What It Does

GPUDog is a growing collection of GPU-accelerated effects for After Effects, organized into categories: glitch, distortion, generative, stylize, typography, matte, and filter. Each effect, called a “gpuppy,” runs as a WGSL shader rendered live via Metal on macOS and Vulkan/D3D12 on Windows. Every parameter is exposed directly in the Effect Controls panel, so dragging a value updates the comp in real time without a render delay.

The current pack includes 47 effects total: 13 available free at full quality, and 34 in the Pro tier. Notable gpuppies include KIFS Fractal, Wormhole, Halftone, Dither, VHS Pro, MPEG Glitch, Long Shadow, and a JPEG compression simulator.

Key Features

Live GPU rendering. All effects run on the GPU with no offline bake step. The comp updates as you drag parameters. Supports 8/16/32-bit color and Multi-Frame Rendering.

WGSL shader editor (Pro). A CEP panel ships with a live code editor. Write or modify WGSL shaders, expose any value as a parameter, and save custom gpuppies to your local gallery. Changes compile and preview in real time.

GLSL import. Found a shader on Shadertoy or an ISF pack? The Import GLSL feature detects the dialect (Shadertoy, ISF, plain GLSL), converts it to WGSL, keeps variable names intact, and validates the output against the same compiler the plugin renders with. The result appears as a new gpuppy with your own parameters.

Fork any shipped gpuppy. Pro users can duplicate any built-in effect, edit the shader, and save it as a personal variant. Useful for adapting an existing glitch or generative look to a specific project without starting from scratch.

Typed effect categories. Effects are grouped by function: Typography (ASCII, Matrix Rain, Typewriter), Generative (KIFS Fractal, Wormhole, Ripple Warp), Distort (Wide Me, Psycho, Liquid Glass), Stylize (Halftone, Dither, CRT), Glitch (VHS, MPEG Glitch, Errors Render), Matte (Long Shadow, Bevel, Stroke), and Filter (Color Grader, Color Temperature).

Ongoing updates. New gpuppies are added to the same plugin install. Version 1.3 added a built-in font atlas for text-based shader effects like ASCII and Matrix Rain, plus Japanese character set support.

Who It’s For

Motion designers who need glitch, datamosh, or generative looks without building them from scratch in expressions or third-party apps. The free tier covers basic needs like chromatic aberration, dithering, and simple generative grids. Pro is worth it if you want the full distortion and glitch set, or if you plan to write or import custom shaders. The GLSL importer makes it practical to bring Shadertoy experiments directly into an AE comp.

Requires After Effects 2023 or later on macOS (Apple Silicon) or Windows 10+.

Pricing

  • Free: $0. Includes 13 gpuppies at full quality. All Pro effects are previewable with a watermark. The shader editor is locked.
  • Pro (monthly): $19/month. Includes all 34 Pro gpuppies, the live WGSL editor, and all future additions.
  • Pro (one-time): $99 perpetual license. Same Pro feature set, single payment.

A launch sale is currently running with reduced pricing on the Pro tiers.