Normality is a powerful plug-in that allows motion graphics artists to light 3D objects and scenes directly within the familiar Adobe After Effects environment through the use of normal passes and advanced relighting techniques.
The software is production proven and has been used on several high-end projects, including the Paraworld and Frontlines: Fuel of War trailers by Pendulum and A Night at the Cathedral by Studio Lampion.
The shading quality during previews is as high as your final render — while still being able to light single objects or even whole scenes in near real-time. Normality requires a rendered normal pass from your 3D program of choice — these are very quick to render and easy to apply to your objects or scenes.
You may also use my free plug-in Generator to create normal maps from text or shape layers directly within After Effects without the need for an external renderer.
Features
Normality includes a number of shaders and tools as you might know them from your 3D renderer.
| Built-in Shading Functions | Features |
|---|---|
| Diffuse Shading (Lambert) | Real-time preview |
| Specular Highlights | 8-bit, 16-bit, 32-bit (Float) mode |
| Incidence Shading | Unlimited 3D light sources |
| Rim-lighting | Intuitively position lights in 3D-space |
| Toon-Shading | Runs on Windows and Mac OS X |
| Reflections | Free tutorials and user guide |
| Refractions | |
| Bump/Normal maps |
Getting started
First you’ll need to render out a normal pass from your 3D application — please refer to its manual for more information. From then on it’s all smooth sailing:
Apply Normality to your imported normal pass layer in After Effects, add a light source to your composition and voilà — instant shading!
You can control the light’s positioning, color and intensity using AE’s built-in light sources and tune the look with Normality’s comprehensive shading parameters.
Support Options
Please leave a comment below if you have a problem that’s isn’t covered in the FAQ or user guide.
Sorry, I do not offer free personal support via Email.
License
You may use Normality in commercial and non-commercial projects under the condition that I am named in the credits.
Download
Download
Normality for After Effects is a free download for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X (Intel only).
Download Normality
Normality is a free download for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X (Intel only).
Donations
While I am grateful for every donation, that still means less than 0.1% of all downloaders have contributed.
Please chip in if you want development to continue and bugs to be fixed.
Donations
Normality has been downloaded 68966 times and 39 generous users have donated to say thanks and to support continued development of the software.
While I am grateful for every donation, that still means less than 0.1% of all downloaders have contributed.
Please chip in if you want development to continue and bugs to be fixed. I will be more likely to release cool stuff in the future if I see that my work is appreciated.
Compatibility
Normality is designed to work with After Effects CS3 and up on Microsoft Windows and on Mac OS X (Intel only). 32-bit only.
