by Real Creations·Motion Graphics
Images © Real Creations. Used for product review; image policy.
quadrateFX earns its place in the aescripts library as a focused generator for treemap-style layouts, an uncommon niche among After Effects tools. The November 2025 update keeps it current with the Advanced 3D renderer and recent AE builds.
quadrateFX is an After Effects tool that generates random patterns of vector tiled rectangles, simulating the data visualization method also known as treemapping. The output consists of vector quads.
A recent addition lets you use a custom layer as the source for splitting the quads. That mode exposes X and Y grid, sampling radius, split randomness, exaggerate and luminance settings, and it can sample either luminance values or RGB color values from the chosen layer. quadrateFX also creates 3D quads and includes an option to generate a solid layer.
The plugin runs across a broad range of After Effects versions, from CC 2014 up to 2024. Version 1.51, released on November 20, 2025, fixed a localization issue affecting the SampledQuads mode, resolved a problem with 3D quad creation under the Advanced 3D renderer, and updated the license framework. A demo video is available.
quadrateFX is best for after Effects artists building treemap-style patterns of tiled rectangles, especially those who want to drive the layout from a custom source layer.
quadrateFX is completely free to download and use.
quadrateFX supports a wide span of After Effects releases, from CC 2014 through CC 2015, CC 2015.3, CC 2017, CC 2018 and CC 2019, and on to 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024. Support for After Effects CS6 and CC was removed in version 1.50, so those older builds are no longer covered. If you run a recent release, version 1.51 also fixed an issue that had prevented the creation of 3D quads when the Advanced 3D renderer was selected.
quadrateFX is listed as free here in our catalog, so you can add it to After Effects without a purchase on our end. Licensing terms and activation details can change over time, so check the developer's page on aescripts for the current details. Version 1.51 updated the license framework and included a fix for online activation connection issues, which is worth knowing about if you run into any activation trouble during setup.
quadrateFX can use a custom layer as the source for splitting the quads, a feature added in version 1.50. That mode includes X and Y grid, sampling radius, split randomness, exaggerate and luminance settings, and it can sample either luminance values or RGB color values from the layer. Version 1.51 also fixed a localization issue that had prevented the SampledQuads mode from working in installations of After Effects other than English.
quadrateFX creates 3D quads, and version 1.51 fixed an issue that had prevented their creation when the Advanced 3D renderer was selected in the latest versions of After Effects. If you were running a current AE build with that renderer active, updating to 1.51 resolves that problem. The same release also carried a localization fix and a license framework update, so it is the recommended build for anyone working with 3D output.
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