Fluid
GPU-accelerated 2D fluid simulation for Adobe After Effects.
Real-time Navier-Stokes physics, logo-reveal workflows, dual-source color blending,
collider support, and cinematic post-processing — all in a single native plugin.
Overview
Fluid runs a true 2D Navier-Stokes simulation on your GPU, frame by frame, inside the After Effects compositing pipeline. Drive it from a point, a layer, or two sources simultaneously. Add a collider layer to block flow. Shape the result with turbulence, buoyancy, vorticity, and a full color+shading stage.
Typical uses:
- Logo reveals — a layer emits fluid from its edges, the fluid dissolves away to reveal the original artwork.
- Title design — smoke, fire, ink, plasma, nebula and aurora effects driven by text shapes.
- Motion graphics — flowing transitions, color-blended abstract backgrounds, particle-free loops.
- Collision FX — fluid reacts to a collider layer with bounce + friction (Navier slip approximation).
Installation
Method 1: aescripts Manager (Recommended)
- Download and install the aescripts + aeplugins manager app.
- Open the manager and log in with your aescripts.com account.
- Find Fluid in your purchases and click Install.
- Restart After Effects.
If Fluid doesn't appear in the manager, click the refresh button. If your AE version
isn't detected, right-click the plugin and choose Custom Installation.
Method 2: Manual Installation
Windows — Shared location (all AE versions):
C:\Program Files\Adobe\Common\Plug-ins\7.0\MediaCore\
Windows — Specific AE version:
C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe After Effects [version]\Support Files\Plug-ins\
macOS — Shared location (all AE versions):
/Library/Application Support/Adobe/Common/Plug-ins/7.0/MediaCore/
macOS — Specific AE version:
/Applications/Adobe After Effects [version]/Plug-ins/
- Extract the downloaded archive.
- Copy
Fluid.aex(Windows) orFluid.plugin(macOS) to one of the paths above. - Restart After Effects.
After installation, the plugin appears under Effect > YCraft > Fluid in the Effects & Presets panel.
Registration
The easiest way to install and license Fluid is through the
aescripts + aeplugins manager app.
The manager handles both installation and license activation automatically — no manual steps required.
Fluid runs in trial mode until a valid license is entered. In trial mode, a watermark overlay is applied to the rendered output. If you need to register manually:
- Apply Fluid to a layer in After Effects.
- In the Effect Controls panel, click the Register button (next to the effect name).
- Enter your license code and click Activate.
- The watermark will disappear after successful registration.
Note: The watermark disappears immediately after successful activation —
Fluid automatically invalidates the cache when license state changes.
In rare cases (e.g. complex MFR pipelines), if the watermark persists,
go to
Edit > Purge > All Memory & Disk Cache or change any parameter to force a re-render.
Quick Start
- Create a composition, add a black solid, apply
Effect → YCraft → Fluid. Scrub — fluid rises from center. - Logo reveal: assign your layer to Input → Source Layer. Fluid emits from its alpha edge.
- Color: switch Color Mode to Dual Color, pick Dual A and Dual B.
- Collider: assign an obstacle layer to Collider → Collider Layer.
Pro tip. Keep Quality at Standard while designing — switch to Ultra or Extreme only for final render.
Parameter Reference
All parameters, in effect-panel order. Defaults produce a usable result immediately — creative variation mainly in Emitter, Physics, Color.
Input
Emission source — point, alpha layer, or both.
| Parameter | Range | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Source Layer | Layer | None | Emits from the alpha edge. Text, shape, solid, pre-comp supported. |
| Source Point | Point | 50%, 50% | Fallback emitter position when no Source Layer. |
| Rotation | Angle | 90° | Ejection direction. 90° = up, 0° = right. |
| Enable Second Source | Checkbox | Off | Second independent emitter — collision / color blend. |
| Source Point 2 | Point | 65%, 50% | Second emitter position. |
| Rotation 2 | Angle | 270° | Second ejection direction. 90° + 270° = head-on collision. |
Emitter
Injection rate, spread, and lifetime.
| Parameter | Range | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Emit Radius | 0 – 200 | 30 | Injection radius (px). |
| Force | 0 – 200 | 60 | Injected velocity magnitude (per-frame travel distance). |
| Intensity | 0 – 200 | 120 | Injected dye density — opacity and dissipation resistance. |
| Spread | 0 – 180° | 45 | Ejection cone. 0 = collimated, 180 = omnidirectional. |
| Life | 0 – 100 | 10 | Emission duty cycle per frame. |
| Fade | 0 – 100 | 15 | Dye decay half-life (0 – 5 s). Higher = longer lasting. |
| Cell Life | 0 – 20 | 0 | Per-cell age fade (seconds). 0 = off. Fade-independent dissolve. |
Physics
Global per-frame forces.
