by Dragoy·Motion Graphics
Images © Dragoy. Used for product review; image policy.
Tracery earns its place in the aescripts library for turning tracked footage into generative overlays and connection graphics without leaving After Effects.
Tracery is an After Effects plugin from Dragoy for automating color-based object tracking and generating customizable visual overlays. It produces complex visual noise, data-informed diagrams, tracking graphics, and stylish motion elements derived directly from video content.
Its Dynamic Visualization System generates responsive overlays that automatically adapt to moving targets, and it can track up to 512 objects at once, with more available by adding another layer. A multi-threaded mode with adjustable quality settings lets you balance precision against render speed. For connecting tracked points, Tracery offers Sequential, Star, Full mesh, and Minimum Spanning Tree layouts.
Tracery works inside After Effects' native environment, so no external applications are required. It supports a wide range of versions, from CC 2014 through After Effects 2026. Version 1.1 added the Star, Full, and MST connection types alongside several stability fixes.
Tracery is best for after Effects artists creating tracking-based overlays, data-style diagrams, and generative motion elements from video content.
Tracery is completely free to download and use.
Tracery supports a broad range of After Effects releases, from CC 2014 through 2026, including CC 2015, 2015.3, 2017, 2018, CC 2019, and the 2020 through 2025 versions. That coverage means it fits both long-standing installations and current releases. Tracery runs inside After Effects' native environment, so you don't need any separate application to use it alongside your existing projects.
Tracery can track up to 512 objects simultaneously within a single layer. If you need to follow more targets than that, you can simply add another layer to extend the count. Its Dynamic Visualization System generates responsive overlays that automatically adapt as those tracked targets move through the footage, and a multi-threaded mode with adjustable quality settings helps balance precision against render speed when handling many objects.
Tracery works directly within After Effects' native environment, so no external apps are required to run it. Everything from color-based tracking to generating overlays, diagrams, and connection graphics happens inside After Effects itself. Version 1.1 also resolved a crash tied to an outdated MSVCP140.dll library and fixed compatibility issues that appeared when third-party OpenGL plugins were present in a composition.
Tracery includes four connection algorithms for laying out links between tracked points. Sequential creates chain or loop connections; Star connects every bounding box center to the first, topmost point for a single-hub pattern; Full builds a complete graph where each center connects to every other, the most visually dense option; and MST uses a Minimum Spanning Tree approximation for connections with minimum total distance. The Star, Full, and MST types were added in version 1.1.
Tracery is listed as free here in the catalog. Licensing terms can change over time, so it's worth checking the developer's page on aescripts for the current details before relying on it in a project. Feature-wise, the listing covers color-based object tracking, the Dynamic Visualization System, multi-threaded rendering with adjustable quality, and the full set of Sequential, Star, Full, and MST connection layouts.
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