About Fractal Noise 3D

Fractal Noise 3D builds an authentic 3D noise volume that the After Effects camera can move through, allowing point, spot, directional and ambient lights to illuminate clouds, fog, and atmospheric effects inside AE without external 3D software. The volume can be shaped as a Box, Sphere, Sphere2 or Cylinder, and Version 2 adds Domain Warp with Twist and Vortex modes for flowing detail. Any 3D layer can act as an obstacle, casting shadows or transmitting light for god‑ray effects, and Depth Map compositing lets grayscale depth renders from other applications blend with the volume. Rendering uses Metal, CUDA or OpenCL with Multi‑Frame Rendering and supports 8, 16 and 32 bpc color depths. The plugin runs on After Effects 2020‑2026 on Windows 10 (64‑bit) and macOS 11 or later, including Apple Silicon.

Features

• True 3D volumetric noise field that the After Effects camera moves through, rather than depth simulated on a flat layer
• Integrates with After Effects point, spot, directional, and ambient lights
• Multiple geometry types including Box, Sphere, Sphere2, and Cylinder
• Domain Warp deforms noise sampling coordinates with Twist and Vortex modes (Version 2)
• Obstacle Layers let any 3D layer cast shadows or transmit light for backlit translucency and god-ray effects
• Depth Map compositing imports grayscale depth renders from any 3D application
• GPU-accelerated via Metal, CUDA, and OpenCL, with Multi-Frame Rendering and 8, 16, and 32 bpc color depths

Best for

Creating volumetric clouds, fog, and atmospheric effects directly in After Effects and integrating them with external CG renders or live footage via depth maps.