by Pixel Sorter Studio·Motion Graphics
Images © Pixel Sorter Studio. Used for product review; image policy.
Topograph earns its place in the aescripts library as an effect that turns footage into elevation-map and topography output, with a single-frame mode that makes it usable as a design tool alongside animation.
Topograph is an effect for After Effects that brings elevation maps and topography into the application. Applied to footage, it turns source imagery into designs and animations. The effect supports two ways of working: animating, and designing on a single frame with interactive feedback as you adjust it.
The plugin runs across a wide range of After Effects releases, from CC 2015 through 2025, with matching Media Encoder support across the same versions. Version 1.0.4 arrived on December 12, 2022, adding fixed support for Mac M1. Earlier updates resolved licensing issues for network users, following the initial release in July 2019. A demo video is available for a closer look.
Topograph is listed here as free; check the developer's page for current licensing. It's part of the aescripts library, and its interactive single-frame feedback makes it usable for design work as well as animation.
Topograph is best for after Effects users who want to generate topographic designs and animations from footage, either by animating or by designing on a single frame with interactive feedback.
Topograph is completely free to download and use.
Topograph supports a broad span of After Effects releases, running on CC 2015, CC 2015.3, CC 2017, CC 2018, CC 2019, and the 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025 versions. Matching Media Encoder support covers the same range, from CC 2015 through 2025. If you work across several After Effects versions, the effect applies on each of them. For the current requirements before installing, the developer's page on aescripts is the place to confirm details for your specific setup.
Topograph runs on Apple Silicon Macs following version 1.0.4, released on December 12, 2022, which fixed support for Mac M1. Earlier in its history, version 1.0.2 resolved licensing issues related to network users, and the effect first shipped as version 1.0.0 in July 2019. If you're on an M1 machine, make sure you're on 1.0.4 or later so the M1 fix is included. The developer's page lists the full changelog if you want to review the version history before installing.
Topograph is listed here as free, so there's no price shown in this catalog. Licensing terms can change over time, so the developer's page on aescripts is the place to confirm the current arrangement and any account requirements before you download it. One earlier update, version 1.0.2, specifically addressed licensing issues for network users, which is worth noting if you plan to run the effect in a shared or networked environment rather than on a single machine.
Topograph is built for two ways of working. You can use it for animating, applying the elevation-map and topography effect to your footage, or you can design on a single frame with interactive feedback as you make adjustments. That single-frame mode makes it usable as a design tool, not only for motion, so the same effect covers both still compositions and animated ones created from footage inside After Effects.
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