You can convert After Effects layers to 3D. If you activate the 3D checkbox in a layer, it can be manipulated in a 3D space. A 3D layer will have more position properties to use, notably, you can change a layer’s position in Z-space, rather than just X and Y. 3D layers can also interact with camera layers and light layers. 3D layer can receive light and cast shadows on other 3D layers.
To render 3D graphics you need to select a rendering engine. In AE 2020 there are two to choose from, Basic 3D and Cinema 4D. With the Basic 3D engine you can render layers in 3D space with lights, cameras, motion blur, and transparency. The Cinema 4D engine is appropriate for extruding text and shapes.
Building a 3D video intro/ident
In the following video, I talk through a simple 3D shot setup. We put together this video ident, it’s a piece I made a while back for an online cooking segment. The piece utilises multiple assets in 3D space. I look at positioning assets in Z-space, manipulating camera position, and adding lights to cast shadows. The composition uses the Basic 3D rendering engine.
Adding lights and text extrusion
The following video is getting a little bit old, but it is still a good overview of the After Effects 3D environment. In this video, I build a 3d space including a ground plane, 3d extruded text, a lighting setup, and 3D camera.
Note: In AE 2020 the ‘3D Ray Trace’ rendering engine has been removed. You will need to use the ‘Cinema 4D’ rendering engine instead.
