We recently published a new tutorial on Scene Relighting using a cool plug-in called Normality (FREE) and so I wanted to gather helpful information on the subject for people who are excited like me.

Like many of you, when I first saw Normality about 3 years ago , the gears in my head started turning with amazing possibilities. However back then, it was not a free plug-in until about 6 months ago when he decided to offer this great tool to the world! This got me excited and this was actually the subject of my presentation in LA as a way to help spread the word.

Normality uses special Normal maps to relate the 3D surface info to After Effects for adding lights and even reflections. Here are a few resources on exporting and generating Normal Maps but be sure to watch our tutorial first, to get acquainted.

Stefan, the developer also posted feature-rich tutorial a couple months ago.
Part 1 & Part 2 (High-Def Youtube)

Exporting Normal Map from 3D Software:
Cinema 4D & Modo plus a quick AE demo with normality. Good stuff!
Cinema 4D Material (works with anti-aliasing)
Maya Normal Maps
3D Max Normal Maps with Script
(Our tutorial also includes export info for 3d Max)
New Blender Process ( TwentyFourBecks)

Normal Map Generating Software:
One of the cool things about Normality is you don't need a 3D program to do some impressive relighting, you can actually use photographic textures!

Smart Normal Map (Free AE Plug-in CS4+)
CrazyBump ($99.00 PC, very intelligent processing!)
Normal Generator OS X (Free)
Nvidia Normal App Win (Free)
Nvidia App Photoshop (Free)
Shadermap ($20 PC)
Enhancing Normal Maps Tutorial @ CGtextures.com

More exciting concepts:

I noticed a few people confusing the idea of UV texture re-mapping and Normal Map re-lighting so I wanted to make sure people understand both concepts and possibly how they can be used together. In a 3D nut shell, UV Mapping allows texture replacing and Normal Maps allow 3D re-lighting.

Mylenium published a very detailed outline of UV map integration with a plug-in called RE:Map that allows After Effects to adjust texture positions.

Maltaannon demystified this concept and also created a very clever preset called "Youveelizer" ($29 CS4 Only) that also uses UV passes to adjust the bitmap textures of a 3D render in AE.

The Re:VisionFX plug-in Re:Map costs a bit more at $149.95 although it does work with earlier versions of After Effects.

Conclusion:
I would hope people appreciate how much work Stefan has put into Normality over the years and especially now as a free tool for the community. Also, if you know of some applications or tutorials for working with Normals or related stuff, please share them, I'll update the list if I think it's good!

In this tutorial we will use the free plug-in Normality to add 3D light effects in After Effects. Using a simple Normal-Pass, we will also create stunning reflection and refraction effects with amazing speed and control.

I can say that there are some fun stories and situations through-out the tutorial that are mostly unrelated. Sorry :)

Watch Tutorial

Download Free Plug-in: Normality CS3+

Background:
As the world of post-processing 3D render passes and depth of field in After Effects grows, the ability to perform relighting is now more powerful than ever. By using a simple normal map with the Normality, it is now possible to use After Effects Lights for fast, believable relighting and reflection/refraction effects.

Normal Maps: These special render passes are similar to standard bump maps but contain for acurate contour information. These passes can be created in nearly every 3D program as well as generated directly from a 2D texture, (as you will see in this tutorial) for relighting capabilities without the use of a 3D program!

One of the things I demonstrated in at the LA presentation was the use of normal maps in After Effects to simulate realistic refraction and reflections. The technique is very fast and very powerful using a free plug-in called Normality.

Stefan, the developer even worked in a few solutions based on some feedback I sent over. He really built a great tool, in fact there are so many possibilities that I have been working very hard developing this new tutorial to demonstrate several examples of what is possible.

SIDE NOTE: I Just finished the new build of QuickMatte for Windows and Mac so I'm going to try and get that out shortly.

In this in-depth tutorial we will build several particle systems linked to a single control layer for precision animation with the standard Particle World system. We will also use the Pixel Polly filter to give our title a shattering blast.

Watch Tutorial

Video Sample in HD 720p

I've also linked CC Particle World to a 3D Null object using this code:

Download Script

Now when you need to find this expression, just search the blog for it!

A lot of things are happening this week and you don't want to miss any of them. Obviously this is a huge teaser but I can tell you that we will finally be releasing our free compositing tool QuickMatte. This plug-in is for After Effects and should work with AE 7 and above. The functions may be a little complicated to explain so I want to include a tutorial to show you all of the handy features. This and more!