Shadow Caster
is a set of 3 presets for After Effects that allow you to add natural-looking shadows and lighting to any layer. They're easy to customize, fast to render, and can even be dynamically controlled by the position of another layer.
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Controls
Shadow Caster.ffx
- Global Control Layer: Choose which layer acts as the global override controller.
- Color: Color of the shadow.
- Opacity: Opacity of the shadow.
- Direction: Direction of the shadow.
- Distance: Length of the shadow.
- Softness: Uniform softness of the shadow.
- Falloff: Falloff strength of the shadow.
- Spread: Variable softness of the shadow based on the distance from the layer.
- Distance Offset (Global Only): Length of the shadow when using a global controller.
- Enable Bevel: Bevel visibility.
- Bevel Color: Color of the bevel highlight.
- Bevel Thickness: Thickness of the bevel.
- Bevel Intensity: Brightness of the bevel.
Shadow Caster - Global Controls.ffx
These controls override all layers with a global control layer selected.
- Use As Light Source: Dynamically control shadows based on their proximity to this layer.
- Color: Color of the shadows.
- Opacity: Opacity of the shadows.
- Direction: Direction of the shadows.
- Distance: Length of the shadows.
- Softness: Uniform softness of the shadows.
- Falloff: Falloff strength of the shadows.
- Spread: Variable softness of the shadows based on the distance from the layer.
- Distance Offset: Length of the shadows when using a global controller.
- Bevel Color: Color of the bevel highlight.
- Bevel Thickness: Thickness of the bevel.
- Bevel Intensity: Brightness of the bevel.
Shadow Caster - Light.ffx
This layer will automatically move to its parent layer's location.
- Color: Color of the light.
- Size: Size of the light.
- Opacity: Opacity of the light.
Installation
Copy the .ffx files into the User Presets
folder for your current version of
After Effects.
- OSX: ~/Documents/Adobe/After Effects 20xx\User Presets
- Windows: ~\Documents\Adobe\After Effects 20xx\User Presets
If you already have After Effects open, refresh the effects & presets list. You should
now see each preset in the User Presets
folder.
Changelog
1.0.0
Released: 2024-2-13
Initial Release