| Parameter | Range | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Speed | 0 – 200 | 100 | Global time-step multiplier. 100 = normal, 200 = 4×. |
| Gravity | −200 – 200 | −5 | Vertical acceleration. |
| Wind X | −200 – 200 | 0 | Constant global horizontal force. |
| Wind Y | −200 – 200 | 0 | Constant global vertical force. |
| Buoyancy | 0 – 100 | 30 | Density-scaled upward force (alpha-based). Hot-smoke rise. |
Turbulence
Procedural noise on the velocity field (3-octave fBm).
| Parameter | Range | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amount | 0 – 100 | 0 | Turbulence force magnitude. |
| Size | 1 – 200 | 50 | Noise spatial scale. Smaller = finer detail. |
| Speed | 0 – 200 | 100 | Noise time-evolution rate. |
| Wiggle | 0 – 100 | 0 | Serpentine sway column above the source — curves side-to-side while rising. |
Fluid
Navier-Stokes solver terms.
| Parameter | Range | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vorticity | 0 – 50 | 10 | Vorticity confinement — re-injects lost rotational energy. |
| Dissipation | 0 – 10 | 3 | Global dye fade-out rate. |
| Swirl | −100 – 100 | 0 | Forced rotation around source. + = CCW, − = CW. |
| Viscosity | 0 – 50 | 0 | Kinematic viscosity. 0 = gas, high = honey. |
Animation
Plume shaping for moving sources.
| Parameter | Range | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tail Length | 0 – 100 | 50 | Trail length. |
| Velocity Dissipation | 0 – 100 | 20 | Momentum decay rate. |
| Front Bombe | 0 – 200 | 100 | Leading-edge bulge. |
| Wake Width | 0 – 200 | 50 | Trail width. |
Post Process
Final look — shading + bloom.
| Parameter | Range | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shading | 0 – 100 | 50 | Pseudo-volumetric lighting from density gradients. |
| Bloom Intensity | 0 – 100 | 10 | Highlight glow strength. |
| Bloom Threshold | 0 – 100 | 15 | Minimum luminance to bloom. |
Collider
Optional layer that blocks flow.
| Parameter | Range | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Collider Layer | Layer | None | Alpha-opaque regions become obstacles. |
| Bounce | 0 – 100 | 50 | Collision elasticity. 0 = absorb, 100 = fully elastic. |
| Friction | 0 – 100 | 30 | Tangential drag (Navier slip approximation). |
Color
Mode, per-source palette, global adjust.
Color Modes
- Original — passes source RGB through untouched.
- Color — single solid-color tint.
- Dual Color — A↔B blend along the plume (Mix phase).
- Random Color — per-particle YIQ hue rotation.
- Gradient — periodic temporal color bands.
Primary Color Set (Source 1)
| Parameter | Range | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Color Mode | Popup | Gradient | See modes above. |
| Color | RGB | 255, 255, 255 | Single-color tint. |
| Dual Color A | RGB | 255, 255, 255 | Dual / Gradient start. |
| Dual Color B | RGB | 255, 50, 150 | Dual / Gradient end. |
| Color Mix | Angle | 0° | A↔B phase. Gradient: phase offset. |
| Color Random | Angle | 0° | Random hue rotation range. |
Second Source Color (Source 2)
Identical set, independent from Source 1 — natural color blend at collision points.
Global Color Adjustments
| Parameter | Range | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gradient Period | 0.2 – 8 s | 1.5 | Gradient band period. |
| Saturation | −100 – 100 | 0 | −100 = grayscale, +100 = oversaturated. |
| Exposure | −10 – 10 EV | 0 | RGB multiplier: 2^(0.6·EV). |
Output
Final compositing.
| Parameter | Range | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blend Mode | Popup | Normal | Add / Screen / Normal compositing. |
| Opacity | 0 – 100 | 100 | Output opacity multiplier. |
Quality
Render sample budget.
| Parameter | Range | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quality | Popup | Extreme | Standard — fastest, use while designing. High — slightly sharper. Ultra — much sharper, slower. Extreme — sharpest, slowest. Use for final renders. |
Simulation is resolution-independent. Quality only affects how the final
image is sampled from the simulation grid — the physics are identical across all levels.
Tips & Tricks
If Source Layer or Collider misbehaves, put it inside a precomp. Create a comp-sized pre-composition and nest the layer into it — resolves most transform, scale, and pivot glitches.
This is a fluid simulation — motion needs a few frames to settle. It can't stop instantly or cut sharply. Plan animations around this rhythm.
