighting system. How cool is that, integrating curved 3D planes into After Effects?"
-Mark Christiansen, author of After Effects CS4 Visual Effects & Compositing Studio Techniques
"Thanks a million...I've just downloaded FreeForm AE and it's amazing ...the amount of control of 3D shapes is what will keep me from migrating to Fusion or Nuke...and after the great disappointment with new 3D features of CS4, I'm in love again with After Effects, all thanks to your amazing plugin. Right now I am in class showing this new wonder to my students...imagine their faces (no more "now we go from 3ds Max to After Effects and... :-)"
-Juan Urquhart, Computer Arts Teacher, Los Pinos Centro Educativo, Uruguay
"I've long been envious of 3D applications and their ability to take a flat object and manipulate that object into almost any shape using a mesh in 3D space. Well now there is finally a product that allows all the same power and control right inside Adobe After Effects. It's powerful and easy to use. It has much better control and provides much better quality than anything else available for After Effects. Quite simply put, I could not achieve many of the things I have without this plug . It is a must have in your arsenal of plugins."
-Jack Tunnicliffe, Owner/Operator, Java Post Production
Project Gallery
Project: Liquid Pour Project File
Plugin: FreeForm AE
Effect: 3D Mesh Warp
Project Folder Included
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Project: Terrain Scan Project File
Plugin: FreeForm AE
Effect: 3D Mesh Warp
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Project: Paper Crumple Project File
Plugin: FreeForm AE
Effect: 3D Mesh Warp
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Project: Planer Pyramid Project File
Plugin: FreeForm AE
Effect: 3D Mesh Warp
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Project: FFAE Terrain Fly Over
Plugin: FreeForm AE
Effect: 3D Mesh Warp
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Project: Image Fit
Plugin: FreeForm AE
Effect: 3D Mesh Warp
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Project: Abstract 1
Plugin: FreeForm AE
Effect: 3D Mesh Warp
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Project: Abstract 2
Plugin: FreeForm AE
Effect: 3D Mesh Warp
Project Folder Included
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Project: Cylinder to Plane
Plugin: FreeForm AE
Effect: 3D Mesh Warp
Project Folder Included
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Project: Egg Crate to Plane
Plugin: FreeForm AE
Effect: 3D Mesh Warp
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Project: Simple Fold
Plugin: FreeForm AE
Effect: 3D Mesh Warping
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Project: Wave Plane
Plugin: FreeForm AE
Effect: 3D Mesh Warp
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Project: Strange Buttons
Plugin: FreeForm AE
Effect: 3D Mesh Warp
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Project: Strange Buttons 3
Plugin: FreeForm AE
Effect: 3D Mesh Warp
Project Folder Included
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Project: Bent Text 2
Plugin: FreeForm AE
Effect: 3D Mesh Warp
Project Folder Included
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Project: Bent Text 3
Plugin: FreeForm AE
Effect: 3D Mesh Warp
Project Folder Included
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Project: Strange Buttons 2
Plugin: FreeForm AE
Effect: 3D Mesh Warp
Project Folder Included
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Project: 3 Cylinders to Plane
Plugin: FreeForm AE
Effect: 3D Mesh Warp
Project Folder Included
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Project: Bent Text
Plugin: FreeForm AE
Effect: 3D Mesh Warp
Project Folder Included
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Project: Bent Text 4
Plugin: FreeForm AE
Effect: 3D Mesh Warp
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Project: Jelly Fish
Plugin: FreeForm AE
Effect: 3D Mesh Warp
Project Folder Included
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Download all project files here
Reviews
"What [FreeForm AE] does looks extremely complex, and produces results that you would normally see only come from a 3D program, but on the flip side, it’s VERY simple to use, and you will be wowing your clients with your new 3D capabilities in no time!"
Kevin McAuliffe - Audio Video Producer
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" Digieffects latest plug-in, Freeform AE, aims to bolster After Effect’s 3D toolset, allowing you to warp layers in 3D in a way that’s just not possible using the core application. It combines a 3D version of After Effect’s own Mesh Warp tool with the ability to distort layers in 3D using an image as a displacement map, creating a cohesive whole that many motion graphics artists will love."
Neil Bennett - Digital Arts Magazine
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