Overview
Element 3D put real geometry inside a layer based compositor and made it fast enough to work with. Instead of rendering a 3D scene somewhere else and importing frames, models load into the host application and render through the GPU on the timeline, so camera moves, lighting changes and material tweaks show up while you are making them rather than after a render.
The replicator system is what most people build with. One object becomes an array of thousands with per-copy randomisation on position, rotation, scale, material and animation offset, driven by the host application's own animation controls. Exploding logos, flying text, product arrays and particle style geometry all come out of the same system without a particle simulation.
It imports common 3D interchange formats with materials and textures intact, extrudes text and shape layers into real geometry, and ships with a large model and material library covering metals, plastics, glass, concrete and coated finishes. Rendering supports ambient occlusion, reflections with environment maps, motion blur, depth of field and multi pass output for compositing.
What it does well
Real time GPU rendering
Geometry renders through the graphics card on the timeline, so camera and lighting changes are visible while you work.
Replicator system
Turn one object into thousands with randomised transforms, materials and animation offsets driven from the host controls.
Text and shape extrusion
Extrude host text and shape layers into real bevelled geometry that updates when the text changes.
Model and material library
A large bundled set of models, plus physically based materials covering metals, glass, plastics and surface finishes.
Compositing output
Ambient occlusion, reflections, motion blur, depth of field and multi pass output for downstream grading.
Changes in this build
- Renderer updated for current graphics hardware with better memory handling on large scenes.
- Model importer extended to more current interchange formats with material mapping preserved.
- Motion blur quality improved on fast replicator animation.
- Material system gained per-object roughness and metalness maps.
- Fixed a crash when opening projects created with a much older build.
What is in the package
- Element 3D plug-in installer, 64-bit
- Bundled model library
- Physically based material and texture packs
- Environment maps for reflection and lighting
- Sample projects with editable setups
System requirements
| Processor | Intel or AMD 64-bit, quad core or better |
| Memory | 16 GB recommended for scenes with large model counts |
| Graphics | GPU with 4 GB VRAM minimum, 8 GB for heavy replicator work |
| Storage | 8 GB free for the plug-in and libraries |
| Display | 1920 x 1080 minimum |
| System | Windows 10 or Windows 11, 64-bit, with a supported motion graphics host installed |
Installation
- Close the host application completely before starting.
- Extract the archive and run the installer.
- Point the installer at the host plug-in folder if it is not detected automatically.
- Install the model and material libraries to a drive with room to spare.
- Launch the host and open a sample project so the shaders compile.
Before you start
Older graphics drivers are the usual cause of a black render, update the driver before troubleshooting anything else.
The model library can be relocated, but the path has to be set in the plug-in preferences afterwards.
Projects using this plug-in need it installed on any machine that opens them, including a render node.
Questions about this title
Does it need a host application?
Yes, it is a plug-in and runs inside a supported motion graphics host.
Can it import my own models?
Yes, common interchange formats import with materials and textures.
Is the model library included?
Yes, along with material and environment map packs.
Does it render on the GPU?
Yes, that is the point of it. A capable card matters more than the processor.
About this listing
This entry was checked on a clean install of Windows 10 / 11 (64-bit) before it was published, and it is rechecked whenever the package is rebuilt. The figures on this page come from the site index rather than from the publisher, so the download count is what people here have actually pulled.
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