What It Does
Shadow Studio 3 generates raytraced shadows and lights in After Effects using point, directional, or inner shadow modes. The plugin simulates 3D lighting phenomena like global illumination, ambient occlusion, subsurface scattering, and glossy reflections, all based on your alpha channel. It works with both realistic and stylized projects, from soft drops to glowing accents.
Key Features
Raytracing for shadows and lights. The core rendering approach calculates how light interacts with your layer’s alpha, producing accurate shadows and volumous results.
RGBA Pipeline. Shadows can inherit source pixel colors, useful for colorful reflections or glowing stylized effects. You can apply this to realistic glossy surfaces or exaggerated art direction.
Gradient editor. Build custom gradients with animation, offset, looping, linear gamma, and no-interpolation modes. Lets you fine-tune falloff and color spread.
Inner shadows as a checkbox. Compatible with all lighting modes, not a separate effect. You can combine inner shadows with point lights, directional lights, or inverse modes.
37 After Effects blending modes. Plus alpha biasing, matte gamma, and texturing controls. Selectively apply grain or noise to specific shadow areas using threshold settings.
Over 36 presets. Includes practical setups like Directional Point Rig (360° orbiting light with radius and speed sliders) and Utility Bevel (adds subtle depth without keyframes). Presets require CC 2021 or later.
Compositing controls. Control how the shadow mixes with your comp. Use blending modes, alpha bias, and texture layering to match the shadow to your scene.
Who It’s For
Useful for title design, product shots, and motion graphics where you need realistic lighting without rendering 3D elements separately. Also works for retro or lo-fi styles using pixelation or gradient tricks. Artists working on kinetic typography or abstract compositions can push the plugin toward glitch or illustrative results.
Pricing
$74.95 for a single-user license. Floating and render-only licenses cost extra. If you bought Shadow Studio 2 on aescripts after September 1, 2023, the upgrade is $20. Earlier purchases upgrade for $30. Trial version available. No subscription model.