After Effects 24.1 is now available for download!

[nishu_kush]

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.

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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.

If you are experiencing any issues, please create a new thread explaining your problem so we can help.

[jackthegiantslayer]

It's mindboggling. We can now import 3D models, snap them etc. but still somehow can't align 3D layers. It almost feels like an insult.

[֑nubnubbud]

it's not the effort that's the issue, it's the needed effort to do anything, any more. the program is now 30 years old, and it has never gotten a significant refactor to any of its core systems. All its current systems appear to me as quick fixes and little hacks that became permanent solutions and primary functions, but are in reality hugely inefficient at a base level, and require rewriting large systems to remove what was supposed to have been dealt with long ago. We call this "technical debt", and AE is made of it.
Practically speaking, it would be cheaper to make a new program, but from what I see, their entire developer population, which at times seems to be 400, and at times seems to be 12, can only play catch-up on bugs and implement a minor feature here or there to a more modern part of the program, like building a house on the balcony of a labyrinthine castle.

[scrozier]

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

[Branded Productions]

Well, it's not that advanced.

[jackthegiantslayer]

I see the Adobe team has gone back to the classic silent treatment mode they used with the original Uservoice. Great job rebuilding user resentment! We just love having our legitimate concerns absolutely ignored.

[Sterphy]

I'm worried that they're going to drop After Effects completely.  That's the only thing that can explain their complete lack of interest in AE users or making the app actually work properly.  That can't be that workshy

[Sterphy]

I saw in the Reddit that Adobe had talks with people like Puget Systems on how they can improve and optimise AE, but ultimately it's just too much work for them to go through the years of old code that they have just continued to add to, so they're not going to bother.   I guess that means they'll either have to rush to overhaul their terrible product when a decent competitor comes along, or they'll just buy out the competition.  I just hope it's not the latter, because I'm sick of Adobe making it hard for me to do my job

[InfiniteWhale]

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. 

[jackthegiantslayer]

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.

[jackthegiantslayer]

I mean, as cute as it sounds I would never, ever use After Effects for importing or rendering 3D objects. I would use C4D, like most of my colleagues.

That they decided to put all their resources into this feature, adding another rickety layer on top of a trembling scaffold, knowing it would only serve to insert a dozen new bugs, instead of addressing the almost preposterously long requests for background autosave, live text from AI files, mkv support, etc. 

We begged on UserVoice for years which they ignored, they bump us over here and then continue to ignore those same requests despite the upvotes, despite the system they insist is for our benefit as opposed to being some wishing well we drop our coins into endlessly. 

I am grateful for many of the changes they have implemented, just having the xyz coordinates a default has saved so much time. But having this trickle of minor improvements while they slam us with whiz bang 3D importing I will never ever use is just galling.

Adobe, please, we beg you...fix your foundation before adding one more floor!!!

[David222648432kye]

Cavalry

[IanB82C]

Don't update!!!, crashes. Get it right for once Adobe. Dont you bug-test before release??? I fear everytime there is an adobe update

[Sterphy]

Can you please just release a version that isn't worse than the last one?? You haven't managed that in SO long!  Just stop adding new features , fix the bugs and make it run smoothly!  That's all we want from you!  We just want you to release something that works right! 

[OussK]

THey there! I totally get where you're coming from. It can be frustrating when updates don't seem to improve things. Stability and smooth performance are key, no doubt about it. Let's hope the team takes note and focuses on ironing out those kinks in the next release. Thanks for voicing your thoughts!

[֑nubnubbud]

so, uh, still no multithreading for most existing effects, I take it?
it's called after effects for a reason, y'know...

[OussK]

Multithreading could really amp up the performance, especially given the name "After Effects." Here's hoping they prioritize optimizing those effects soon. Thanks for highlighting this crucial aspect!, but let's be clear at least we have Multithreading now 🙂 

[HunchoDreams]

We could use more GPU accelerated Effects. It's a shame that Premiere has GPU accelerated Warp Stabilizer and After Effects doesnt.

[OussK]

Yes that's correct

[֑nubnubbud]

It is not multithreading. You assign an entire instance of the renderer to each core, then have them render the next non-accounted for frame. True multithreading would mean having a process that uses multiple coress to work simultaneously on the same data, not hamhandedly loading up a dozen copies of a render engine and chucking the same RAM data at all of em. The difference, is that with multi-frame rendering, you could have done 15 frames but not the next one during playback, whereas in multithreaded rendering, you could assign 8 cores to the next frame and 8 to the following one, which would reduce wasting resources on future frames while the next few are pending. The current system is not set up for consistent playback without caching, so you might as well expedite frames in a continuous manner. That way, if you have a 64 core machine and a 32 frame shot or don't care about 3 seconds down the line, you're not wasting half of your processing power. 

But all they did is reintroduce the "hack" they removed in 2015 and call it a feature, pretending we wouldn't notice it was even worse in performance than the hack.

[David222648432kye]

The codebase of AE is more than likely being held together with duck tape and Gorilla Glue at this point.  Every release is breaking something that should be simply working.  Any plans to rewrite this dinosaur?  You are starting to see some competition from programs that actually work.  I am dangerously close to simply hanging on to AE for legacy reasons for a few years while I switch over to a more stable and modern  software.

[Sterphy]

I've got my eye on Cavalry, but it seems a bit basic at the moment.  The other thing I'm looking at is DUIK for Blender, but I am seriously considering cancelling my entire Adobe CC subscription.  AE is the only thing that doesn't have a much better alternative ready to go, but Adobe seem to be doing there best to make their one unique app unusable 

[֑nubnubbud]

I yelled at them till they gave me my CS6 perpetual license back. Working like a charm, and 22% faster renders, too!

They're totally unaware that they have 4 billion in profits and they're sitting on a 20 year monopoly on indie VFX if they put 20 million toward a new After Effects, but no. The shareholders want their money NOW!

I can basically guarantee it's more expensive to maintain this 1993 lemon than deprecate it and make a new program.