
If you have no prior programming experience, Quartz Composer is probably the best tool to begin with. On the flip side, it is Mac only, that means there is no way you can use these compositions on Windows. The interface is node based and extremely easy to use, especially if you are familiar with a Node based application like Nuke, Houdini or Xpresso in Cinema4D. The beauty of Quartz Composer is that, you can use various technologies like OpenGL, CoreImage, OpenCL, Quartz, CoreVideo and many other Mac OS specific layers with ease.


Quartz Composer is a visual programming tool, that helps artists and programmers create interactive compositions without the need to write a single line of code. In this article I will explore the various tools/technologies you can use to create plugins for AE and their respective advantages and disadvantages. There are many ways to create a plugin for After Effects and it depends on the type of plugin you want to create. Intro to After Effects plugin development for beginnersīuilding plugins for After Effects isn’t that quite simple.
