What It Does
RXXR is an After Effects plugin that generates ASCII art and pixel-based glitch effects. It gives you direct control over how those effects look and behave, from the character set and grid style to distortion, flicker, and color treatment. It works as a generator, meaning you apply it to footage or compositions and dial in the chaos from there.
Key Features
Preset styles. RXXR ships with a range of built-in presets covering different visual modes: Bars, Kana, Tech Grid, Shapes, Braille, Binary, Heavy, Blocks, Letters, and more. These serve as solid starting points before you dig into customization.
Custom Elements. Connect your own animated symbols to use as the ASCII characters. Each step has adjustable color and visibility, so you can build looks that go well beyond the defaults. Version 1.0.5 added a per-step preview function to make this process easier to manage.
Edge Detect. A newer input mode that restricts the ASCII elements to the edges of objects in the frame, useful for creating outlined or wireframe-style glitch aesthetics.
Distortion controls. The plugin includes flickers, X/Y offsets, and chromatic aberration. These can be applied independently or layered together for more complex breakdowns.
Audio, mask, and luma map inputs. Connect an audio track to drive the glitch effect rhythmically. Masks and luma maps are also supported as inputs for more traditional compositing setups.
Built-in secondary effects. Echo, Posterize Time, Flicker, Line Switch, and Offset are all included as additional processing options on top of the core ASCII generator.
Who It’s For
RXXR is well-suited for motion designers working on tech-themed title sequences, music video visuals, or cyberpunk-adjacent broadcast work. The audio-reactive input makes it a natural fit for live event graphics or visualizer projects. The custom elements feature gives character animators and typographers a way to use proprietary symbol sets as the building blocks of the effect.
Compatible with After Effects 2020 through 2026 on Mac and Windows. A free trial is available on the product page.
Pricing
RXXR is a one-time purchase at $30.00 for a single-user license. Floating server and render-only license options are also available at checkout.