What It Does

Trapcode Mir generates 3D curved surfaces inside After Effects. Think flowing terrains, abstract tunnels, fractal landscapes, or sci-fi grid environments. It runs on GPU acceleration via OpenGL, so you get fast feedback while building complex 3D scenes.

Note: This plugin is no longer sold through aescripts. The developer suggests Freeform Pro as an alternative, or purchasing the full Trapcode Suite directly from Red Giant.

Key Features

3D Model Support. Load OBJ files from the included library of 60+ models, or import your own. Models can be deformed, repeated, and animated like any other Mir surface.

Surface Presets. Choose from pre-configured material setups: Smooth Surface, Faceted, Wireframe, Chrome, Cartoon. Each preset is fully customizable for quick starts on different looks.

Repeater & Distortion. Build one surface, then duplicate and warp it using repeater controls. Good for creating complex geometric patterns or abstract motion graphics without manually keyframing each element.

Depth of Field. Adds camera-realistic blurs based on distance from the After Effects 3D camera. Useful for integrating Mir surfaces into live action footage or matching focus in composite shots.

Seamless Looping. Generates fractal-based backgrounds that loop perfectly, removing the need to manually align start and end frames.

Second-Pass Wireframe. Overlays a wireframe on top of your surface. Works well for grid-on-terrain effects or retro vector looks.

Materials & HDRI Maps. Includes 8 environment maps for photoreal reflections. Supports custom textures and has three texture filtering modes: Nearest (unfiltered), Linear (smoothed gradients), and Solid Face (one color per polygon, useful for low-poly styles).

Fractal Options. Choose from Regular, Multi, SmoothRidge, or Multi SmoothRidge fractals to vary surface displacement. Z-Range controls let you set minimum/maximum heights for creating plateaus or craters.

Polygon Types. Switch between triangle-based or quad-based polygons. Display surfaces as shaded geometry, vector-style polygons, or vertex points.

Spiral Deformation. Twist the mesh with spiral rotation for abstract animations or tunnel effects.

Native 3D Integration. Uses After Effects 3D cameras and lights, so Mir surfaces respond to your scene’s lighting and perspective like any other 3D layer.

Who It’s For

Motion designers building abstract backgrounds, sci-fi environments, or kinetic text backdrops. VFX artists adding 3D terrain elements to composites. Anyone who needs fast 3D surface generation without leaving After Effects.

Good pairing with GEOlayers if you’re building topographic maps or data-driven terrains (25% bundle discount when purchased together).

Pricing

Originally $149.99, often on sale for $112.50. One-time purchase. Upgrades free for purchases after September 30, 2018; $49 for earlier versions.

Again: aescripts no longer carries this product. Check with Red Giant or ToolFarm for current availability.

System Requirements

  • Mac: Modern Nvidia or AMD GPU supporting OpenGL 2.0+, 1GB VRAM (3GB recommended for high resolutions)
  • Windows: 64-bit, 2GB RAM, 30MB disk space
  • After Effects CC 2014 through 2020 supported (as of last update)