Parameters are coupled. After changing one, scan the whole panel and rebalance the rest.
Only Color and Input are per-source. Physics, Turbulence, Fluid, and Post Process are shared between both sources — for two different behaviors, use two separate Fluid effects.
Higher comp resolution does not equal more quality. Switching the comp to 4K won't automatically add fluid detail. For detail, use parameters, not resolution — Quality, Intensity, Turbulence Size.
Flow dissipates over time. For long-lasting visibility keep Fade high and Dissipation low. For short ephemeral effects, flip both.
Keyframing shape parameters (Emit Radius, Intensity, Spread) causes flicker — this is inherent to the simulation. Keyframe motion parameters instead (Wind, Force, Gravity) — they don't flicker.
Wind X and Y keyframe cleanly. Change wind direction and strength dynamically without the pulsing that shape parameters show.
For curved flow paths, use a mask. Draw a mask path, copy the full path, and paste it onto Source Point as keyframes.
Quality: Standard while designing, Ultra / Extreme for final render. The physics stay identical — only the sampling changes.
Apply the effect to a black solid, not directly to footage. Fluid needs its own canvas. Composite the result over your footage with a blend mode.
Logo reveal. Assign your logo to Source Layer, keep Life short (20-40). Animate the logo's opacity to zero during emission — fluid bursts, logo disappears, clean reveal remains.
Fluid burst: high Emit Radius (150+) with low Life (1-2 seconds). Produces a single upward eruption.
For continuous flow from a Source Layer, enable Cell Life (5-10) and lower Speed (50-70). Each cell ages independently, giving the flow a sustained presence.
Use a logo or text as the Collider Layer. Produces fluid that wraps around the shape of the letters.
Enrich a collision by duplicating the effect layer and reusing the same collider. Stacked flow layers give a richer choreography.
Collide two streams. Enable Source 2, set Rotation to 90° and Rotation 2 to 270°. Give each source a different color — natural blend at the impact point.
Turbulence Size should scale with Emit Radius. If the noise pattern is larger than the emission area, the swirls won't be visible.
Vorticity amplifies existing motion — it doesn't create rotation on its own. Introduce curl with Swirl first, then hold it with Vorticity.
Color Mode: Original ignores Tint, Dual A/B, and Random controls. The source layer's RGB passes through untouched — switch to Color / Dual / Random / Gradient to manipulate color.
Emit Radius only applies to Source Point mode. When a Source Layer is set, every alpha-edge pixel is its own emitter and Emit Radius has no effect. For a thicker emission band, blur the source layer's alpha before Fluid, or raise Intensity / Force.
Troubleshooting
Plugin doesn't appear in the Effects menu
- Fully quit After Effects and Media Encoder and reopen AE.
- Verify the plugin file is in the correct Plug-ins folder for your AE version.
- On macOS, check that Gatekeeper has allowed the plugin in System Settings → Privacy & Security.
Output is black / nothing renders
- Check the GPU initialization — Fluid requires a working OpenCL (Win) or Metal (Mac) driver. Updating your GPU driver often fixes this.
- Make sure Source Layer is a valid layer or Source Point is inside the comp.
- If Intensity or Force is 0, the emitter produces no fluid — scrub them up.
Registration dialog keeps appearing
- Your license may not have write permission to the user config directory. Try running AE once as administrator to install the license, then use normally.
- Make sure you copy the license code without leading or trailing spaces.
Slow preview / timeline scrubs at 1 fps
- Set Quality to Standard while designing. Only use Ultra/Extreme for final renders.
- Fluid performance scales with your GPU. Dedicated NVIDIA/AMD GPUs will be dramatically faster than integrated graphics.
Flickering or tearing in the fluid
- The simulation is frame-rate sensitive — at very low comp frame rates (<12 fps) the time-step becomes too coarse. Render at 24 fps or higher for stable results.
- If you're seeing injection artefacts near the source, reduce Force or Intensity.
System Requirements
| After Effects | 2021 (v18.0) or newer |
| Windows | Windows 10 / 11, OpenCL 1.2-capable GPU |
| macOS | macOS 11 Big Sur or newer, Metal-capable GPU (Apple Silicon or Intel) |
| RAM | 8 GB minimum, 16 GB+ recommended for large comps |
| Disk | ~20 MB for the plugin and license files |
Fluid also runs inside Adobe Media Encoder for background rendering.
Support
- aescripts product page: aescripts.com/fluid
- aescripts Manager App: aescripts.com/learn/aescripts-aeplugins-manager-app
- Bug reports / questions: ycraft.apps@gmail.com