Motion Graphics Utils

An asset library containing useful modifiers for motion graphics.

It has a companion addon to add a keying set for the Emission modifier.

Take me to downloads!

mograph-utils-update.mp4

Modifiers

Emission

Emission is a modifier to put on any object to give it a solid color that isn't affected by lights.

The main difference from using a material is that parameters are specified per object. It also has more features than a material, such as having transparency and a quick visibility toggle (easier to use than hiding from the viewport since the object stays selected).

It has 5 parameters:

1. Color: the color of the object. Default: white
2. Strength: the emission strength for that object. Default: 1.0
3. Alpha: the opacity of the object. A value of 1.0 means the object is fully visible. Default: 1.0
4. Visible: a checkbox to quickly hide an object without adding Alpha keyframes. Default: True
5. Shadeless: whether the object casts shadows or not. Default: True

Example

Viewport	Modifier

Note

Objects don't glow by default. The one in the example does because:

1. Its Emission strength is above 1.0.
2. There is a Glare node in the compositor set to Bloom, and viewport compositing is turned on.

Echo

Echo is a modifier to put on any object to give it a motion trail, remade from AE's effect with the same name (often used by stcubing in his videos). It is framerate dependent as it's based on a simulation zone. Default values are made to work at 60fps.

Echo saves the object's position, rotation, and scale over time, as well as its Emission property if that modifier is present (must be placed before Echo).

It has 2 parameters:

1. Lifetime: controls how long the motion trail is. Default value: 2
2. LOD: controls the smoothness of the trail. A higher LOD will make the trail more smooth but can impact performance. Default value: 10

Example

Viewport	Modifier

Warning

Since Echo will save properties of Emission, and simulation zones are cached, you will not see the effects of changing Emission properties unless clearing the cache (by going back to frame 0). You can also work around this limitation by disabling Simulation Nodes caching in the Physics tab of the Property panel.

Emission Decay

Emission Decay is a modifier placed after Echo that will change an Emission property depending on the age of an Echo duplicate. These properties are Hue, Saturation, Value (for the Color), Strength and Alpha.

It has 2 parameters:

1. Property: the property that will be decayed. Default: Hue
2. Rate: how much the property will change depending on age. Default: -0.1

Example

Viewport	Modifier

Note

You can only decay a single property within the modifier, but the modifier can be applied multiple times on the same object with different properties.

Companion Addon

Emission Keying Set does what its name implies: add a keying set for the Emission modifier. It is compatible with Blender 4.2 and onwards.

You can download it in the releases along with the asset library containing the modifiers.