by Creation Effects·VFX
Images © Creation Effects. Used for product review; image policy.
Flocks earns its place in the Toolfarm library by covering the full range from one background bird to a murmuration, with 3D-layer birds that respond to your lights and cameras for compositing. The 12 pre-programmed species plus the option to swap in your own images give it flexibility, and the included demo project file is a practical extra for matching animations shown in the demo video.
Creation Effects: Flocks is an After Effects tool for creating realistic 3D flocks of birds. You animate birds individually or combine them in unlimited numbers to form a flock that moves with flocking behavior, telling them where to fly. The set includes 12 high-resolution 3D models: a bat, crow, bald eagle, Canadian goose, owl, macaw, pelican, pigeon, seagull, sparrow, starling, and vulture, each with pre-programmed flight behavior to mimic that species.
You control the flight path in three dimensions by adding two or more position keyframes, and custom random behavior adds variation. Convenient controls let you adjust the birds' physical appearance, the wing flapping, and the flock's flight behavior, including how synchronized the flock is and the amount of random behavior in individual birds. Scale from a single bird to hundreds by duplicating, up to starling murmurations of tens of thousands.
Because the birds are built with 3D layers, they work with light and camera layers for shadows and camera matching when compositing with footage. You can also add your own species by swapping in profile, bottom-view, and wing images with transparent backgrounds. A separate project file for the demo video is included.
Creation Effects: Flocks is best for compositing 3D bird animations into After Effects footage, from a single background bird to starling murmurations of tens of thousands.
Creation Effects: Flocks is completely free to download and use.
Creation Effects: Flocks is compatible with Adobe After Effects CS5 and all later versions, and it runs on both PCs and Macs. The separate project file for the demo video is included and is compatible with After Effects CC 2019 and up. So the main tool applies from CS5 forward, while the demo project specifically needs CC 2019 or newer to open. If you are on an older release, you can still use Flocks itself even if the demo project will not open in your version.
Creation Effects: Flocks lets you add your own species by swapping out the images used for a bird. You will need three assets: a profile image, a bottom-view image, and a wing image, each with transparent backgrounds. With those in place you can create new birds, or other flying creatures, beyond the 12 species included, then animate them using the same flocking controls that drive the built-in models.
Creation Effects: Flocks controls where the flock flies in three dimensions by adding two or more position keyframes. Their custom random behavior adds realistic variation to the flight path, so the birds do not follow the keyframed route in a perfectly uniform line. You can direct a single bird or a large flock the same way, then composite the flock with your footage once the path is set.
Creation Effects: Flocks builds its birds with 3D layers, so they work with After Effects light and camera layers. You can adjust the lighting to match the light angle and color of your background footage, cast realistic shadows from the birds to help sell the effect, and match the camera position and angle to your footage for realistic compositing. This 3D setup is what lets the flock sit within a shot.
Creation Effects: Flocks is listed as free in this catalog. Prices and licensing terms can change, so check the developer's page for the current details before you rely on it for a project. On the practical side, the download includes a separate project file for the demo video, which is handy if you plan an animation similar to one shown in that demo video and want to save setup time.
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