I love Element 3D. It's lightning fast, gives nice-looking renders, has a nice interface, and has about the fastest and easiest beveled text you'll find.
It's a particle array system, not a particle generator (meaning it works more like Trapcode Form than Trapcode Particular). You can easily animate the parameters that drive the particle array. It also allows you to import 3D objects and integrate them into AE scenes.
It's not a 3D modeler. It's not a full-on animation package. It's not a ray-tracer, so it's no good for realistic lighting, shadows, reflections, or refractions. I don't see Element entirely replacing AE's ray tracer, tools like Mettle FF/SSAE or Zaxwerks, or proper 3D applications like C4D.
Element 3D doesn't do it all -- but what it does do, it does very well and very fast. It may not be the only 3D app/plugin in your toolkit, but I think it will quickly become a must-have effect for motion graphics artists.
Walter Soyka
Principal & Designer at
Keen Live
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