3D layers
Premation’s target is After Effects’ Classic 3D: flat planes positioned in real 3D space, projected through a real camera, lit and shadowed. It is a true 3D pipeline with a proper 4×4 matrix stack — not a perspective-looking hack — but it is not a 3D modelling application.
Turning a layer 3D
The 3D Layer switch is in the Transform panel, and there is a 3D toggle on the top toolbar strip. Turning it on adds three properties:
- Position Z
- Rotation X
- Rotation Y
Everything else about the layer works as before, and the switch is reversible.
A layer can be made 3D if it has a transform component. Solid layers are the historical exception — the renderer pins them — so if the switch is refusing, that is the reason.
What you get
| Feature | Notes |
|---|---|
| Perspective projection | Through the composition camera, with correct parallax and tilt |
| Z-sorting | 3D layers sort by depth rather than by stack order |
| Depth of field | Blur driven by the camera’s focus distance |
| Per-fragment lighting | Lambert + Blinn-Phong. See Lights & materials |
| Material options | Per-layer properties feeding the shading model |
| Extrusion | Real depth on 2D shapes and text |
| Bevels | On extruded geometry |
| Ground grid | At Y = 0, for orientation |
| Axis widget | Bottom-left, projected through the current camera |
| Auto-orient | Rotate a layer to face its direction of travel |
3D primitives and 3D text
Beyond flat planes, the Insert menu offers:
- 3D primitives — cube, sphere, plane, cylinder.
- 3D Text — extruded type, with per-character 3D available so each glyph occupies its own position in space.
Extrusion and bevels
Give a 2D shape or text layer depth, then bevel the edges. Both are per-layer properties in the Style tab and both are keyframeable — animating extrusion depth from zero is a clean way to have flat artwork “become” dimensional.
Draft 3D
A toggle that trades shading fidelity for interaction speed. Use it while blocking out a scene, turn it off to judge the result. It affects the viewport only, never the export.
Z-sorting vs stack order
The thing that catches people out: once layers are 3D, the layer tree no longer decides what draws in front. Depth does. A layer at the bottom of the tree with a nearer Z will occlude one at the top.
2D layers in a mixed composition still obey stack order, and sit at their position in the stack relative to the 3D group.
Recommended first scene
- Select a layer, turn on 3D.
- Duplicate it twice, and give each copy a different Position Z — say 0, −400 and −800.
- Insert → Camera, pick a lens preset.
- Press C to cycle to Orbit and drag. The parallax between the three layers is the whole point of 2.5D.
- Press 1 to return to the Active Camera view.
Related
- Cameras
- Lights & materials
- Navigating 3D
- The 3D animation presets in Animation presets