Have you ever wanted to bring your photo’s to life with a jaw dropping 3D motion effect? Well, you can with VoluMax 6 – a 3D Photo Animator created by Cream-Motion for Adobe After Effects. You don’t need to have a complex studio setup, but just 1 photo of the subject.
VoluMax – The Best 2D to 3D Photo Animator
Although the first version was launched in November 2015, VoluMax has released a brand new Version 6. VoluMax has described itself as: “.. the best all in one toolkit on the market to turn your pictures into impressive 3D animations.“
The effect has also been used in the NRJ Music Awards, featuring Beyoncé, Justin Timberlake, David Guetta and many other popular artists.
The following video gives a good impression of the effects that you can create with VoluMax 6.
What is VoluMax?
VoluMax 6 is a professional plugin for Adobe After Effects which you can use to create a 3D animation from a 2D photo.
How does VoluMax 6 work?
VoluMax 6 uses a combination of 3D Wire Mesh and Smart Objects to set up detailed 3D depth maps. Although this sounds quite complicated, you’re simply doing the following:
First, create masks using the Smart Masks tool in order to separate each area. For example: imagine there is a dog in the foreground of a photo and some objects behind the dog. Some objects are closer to the camera than others. If you recorded that scene on moving camera, all the objects would move at a different speed, creating a sense of depth.
Mask areas Create Depth of Field with the Volumizer
The 3D Wire Mesh is generated automatically. You could say that the 3D Wire Mesh converts the image to a 3D image. So, if the automatically generated mesh needs some adjustments, making the necessary alterations is incredibly easy. An automatic calculation is then made that demonstrates how the image would look from a variety of different angles.
Check out this video from the creators where you can see the different tools offered by VoluMax 6 in action.
4 Products in 1
VoluMax 6 comes with 4 Products in 1.
1. VoluMax PORTRAIT
VoluMax PORTRAIT is designed specifically for creating 3D Portraits. Once the earlier described depth map is generated, you can use the controller and move your scene in real time 3D, via the viewport. With the Eye Tracking Tool you can ensure that the subject is directly facing the camera while you move the scene in 3D.
2. VoluMax LANDSCAPE
VoluMax LANDSCAPE contains special features that generate 3D landscapes animations in minutes. All you have to do to create these animations is draw 3 simple masks over your image.
Next step is to add water, ground or sky layers if needed. If you’d like, you can add additional 3D objects (up to 5) to your scene – for added realism. You are also able to animate the water and add waves to the water surfaces with the water animation tool.
3. VoluMax SMART
VoluMax SMART can be used on a number of objects. The creators call it “the swiss knife of 3D photo animation“. The tool can be used on various subjects thanks to a few powerful smart objects that are based on simple masks. This includes 3D planes, auto Volumizer & Detailer, Local Depth Map corrector and much more. You can also add more details with the Paint Depth Map tool or enhance the 3D effect by adding 3D particles.
4. VoluMax PROJECTOR
As if it wasn’t impressive enough already, Volumax presents VoluMax PROJECTOR.
This great tool unleashes the power of Camera Projection – perfect for simple architecture, corridors and flat landscapes.
You can add additional 3D objects, text, particles and flares for added effects.
3D Particles in one-click
VoluMax 6 comes with an online 3D particles library. The particle system is fully integrated and automatically animated in your scene – with just one click.
Included are:
All the systems can be customized and adjusted. You can adjust the density, chaos, correct colours, 3D intensity, opacity and add individual blur layers. You can also use the Custom Particle System and import your own creations.
Social Media 3D ready
VoluMax 6 is Facebook 3D ready. It comes with export presets and a video tutorial to get you on the way.
What do Volumax Users Think?
VoluMax 6 has been sold a whopping 18,593 times at the moment we are writing this. On a scale of 5 it scores 4.81 on average, based on 203 ratings.
So what do the buyers think of this product? Let’s highlight a few comments:
As you can read, the purchasers of VoluMax love the easy of use, how solid and well it is build, the documentation, the customer support and of the awesome results.
Pricing
VoluMax 6 comes with a $69 price tag (Regular License) and a $189 price tag (Extended License). The Regular License is fine if you are not reselling the creations, but if you are going to use it commercially you’ll need the Extended License.
We think the pricing is fair for the product, because you get an impressive well developed product from an established author with great reviews.
Alternatives to Volumax?
Create 2d to 3d without a plugin (desktop app for MacOS & Windows )
Is it possible to create 2d to 3d effects without expensive software combinations? Yes! You can create incredible 2d and 3d effects with PhotoVibrance from Vidello. We recently discovered this fantastic application that runs on both MacOS & Windows.
You can create a variety of effects with PhotoVibrance such as Magic motion, 3D Parallax, Sky Replacements, Video Masks & basically transform static images into moving masterpieces!
Check out our review of PhotoVibrance here.
Alternative Volumax plugins
Photomotion is a strong contender to VoluMax 6. Like VoluMax you need Adobe After Effects to use the software. Photomotion comes with six products in one: Portrait, Glacier, Mirage, Horizon, Depth and Parallax. It also comes with a one-click 3D particles system, seamless loops, easy to use interface, training, live chat and more. Check out the video below to see Photomotion in action. It has over 700+ reviews and has an excellent overall rating of 4.8/5.
Hire someone to create a 2d to 3d image
If you only have a few photo’s and don’t want to have all the hassle into turning a 2d image to 3d yourself, then you can hire someone to do just that for you. We would recommend Fiverr for that. It’s affordable and there are some good rated services available.
Get VoluMax 6 now
Several companies and organisations use VoluMax 6 for their productions, including; EditingCorp, LayerLemonade, Video Effects Prod and Motion Designers Community – who are excited about the features. EditingCorp says “I have used various photo animation tools in the past, but after testing out VoluMax Pro for a month, I can say it is currently the best 3D photo animator out there“.
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