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nishu_kush
Community Manager
Community Manager
December 7, 2023
Question

After Effects 24.1 is now available for download!

  • December 7, 2023
  • 20 replies
  • 26814 views

After Effects 24.1 is Here

Greetings, After Effects Users!

The December release of After Effects 24.1 is here, packed with dedicated 3D-related features such as native model import, alignment tools, Image-Based Lighting, and high-fidelity, GPU-accelerated renders!

Seize the excitement of this update available now on the Creative Cloud desktop app. Let's explore the multitude of incredible possibilities.


What's New

3D model import

Natively import 3D models (GLB, GLTF) with materials directly into After Effects and design your compositions in a unified space with 3D shapes and text.

 

 

 

 

Image-Based Lighting

Use 360-degree High Dynamic Range Image (HDRI) files as a light source to realistically place models into a scene with complementary lighting and shadows, making objects appear as though they naturally belong. 

 

 

 

 

Advanced 3D renderer 

Render 3D motion graphics with this high-performance, GPU-powered engine that offers high-quality antialiasing and transparency.

 

 

 

 

2D/3D interoperability

Seamlessly use 2D and 3D elements in the same composition to create more visually exciting and complex animations.

 

 

 

Animated lights and cameras 

Get creative flexibility by extracting lights and cameras from a 3D model to improve the lighting in your scene and create dynamic camera effects.

 

 

 

 

3D Snapping 

You can now snap layers in 3D space while dragging the constrained X, Y, and Z position handles of the 3D Gizmo. This includes the XY, XZ, and YZ combo handles of the 3D position gizmo.

 

 

 

3D model-driven effects

Combine 2D and 3D workflows in one composition. Effects that reference another layer, such as Displacement Map, Vector Blur, or Calculations, can use a 3D model layer as a source to create highly stylized renders. 

 

 

 

 

 

Refreshed animation presets 

Updated and improved existing animation presets that have a modernized look and are easier to configure.

 

 

Features in Beta

Import OBJ 3D models

Natively import OBJ 3D models into your project and drop them into your composite alongside other 2D and 3D layers.

 

 

 

 

What's Fixed

  • Clearing the preferences from Startup and Repair no longer crashes After Effects.
  • In the Properties panel, the Fill and Stroke colors no longer reset when switching from solid color to gradient and back.
  • In the Properties panel, Stroke controls now correctly toggle when the Stroke checkbox is changed. 
  • Changing the frame rate of a composition no longer causes the UI to freeze or lag.
  • Keyframes on time stretched response design now correctly follow the cursor when dragged. 
  • Blocked older version of Animation Composer that caused After Effects to crash.

How to update After Effects to 24.1

Open the Creative Cloud desktop application and click the Updates tab on the top left. Find After Effects in the list and click Update.

 

 

I don't see the update in my Creative Cloud desktop application. What should I do?

Click Help > Check for Updates from the Creative Cloud desktop application to refresh it.

 

20 replies

jackthegiantkiller
Inspiring
January 24, 2024

So let me get this straight...we can now "snap" 3D layers, yet somehow, inexplicably, we still cannot use the align function for 3D layers. Can someone from Adobe deign to respond to this? It has been asked about for years and years and years and yet somehow you can muster up support for importing 3D models, snapping, etc.

Known Participant
January 12, 2024

I spent thousands building an edit PC tailored specifically to run After Effects, and it runs noticeably slower than my ancient mac running AE2019.  Even using the file menu lags! Adobe truly is a monumental failure of a company. 

Inspiring
December 18, 2023

Still no motion blur in the Advanced 3D Rendder eh. 

Participating Frequently
December 22, 2023

Well, it's not that advanced.

Known Participant
December 18, 2023

Great.  I'm looking forward to seeing what features we've been asking for haven't been implemented and what new and exciting bugs will have me tearing my hair out. 

Participating Frequently
December 22, 2023

Background Autosave? Nah... Layer Groups? Nah. After 25 years of AE compositing and feature requesting, I'd jump ship tomorrow if there were a comprable product with a dev team that listened to the user base.

Known Participant
December 24, 2023

I honestly cannot get my head aaround their absolute refusal to implement basic changes that people have been crying out for for years, but it's worse than that now - it's not just refusing to add basic features, it's the fact that AE is functionally worse every year.  It's SO slow to use on both my edit computers in the office and at home (mac and PC) that even doing the basic stuff is taking twice as long.  They say "what are your specs" like it matters - the specs aare irrelevant when countless people have the same problem.  It needs major work to fix this broken app and nobody seems willing to put the effort in.  I cannot wait until I don't have to pay Adobe any more, so hopefully a rival will come along and make something that works. 

Participating Frequently
December 14, 2023

Now introducing "Super Slow Clock Cooker" mode! All you have to do is open After Effects like normal, and add any new layer into any composition. This feature helps you double your hourly income by taking twice as long to do literally anything! It works on old systems and new systems alike! We guarantee this version will increase your render times by at least 200%! You're welcome, hourly compositors!

-Adobe

Participating Frequently
December 14, 2023

But wait, there's more! Order now and recieve the Clock Quadrupler! That's right, to enable this feature, just open Premiere along side After Effects, and you will receive not double, but quadruple the render times! 4x the render 4x the hours! Who needs economic stimulus when you can have all this render time?!

Known Participant
December 19, 2023

Who do you think works harder at Adobe - the dev team or the people who have to make excuses for AE? 

Participating Frequently
December 12, 2023

Fantastic news! After Effects 24.1 is now ready for download! Can't wait to dive into the latest features and improvements. Thanks for the update! 🌟 #AfterEffects #Update

Participating Frequently
December 12, 2023

Exciting news! After Effects 24.1 is now available for download! Looking forward to exploring the new features and enhancements. 🚀 #AfterEffects #Update

Participant
December 9, 2023

I can't import PSD file. It's freezing and I have to force quit AE 24.1.0. In After  Effects 24 beta version this import is woking fine.

nishu_kush
Community Manager
Community Manager
December 11, 2023

Hi eu7200,

 

Sorry to hear that.

Could you share more details? Do you get any error messages? Does it only happen with the files that have text in it? Feel free to share the PSD file with us.

Looking forward to your response.

 

Thanks,

Nishu

Participant
December 11, 2023

Hi, I'm working on Windows 11 all updates.

When I import a PSD file it's just freezing and I have to force shut down AE. Yes PSD file contain image and text.

 

Known Participant
December 9, 2023

Projects from older versions of After Effects that use Cineware no longer work. I get a message that the file is corrupted.

Can someone confirm if this is happening to anyone else? Or maybe I should reinstall everything 😞

 

nishu_kush
Community Manager
Community Manager
December 11, 2023

That's not ideal. Does it happen with all the projects? Can you share the project file with us to test at our end? Feel free to DM me the download link if you don't want to share it publicly.

We're here to help.

 

Thanks,

Nishu

Known Participant
December 11, 2023

Hello Nishu, I sent you the project in a message.

In the meantime, I went back to the previous version AE, so I didn't try with more projects to see if the same thing happens.

Thank you

Josie_
Known Participant
December 8, 2023

Just a little confused, is 3D object importing now avail in 24.1 or do we still have to install Beta?

VictoriaNece
Community Manager
Community Manager
December 8, 2023

3D model import (GLB/GLTF files) is available in 24.1. OBJ import is still in beta.

Josie_
Known Participant
December 8, 2023

Ah ok, thats good to know. Thankyou