What It Does
TheSauceCode converts your After Effects footage into character-based ASCII art. It captures frames from your composition, opens a standalone editor where you adjust the effect in real time, then exports PNG sequences with alpha channels ready to composite back into your project.
Key Features
Dedicated ASCII Editor. The plugin launches a separate editor window where you preview and adjust the ASCII conversion in real time before committing to render.
Procedural Animation System. An Evolution parameter lets you interpolate settings across the timeline, automating changes to the ASCII look over time without manual keyframing.
Full Character Customization. Control character fills, strokes, and expression-driven masks. The text styling stays flexible and animatable.
Isolated Sessions. Each effect instance maintains its own session, so you can apply different ASCII treatments to multiple layers simultaneously and save configurations independently.
1:1 Rendering. What you see in the editor is what exports, no surprises. Outputs PNG sequences with alpha transparency for compositing.
Who It’s For
Useful for retro or glitch aesthetics, 8-bit title sequences, data visualization projects, or anywhere you need that terminal-style look. Works on Windows and macOS (M-series chips only) with After Effects 2023 and later.
Pricing
Single user license is $29.99. Trial version available. The developer notes this is version 1.1 with ongoing development and welcomes feedback.