Known Participant

Question

Welcome to 3D Model Import in After Effects!

Forum|Forum|3 years ago
October 18, 2022
27 replies
61607 views

Today is one of those really exciting days for us on the After Effects team. The ongoing work building out our 3D design space now gets the best addition yet – native support for 3D models. As of today’s build (23.1 Build 44) you can now import .OBJ, .GLB or .GLTF models directly into your project, and drop them into your composition.

We are anxious to get this into your hands so we can learn more about the features you want us to focus on. This is not meant to replace a dedicated 3D product. We are building a 3D toolbox to enhance your creative options directly within After Effects.

Choose CMD/CTRL + I (or File > Import > File) and import your model from the browser window. When you drag your model into the comp, a Model Settings dialog will appear. You can also reopen this dialog any time from the Layer menu. Change the settings to get the model to the sizing you want, or choose the ‘Make Comp Size’ button to have AE do it for you.

With this first build, the models will import with any materials already attached, into your composition – alongside other 2D or 3D layers. In the same way that there is now a default 3D camera until you choose to add your own, there is a default light which will be disabled when you add new lights to the scene.

Rendering-wise, we are starting from the ground up. When you add a model to your comp, your 3D renderer will change to the new ‘Mercury 3D’. Turn on Draft 3D to use the ground plane or extended viewer, as well as faster previews once your composite gets busy. Work on the render engine has been focused on basic functionality, and there are plenty of features not present yet, such as shadows or material modifications. We look forward to learning more about what you need here specifically.

We’ve created this FAQ with answers to the first set of questions we anticipate, as well as Known Issues in this build. We will add on to this as we go along.

We hope you are as excited as we are, and we can’t wait to see what you create. ENJOY!

Feature request

Show previous replies

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Thomas220625322nuf

New Participant

Hello, it would be fantastic if you could integrate a 3D orthographic camera as well. This would make beautiful isometric animations possible.

Shebbe

Community Expert

Agreed!

T

Tief

New Participant

How will the 3d integration affect computer performance? I am building a new computer now and would like to consider the AE advances. Cheers Tief

TimKurkoski

Community Manager

Hi @Tief,

The Mercury 3D renderer uses the GPU, so a fast GPU with lots of VRAM would be your wisest path if you plan on working heavily in 3D. Apart from that general guidance, I don't have specific recommendations yet.

As with any 3D or graphics app, performance will depend a lot on what you're asking the renderer to do. Generally speaking, Mercury 3D is tuned for fast, game-style or mobile device rendering (it shares the same render engine with Adobe Aero), so we've seen it quite performant in most cases, but more complex scenes will slow it down.

Mercury 3D is still in Beta and it is still under heavy development with more features (including render-intensive features) coming, so we haven't profiled performance characteristics because too much is changing. Once we get closer to the first public release, we will be doing more performance testing and may be able to provide additional guidance.

C

Carmen Maria28248834lax4

New Participant

I would like to have the posibility of unwrap textures or apply them maybe with an effect, to costumize models. Right now I didn't find the way. In case I do that in substance, can I import the file with those textures applied? Those will be rendered?

TimKurkoski

Community Manager

Hi @Carmen Maria28248834lax4 ,

Thanks for the feedback. We're currently working on how to allow access to textures on 3D model layers in a comp. Until that is ready and released to After Effects Beta, yes, you can absolutely apply textures in Substance or another 3D application. Save the 3D model to GLB or GLTF format and then import that file into After Effects Beta.

PerfectBake420

New Participant

Hello. I am running AE 23.2 and I am unable to import obj files. It does not show up as a acceptable file to import. Is there a setting or a plugin that needs added/adjusted for this to work?

TimKurkoski

Community Manager

Hi @PerfectBake420 ,

3D model import is currently only available in After Effects Beta. The current beta version of After Effects Beta is 23.3 build 32.

It sounds to me like you're looking in the public release build of After Effects, which is version 23.2.

You can install After Effects Beta, or update to the latest version, via the Creative Cloud desktop app. More information about Beta apps is available here:
https://helpx.adobe.com/x-productkb/global/creative-cloud-beta.html

PerfectBake420

New Participant

Thank you. That was my issue. I downloaded the beta and it is working.

B

bobbyworld

New Participant

I think it would be important to be able to add materials.

C

Christine24511803xxz8

Participating Frequently

agreed @bobbyworld ! Can you outline for us what you would expect to be able to do with materials in AE? It's always good to hear what you are looking for in more detail.

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bobbyworld

New Participant

I would like to be more creative. 3D models are just geometry without textures and materials. I curently have a growing library of 3D materials that I've acquired. I am also seeing AR graphics for sports on Broadcast.

A

andyt121

Participating Frequently

Hi,

I've recently imported a 3D model / FBX file which looked all fine. Since updating the latest AE Beta it's turned into a purple box. Are you able to tell me why pls?

A

andyt121

Participating Frequently

I've since tried to export the same model from Blender as a glb and it's importing like a clay render with no textures. I've also re-imported an obj file of a drone which I imported into an earlier Beta version and it looked all good. Now that's looking like a clay render too?

A

andyt121

Participating Frequently

I've since gone back a version and things are working again so I think your latest version something has broke!

When it comes to importing

dwalker2161

New Participant

This feature has been super awesome for my current gig temping in CG characters as I'm much more skilled in After Effects compared to comping/working in Blender or Maya.

I have found an issue with the model textures seemingly randomly not being able to link. They imported in fine originally and then potentially after an update or even randomly they'll no longer link. Even the error popup saying that it can't find the texture gives the correct location of where the texture files live. A more manual relink process like normal imported files would be great for this.

A

Ahmet27437470mcvy

New Participant

wowww.In which version is this possible?

Christine GoldbyAuthor

Known Participant

Download the latest beta from your Creative Cloud app (located under Beta apps on the left-hand side) and you should be good to go!

A

Ahmet27437470mcvy

New Participant

Yeah, I check. It looks amazing, I was waiting for this feature. When I checked now, it didn't run an animation with a skinweight-made rig. When will the Rigged animation feature come, will it come in the version in 2023? looking forward to this feature

M

michaelp28721996

Participating Frequently

Congrats to this new 3D feature! I've been testing it lately and it's already usable for me despite it's limitations.

One request:

In your latest beta version you removed the ability to use effects on precomped 3D objects. This worked in beta 23.1.0 (build 75). Could you please restore it as it's really handy to 3D tranform the objects while having the effects:)

Bug report: Objects with transparent materials don't work in 3840x2160 resolution. Crops in the middle of the screen.

Thank you