What It Does
Power Sphere generates 3D curved surfaces directly in After Effects using GPU acceleration. Texture a sphere, distort it into ellipses, unfold it into planes, or invert it for lens-like effects. The plugin renders with self-shadowing, reflections, and depth of field while integrating with your composition’s lights and cameras.
Key Features
Elliptic distortion. Deform spheres along any axis to create oblate or prolate shapes. Useful for planets, bubbles, or abstract motion graphics.
Unfolding controls. Animate the sphere opening into a flat plane. Set the inversion parameter to create inside-out effects, like a fisheye lens mapped onto geometry.
Reflections map. Apply environment textures that reflect across the sphere’s surface. Works with standard After Effects layers as reflection sources.
Depth of field rendering. The plugin calculates realistic camera blur based on distance from the active composition camera. Pairs with self-shadowing for photorealistic results.
Slide texture. Move the applied texture across the sphere’s surface without keyframing layer positions.
Depth composite. Integrate the sphere into 3D scenes with proper Z-depth sorting against other layers.
Who It’s For
Motion designers building 3D title sequences or product visualizations without leaving After Effects. VFX artists needing quick sphere elements for lens distortions or reflections. Anyone tired of switching to Cinema 4D for basic spherical geometry.
Pricing
$39.99 for a single-user license. A floating server license is available for larger studios. The developer also offers a Power Bundle: combine Power Sphere with Power Cylinder for $70 (discount applies automatically at checkout). Compatible with After Effects CS6 through 2026, including Apple Silicon support.