Nuke vs After Effects

Nueke and Fusion is the same software but after is the different and nuke and fusion is the so powerfull and easy to use and easy to learn after is the more complex and more plugins I used three software and choose the nuke

byaminaraz said

Nueke and Fusion is the same software but after is the different and nuke and fusion is the so powerfull and easy to use and easy to learn after is the more complex and more plugins I used three software and choose the nuke

I would venture to suggest that After Effects is the rather more powerful motion graphics tool. :slight_smile:

It all depends what you want. If you’re a full time compositor, then Nuke’s your option, no doubt. As a freelancer, of course, a lot also depends on the tools that the clients you want to work for are using.

I have nuke8 now but sometime I like to use both…although i wish nuke came with something that you could still use aftereffects templates which i have found some of them are awesome to work with if this was the case i could free up some room on the pc…so sad that nuke can not open .aep files for the cost of the program.

Why would Nuke ever be able to read an After Effects file? They’re completely different beasts. There’s a significant amount of crossover in what they can do, but the way they achieve it couldn’t be more different.

felt_tips said
weCREATEthings said

This don’t like to AE maniacs, but it is true:

NUKE is a high end composition software, used in feature films like Avatar (that is a big thing). Actually is the standard for compositing scenes in commercials, films and so many things. If we compare two of them (in compositing) Nuke is just a lot better than AE. Starting by his workflow, Nuke is a node-base program, wich is really more convenint than a layer-base program for certain tasks, like compositing.

For motion graphics AE is probably more convenient and is the standard too. But in general terms of “power” AE has nothing to do against Nuke :frowning:

The 3D system in Nuke is reeeeeeeeeeeeeealy powerful, where you can import animated 3d objects from your 3d package directly. But the “3D system” in AE isn’t even 3D, actually is 2.5D and it is full of weaknesses.

I love AE, but this is my honest opinion :grin:

Largely true for film (although I don’t work much in film these days), but not true at all for commercials. Ae is used LOADS in commercials. Yes - I’m talking about the major high end campaigns with million dollar budgets that hit your screens on Saturday night prime time.

There’s a lot to like about a node-based workflow for many (especially heavy) compositing tasks. Much of my earliest compositing work was in Shake… a node-based fore-runner to Nuke, although I haven’t used Nuke now for quite a few versions). After Effects is also an extremely capable compositing program and in the right hands, you can expect the same quality at the same speed as in Nuke. (an Ae user will probably need an external matchmover / tracker like Syntheyes though, because the tracking in Ae is admittedly pretty shameful IMHO)

After Effects is however much more versatile. You’ll find lots of people doing great compositing work in Ae (including many Nuke and Flame artists). But you won’t find many people doing great motion graphics in Nuke. It’s exactly this that I like about After Effects. The way that an Ae artist gets to work is so varied.

Regarding 2.5D: Since CS6, Ae has had a fledgling true 3D capability. As of CC, you can embed entire Cinema 4D projects as layers and CC comes bundled with a ‘lite’ version of C4D. That’s a pretty solid 3D capability if you ask me.

By the way, I’m not an Ae maniac - I’m someone who has worked in visual effects and motion graphics, largely in high-end commercial / music video / TV (and a little feature film work) for about 20 years.

“racking in Ae is admittedly pretty shameful” ??? ??? ?c, no no no ! you know what ?! two in many reasons I stay with After effects is Puppet tool and 3D CAMERA TRACKING. Oh my god. I used 3D basic track in PFTrack, I used Foudry 3D camera tracker . BUT… even I had to advance refine by hand, efficiency that them bring still can’t compare with After effect - where I just need tick on “Detail analysis” and take a coffe. I used to make difficult AE with the terrible shot to see the limit of 3D camera tracking then I was suprised like…" how can it do that ?". And puppet tool, with a picture ( my friends faces, the cars, the animals…), I can create amazing realistic motions without modelling, rigging, rendering… in 3D. Hitfilm’s more fast and Nuke’s more awesome at comp but I still stay here with AE cause the things like that :slight_smile:

This is an interesting read. Getting a little more specific, what about wire and rig removal side of things in Ae vs Nuke?.. I’ve been working in Ae for quiet some time doing motion graphics (really enjoying it!) and keying work but recently got an opportunity to work on some high end clips from a martial arts feature film doing a load of pretty detailed wire and rig removal. I’ve been testing the cloning options within after effects but really am finding it challenging at present as I need to track both source and destination data and apply that to many, many ‘brush strokes’ and rotoscopes… Mocha Pro seems to be another good option but is Nuke just a lot more advanced in this area?

DSalt said

This is an interesting read. Getting a little more specific, what about wire and rig removal side of things in Ae vs Nuke?.. I’ve been working in Ae for quiet some time doing motion graphics (really enjoying it!) and keying work but recently got an opportunity to work on some high end clips from a martial arts feature film doing a load of pretty detailed wire and rig removal. I’ve been testing the cloning options within after effects but really am finding it challenging at present as I need to track both source and destination data and apply that to many, many ‘brush strokes’ and rotoscopes… Mocha Pro seems to be another good option but is Nuke just a lot more advanced in this area?

There are cunning things you can do in After Effects with the Beam Effect and expressions, but I’d be most inclined to use a plug-in for wire and rig removal in Ae.

i have used after effect throughout my entire artistic life and for the most part of my job it has helped me execute all my task with little or no exhibit of incompetence. i think it is just the right tool for my motion graphics and lightweight comping jobs. but i kind of gut stuck when my layers hit some huge numbers and wish i could do more.

it was only recently that i discovered and added nuke to my arsenal of cg tools. and i must confess it is such a powerful beast for handling very heavy duty comps and shots. i was totally thrilled by its 3d capabilities and DEEP compositing workflow , super awesome.
nevertheless i found it quite difficult doing certain basic motion graphics stuff that would have taking me less than a minute to do in after effects. it’s limited type tools makes it totally incompetent for motion graphics.

to my opinion i think both applications are powerful in their own unique strength and ways. so all that i can say is, use the right tool for the right task.