AI tackles retopology, a mind blowing VFX workflow on your iPhone, and a new After Effects course you won’t want to miss.
NEW COURSE!!! After Effects Insider – a comprehensive 12-hour course designed for professionals who want to maximize efficiency in After Effects and unlock its full potential. Taught by Eran Stern, this course covers essential workflow optimizations and advanced production techniques that will transform how you use After Effects—from setup to final render.
This week we’re covering the AI tool that 3D artists have actually been waiting for: an AI retopology solution called Tractive that might finally make one of the most tedious parts of 3D modeling a thing of the past. We’re also diving into Simulon, the wild new AR app that lets you composite photorealistic 3D models into live footage right on your iPhone using LiDAR, complete with accurate lighting and reflections.
Plus, we’ve got a new motion design app called Mo1 that’s trying to make motion design fun, GPU-accelerated smoke and fire coming to Cinema 4D with Insydium’s nxExplosiaFX, and we’ll look at awesome work from Laundry, Aggressive, and Edgar Ferrer!
There’s also some genuinely optimistic takes on AI from True Grit Textures, updates to RetopoFlow 4 for Blender, and a free Tron-inspired Light Trails tool for Unreal Engine from our very own Aharon Rabinowitz and The Pixel Lab.
👉 CHAPTERS 👈
Coming Up 00:00:00
Browser Motion – After Effects But Fun? 00:26
AI Animation Hype – Magic or Meh? 01:13
School News – New Course & Holiday Cards! 02:04
VFX In Your Pocket – Simulon Goes Public 03:08
Cloud Rendering Wizard – Render Network Gets Easy 04:18
Cool Work – Reel Talk 05:18
Retopo Revolution – Two Takes On An Old Problem 06:24
AI for Retopo 07:14
Silver Linings – Hope In The AI Era 07:57
Student Spotlight – Marina’s Rive Journey 08:46
Splat Editor – Free Browser Magic 09:21
Smoke Show – GPU Pyro For Cinema 4D 10:16
Tron Trails – Free Unreal Goodness 11:02
Wrap Up 11:40
🎓 SCHOOL OF MOTION COURSES MENTIONED
School of Motion All-Access: https://schoolofmotion.com/all-access
School of Motion Team Training: https://www.schoolofmotion.com/training-for-teams
Rive Academy Volume 1: https://schoolofmotion.com/courses/rive-academy-volume-1
NEW: After Effects Insider: https://schoolofmotion.com/courses/after-effects-insider
Courses & workshops coming soon: https://www.schoolofmotion.com/coming-soon
🗒️ SHOW NOTES
Mo¹ – a web-based motion design tool: https://mo1.app/
Quad Filler: https://superhivemarket.com/products/quad-filler
Magic Animator for Lottie: https://magicanimator.com/
SOM Holiday card: https://www.schoolofmotion.com/blog/holiday-card-2025
Simulon: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/simulon/id6670765943
Render Network Wizard for C4D: https://know.rendernetwork.com/getting-started/cinema-4d-on-render-network-guide/using-the-c4d-wizard-with-the-render-network-manager-app
Retopoflow 4 for Blender: https://superhivemarket.com/products/retopoflow
Tractive – AI for Retopology: https://www.tractive.ai/
True Grit Textures – The Case for Optimism in the Age of AI: https://www.truegrittexturesupply.com/blogs/news/the-case-for-optimism-in-the-age-of-ai
SuperSplat: https://superspl.at/editor/
INSYDIUM nxExplosiaFX Tech Preview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ePQeDy7XXlc
Light Trails for Unreal Engine: https://www.thepixellab.net/free-light-trails-for-unreal-engine
🎨 ARTIST SPOTLIGHT
Laundry’s Transitions Reel: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/pj-richardson-845599_sometimes-its-as-simple-as-a-wow-that-activity-7383590171247575040-sQ5l
Agressive’s Skoda Vision O Reveal – https://vimeo.com/1127306171
Edgar Ferrer’s reel: https://www.somefunnythings.net/13988157-reel
SOM Student of the Week – Marina Bagadoy: https://hub.schoolofmotion.com/c/student-showcase/rive-academy-vol-1-icon-do-it-3eb42736-e5de-4638-8b64-6c9ee1559dfb
Marina Bagadoy’s Portfolio: https://www.instagram.com/marinabgd.zip/
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