by CROSSPHERE .Koizumi·VFX
Images © CROSSPHERE .Koizumi. Used for product review; image policy.
Fractal Noise 3D earns a place in the toolfarm library for bringing true 3D volume rendering into After Effects, with camera, light, obstacle, and depth-map support handled inside the app. A free trial is available to confirm it runs on your machine, and a demo video is available.
Fractal Noise 3D constructs a genuine 3D noise field in space rather than simulating depth on a flat layer. Your After Effects camera moves through the volume, and point, spot, directional, and ambient lights illuminate it from any direction, producing volumetric rendering of clouds, fog, and atmospheric effects entirely inside After Effects, with no round-tripping to an external 3D app.
The volume can be shaped with several geometry types, including Box, Sphere, Sphere2, and Cylinder. Domain Warp, added in Version 2, deforms the noise sampling coordinates to add flowing, vortex-like detail through Twist and Vortex modes. Any 3D layer can act as an obstacle inside the volume, casting shadows through the fog or transmitting light for backlit translucency and god-ray effects. Depth Map compositing imports grayscale depth renders from any 3D application so volumetric effects blend with external CG and live footage.
Rendering is GPU-accelerated via Metal, CUDA, and OpenCL, with Multi-Frame Rendering and 8, 16, and 32 bpc color depths supported. It runs in After Effects 2020 and later on Windows 10 or later and macOS 11 or later, including Apple Silicon.
Fractal Noise 3D is best for creating volumetric clouds, fog, and atmospheric effects directly in After Effects, and compositing them with external CG renders or live footage using depth maps.
Fractal Noise 3D is completely free to download and use.
Fractal Noise 3D supports After Effects 2020 through 2026 on both Windows and Mac. On Windows it requires Windows 10 or later (64-bit), and on macOS it requires macOS 11 (Big Sur) or later, with Apple Silicon (M-series) machines supported. It works across 8, 16, and 32 bpc color depths and supports Multi-Frame Rendering. As an OpenGL effect it also requires OpenGL 2.0, so installing the free trial first is recommended to confirm it runs on your specific setup before you rely on it.
Fractal Noise 3D is GPU-accelerated through Metal on Apple Silicon, CUDA on NVIDIA, and OpenCL on AMD and Intel hardware. For CUDA it lists NVIDIA GTX 970 / 980 series (Maxwell) or later, including the GTX 10xx and RTX 20xx, 30xx, and 40xx series. Metal support requires macOS 11 or later. For best performance, enable GPU acceleration in After Effects under File → Project Settings → Video Rendering and Effects by selecting Mercury Playback Engine GPU Acceleration. Because it is an OpenGL effect, install the free trial to verify your card runs it.
Fractal Noise 3D is listed as free in this catalog. For current licensing terms, check the developer's page for the latest details. A free trial is offered so you can confirm the plugin runs on your machine before use, which the developer recommends because it is an OpenGL effect that depends on your video card supporting OpenGL 2.0. If you want certainty about compatibility, running that trial on your own system is the surest way to check.
Fractal Noise 3D includes Depth Map compositing, which lets you import a grayscale depth render from any 3D application. With that depth information, foreground geometry correctly occludes or is enveloped by the volume, so volumetric effects integrate with external CG footage and live-action shots. Beyond depth maps, any 3D layer in the composition can be set as an Obstacle Layer inside the volume. Obstacles cast shadows through the fog, and raising the Transmission parameter lets light pass partially through for backlit translucency and volumetric god-ray effects behind objects.
Fractal Noise 3D Version 2 adds support for modern GPUs across CUDA, OpenCL, and Metal, new geometry options including Cylinder and Sphere2, and the Domain Warp feature. Domain Warp procedurally deforms the sampling coordinates of the noise to add directional distortion, giving simple fractal noise a sense of flow, vortex, and turbulent motion through its Twist and Vortex modes. Every geometry option interacts with the same lighting, domain warp, and shading controls.
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