The PixMap plugin for Adobe After Effects, developed by Wunkolo, is a utility designed to bring UV texture mapping directly into the After Effects workflow. It allows motion designers and compositors to map layers or videos onto a 3D UV texture pass, enabling rapid re-texturing without the need for time-consuming 3D software re-renders. Core Functionality
PixMap functions by using color channels (Red, Green, Blue, Alpha) to determine sampled texture coordinates.
UV Mapping: It maps any layer onto a UV pass rendered from 3D software like Blender, Cinema 4D, or Maya.
Transformation: It supports affine transformations, allowing you to translate, scale, and rotate texture coordinates within the plugin.
Wrapping Modes: Users can set horizontal and vertical wrapping to Repeat, Clamp, or Mirror Repeat.
Sampling: Includes both Nearest and Bilinear interpolation for texture sampling. Technical Specifications Pixmap Plugin After Effects
Color Support: Fully supports 8, 16, and 32-bit color depths.
Convention Compatibility: It uses a top-left origin convention (matching After Effects, DirectX, and Metal), but provides offset adjustments for OpenGL UVs, which typically use a bottom-left origin.
Hardware Requirements: The plugin is GPU-accelerated and can be memory-intensive, especially when working with high-resolution source files. Installation & Availability
How to Get It: PixMap is available for download on itch.io under a "pay what you want" model.
Standard Installation: To install, the .aex (Windows) or plugin folder (Mac) should be moved to the After Effects Support Files > Plug-ins directory. The PixMap plugin for Adobe After Effects, developed
Windows Path: C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe After Effects [Version]\Support Files\Plug-ins.
Mac Path: Applications/Adobe After Effects [Version]/Plug-ins. Workflow Benefits
Iterative Design: Allows for instant texture changes on 3D objects directly in the timeline.
Multi-Frame Ready: Compatible with recent versions of After Effects (including 2022+), supporting Multi-Frame Rendering for faster performance.
Cross-Compatibility: Specifically designed to match the transform behavior of similar tools like B.Map. Solution: Check your firewall
If you'd like to explore how to set this up for a specific project, let me know: Which 3D software you are using to generate your UV passes? Are you running on Windows or Mac?
Because Pixmap reads the image like a lookup table, it includes robust tiling and offset options. You can seamlessly tile a small texture across a massive composition or scroll the mapping matrix over time to create infinite kaleidoscopic motion.
1920*1080*4 bytes per frame.TouchDesigner is a node-based real-time graphics tool. Often, you need to comp its output into a polished After Effects project.
WebSocket DAT or UDP Out CHOP.Modern Pixmap plugins allow the user to swap the "Pixel" shape. Instead of a rigid square, you can often choose: