by Plugin Everything·VFX
Images © Plugin Everything. Used for product review; image policy.
Shadow Studio 3 earns its place for pairing raytraced shadow and light simulation with a gradient editor, an RGBA pipeline and deep compositing controls. Version 3 introduces raytracing, gradients, inverse shadows and over 36 presets.
Shadow Studio 3 is a shadow and light simulation plugin for After Effects from Plugin Everything. It casts raytraced shadows and light, and simulates 3D phenomena including global illumination, ambient occlusion, subsurface scattering and glossy reflections, all based on your layer's alpha channel. Directional and point lights let you build voluminous results, and built-in extrusion and bevel add dimensionality.
The RGBA Pipeline casts colourful light based on the layer source for glossy reflections or stylised results, while a gradient editor lets you animate, offset and loop gradients, with a Linear Gamma checkbox for blending and a No Interpolation option for stylistic renders. Inner Shadow mode is a checkbox compatible with all other modes, so you can generate inner shadows with a point light, directional light or inverse inner shadows. Styles range from LoFi and retro to pixelated and cartoonish.
Over 36 presets and project files help kickstart lookdev, and utility presets include a 360° orbiting Directional Point Rig with radius and rotation-speed sliders plus a Utility Bevel. Compositing controls cover all 37 After Effects blending modes alongside alpha biasing and matte gamma controls for selectively applying texturing to specific areas.
Plugin Everything Shadow Studio 3 is best for after Effects artists adding raytraced shadows, lighting and 3D phenomena to alpha-based layers, from realistic looks to LoFi, retro, pixelated or cartoonish styles.
Plugin Everything Shadow Studio 3 is completely free to download and use.
Shadow Studio 3 works with After Effects 2026, 2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, CC 2019, CC 2018 and CC 2017. One thing to note: the included presets are currently only compatible with CC 2021 and above, so on earlier releases you can use the plugin itself but not the bundled presets. Beyond After Effects, you'll also need a supported operating system and a GPU. For the full requirements across versions, check the developer's page.
Shadow Studio 3 requires a GPU. Integrated GPUs such as Intel Iris are supported, so a discrete card isn't strictly necessary. One caveat from the developer: older Macs from around 2013 with Nvidia cards may not work. On the operating system side it runs on macOS 11.3 and above or Windows 7 and above. If you're unsure whether your hardware qualifies, review the requirements on the developer's page before installing.
Shadow Studio 3 is Apple Silicon native, so it runs directly on M-series Macs. It supports macOS 11.3 and above and Windows 7 and above, and it requires a GPU, with integrated options like Intel Iris supported. Note that older Macs from around 2013 with Nvidia cards may not work. For the complete list of system requirements across platforms, see the developer's page.
Shadow Studio 3 is listed as free in this catalog, though licensing terms can change, so for current details and to download the plugin, check the developer's page. Shadow Studio 3 also has an active update history: recent releases in version 1.1.0 include an After Effects 2025 crash fix, a fix for a driver issue on specific Nvidia cards, and an updated licensing framework. Confirm the latest terms before you download.
Also in VFX for After Effects.
by Boris FX
Boris FX Silhouette Perpetual License brings rotoscoping, paint, and node-based compositing to After Effects, DaVinci Resolve, and Premiere Pro. It delivers 400+ VFX nodes, including Sapphire, Mocha Pro, and Particle Illusion, plus AI-assisted matting and tracking.
by TumoiYorozu
Fast Camera Lens Blur, from developer TumoiYorozu, is a blur and glow effect for After Effects and Premiere Pro. It runs natively on Apple Silicon (M1) Macs and supports Multi-Frame Rendering, with selectable shapes including 12-gon and 16-gon.
by Blace Plugins
Goodbye Greenscreen is an AI-based matting plugin for After Effects and Premiere Pro from Blace Plugins. It offers multiple matting models with GPU and CPU processing, and runs hardware-accelerated on macOS.
by Rowbyte
Rowbyte TVPixel is an effect plugin for After Effects and Premiere Pro that pixelates footage into red, green and blue pixels like a real TV or LCD screen, with custom pixel gap controls.
by AEJuice
AEJuice Film Noise is a pack of pre-rendered noise, grain, and dirt elements for After Effects, Premiere Pro, and DaVinci Resolve. It includes 31 digital film noise clips delivered as 4K MP4 files.
by Video Copilot
Saber is a free After Effects plug-in from Video Copilot for creating energy beams, lightsabers, lasers, portals, neon lights, electric, and haze effects. It includes 50 presets and works with dynamic text and mask outlines.
by Baskl.ai
CorridorKey brings Corridor Digital's CorridorKey to After Effects, DaVinci Resolve, and Premiere Pro through a plugin implementation for easy use. Currently at version 1.3.0, it ranks among the most popular entries on aescripts.
by Plugin Everything
Quick Chromatic Aberration 3 is a free After Effects plugin that adds RGB shift and distortion to emulate the chromatic aberration produced by real lenses, with GPU-accelerated, 32bpc processing and per-channel control.
by Boris FX
Boris FX Sapphire Annual Subscription is a filter set for After Effects, DaVinci Resolve, and Premiere Pro, offering wipe transitions, lens flares, glares, defocus effects, and a builder for custom effects and transitions.
by Pixel Sorter Studio
Pixel Sorter 4 is a pixel-sorting plugin for After Effects, DaVinci Resolve and Premiere Pro from Pixel Sorter Studio. It creates glitch art, digital artifacts and sorted-pixel effects with constraint masks, stretch mode and animation controls.
by Boris FX
Boris FX Continuum is a collection of effects for After Effects, DaVinci Resolve and Premiere Pro. It covers AI image restoration, footage fixes, stylizing, film looks and grains, greenscreen compositing, drag-and-drop transitions and Mocha tracking built into every effect.
