What It Does
Local Diffusion runs Stable Diffusion directly inside After Effects without sending data to the cloud. The plugin generates images from text prompts and can interpolate between concepts over time. It supports both text-to-image generation and image-guided creation where you feed it existing footage to influence the output.
Note: The developer has announced that Local Diffusion will be deprecated on May 30, 2026, with no further updates after that date.
Key Features
Stable Diffusion XL integration. Uses the latest SDXL model for detailed, photorealistic results. The plugin also includes a latent consistency model that produces good images in just 4-8 steps instead of the usual 20-30.
Prompt weighting via masks. Enter prompts through mask layer names and control their influence by adjusting mask opacity. This makes it simple to blend concepts like “dreamy forest” with “calm river” by keyframing the mask values.
Prompt interpolation. Keyframe the mask opacity to animate between different subjects. You can morph “a zombie” into “a clown” or transition “industrial robot” to “person made of clay” over time.
Source + Text mode. Feed the plugin a layer from your composition to guide image generation. This lets you apply AI styling to your own footage while maintaining the composition and structure.
Full generation controls. Adjust model selection, aspect ratio, guidance scale, seed, and scheduler type. The decoding quality switch lets you preview faster by reducing quality temporarily.
Integrated super-resolution. Upscale generated images up to 3072×3072 pixels using the built-in AI upscaler.
Negative prompts. Prefix any prompt with ”-” to tell the model what to avoid in the output.
Who It’s For
Useful for motion designers who need unique texture plates, concept artists exploring visual ideas, or anyone creating abstract backgrounds. The prompt interpolation feature works well for music videos or experimental animation where you want images to morph continuously.
Requires specific hardware for GPU acceleration: NVIDIA GPU on Windows, or M1/M2/Intel with AMD GPU on macOS 12.3+. CPU-only mode works but runs much slower. Test the free trial before purchasing since GPU support varies by system.
Pricing
$49.99 for a permanent license. Works in After Effects 2022 and later. The trial version is fully functional with a watermark that disappears when you enter a license code.