by grape design·VFX
Images © grape design. Used for product review; image policy.
Light Volume stands out in the aescripts library for rendering composition lights into 3D space with GPU acceleration, and it's a compact 1.0 release listed here as free.
Light Volume is a GPU-accelerated plugin from grape design that renders a composition's lights into 3D space inside After Effects. It works with the point lights and spotlights already present in your composition.
The plugin offers fine control over softness and light falloff, and it can add natural distortion to the light. It renders dust in the brighter areas and accepts depth map input. Because the rendering is GPU-accelerated, the calculations run on the graphics card. A demo video is available on the developer's page.
Version 1.0 is the initial release, dated April 28, 2026, and it is compatible with After Effects 2026, 2025, 2024 and 2023. This entry is listed here as free, so check the developer's page for current licensing details.
Light Volume is best for after Effects artists on versions 2023 through 2026 who want to render a composition's point lights and spotlights into 3D space.
Light Volume is completely free to download and use.
Light Volume is compatible with After Effects 2026, 2025, 2024 and 2023, covering the current release and the previous few update cycles. Version 1.0 is the initial release, dated April 28, 2026. If you're running one of those four versions, the plugin is built to work with your setup. For versions outside that range, check the developer's page before relying on Light Volume in a project, since support for older builds isn't listed among its compatible versions.
Light Volume is GPU-accelerated, so its rendering runs on the graphics card. This applies to drawing a composition's point lights and spotlights into 3D space, along with the softness, falloff, natural distortion and dust it can add. Specific hardware requirements aren't listed among its details, so if you need to know minimum GPU specs or driver versions, the developer's page is the place to confirm them before you install and start working.
Light Volume supports depth map input. Alongside that, it renders a composition's point lights and spotlights into 3D space, and it gives fine control over softness and light falloff. It can also add natural distortion to the light and render dust in the brighter areas. All of this runs GPU-accelerated. A demo video is available on the developer's page if you want to see the plugin before installing.
Light Volume is listed here as free, so no price applies. Licensing can change over time, so the developer's page is the reliable place to confirm the current arrangement, any usage conditions and how to download it. On the technical side, this is version 1.0, dated April 28, 2026, compatible with After Effects 2026, 2025, 2024 and 2023, which is worth checking against your own version before you install.
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