After Effects has long been the gold standard for creating eye-catching motion graphics, animations, and visual effects. It's powerful and easy to use, and if you can harness your creativity, it can generate unbelievably good results. I've used it for nearly two decades, and it's never let me down.
There's just one problem. Adobe's annoying, frustrating, unavoidable, and overly expensive subscription commitment.
I will try not to get on my high horse because we all know that ship has sailed, and Adobe is never (even in my wildest dreams) going to switch back to a perpetual licence model. I was very outspoken in those early days of software brands transitioning over to new models, but who am I to stand up to Adobe, Autodesk, and the like?
But what if I told you there is a 100% free software package that could enable you to create the same effects and graphics?
It's called Autograph and is developed by Maxon, the creator of globally popular software including Cinema 4D, Redshift, and ZBrush. With that lineup of applications in their repertoire, you just know Autograph is going to be good, and I can tell you, firsthand, that it is.
Autograph does it all
For the uninitiated, Autograph is a piece of software that combines professional tools for motion graphics, VFX/compositing, and 2D/3D projects across industries. It's built with a GPU-powered engine for optimised speed and is one of the best packages for unifying your workflow across all media types and disciplines.
For anyone moving over from After Effects, the user interface will take a little bit of getting used to, and, in fact, it feels much more like a 3D design package rather than a design application such as After Effects, Photoshop, or Affinity.
Autograph offers two primary workflows: motion design and animation, and compositing and VFX. So far, I've been trying to master the first. I began by downloading the Maxon logo project from the homescreen and familiarised myself with how a motion graphics project should be set up.
The heart of the interface is the timeline, which looks like almost any other timeline. Here, you can add new layers such as text and shapes, edit existing ones, and adjust timing so that items appear and disappear exactly when you want them.
One of the most useful and powerful aspects is the ability to create cameras that let you view your scene from specific angles rather than only top-down. Doing so creates a more dynamic and engaging output compared to a single locked-off shot. With the use of cameras, it's possible to effortlessly channel your inner director by creating any number of cameras and cutting them on the timeline
The Maxon logo I used was imported as an SVG file, allowing it to be extruded and customised to its final look. As a result, it was possible to bypass doing this in a 3D package such as Cinema 4D or 3ds Max. Anything that reduces the number of programs required is a win.
What have you got to lose?
I've only begun to scratch the surface of what is possible with Autograph but am excited by what it offers. I'm looking forward to checking out some of its advanced features, including Shadertoy, multi-channel EXR, and ProRes, as well as ACES and OCIO workflows for high-quality imaging pipelines.
A number of years ago, Video Copilot launched Element 3D, which is an After Effects plugin. This was a revolutionary tool for bringing 3D tools into the heart of a motion graphics workflow. Now, with Autograph, no plugins are required, and maybe more importantly for indie creators, you don't have to part with any cash.
Download Autograph and try it for yourself; it's free.
