How to use A23D PBR Textures in After Effects

This guide explains how to use A23D PBR textures in Adobe After Effects. After Effects can import PNG footage with alpha and composite it cleanly, but it is not a full PBR material editor for standalone Albedo, Normal, Roughness, Metalness, Height, and AO maps.

Recommended After Effects workflow: Use the Baked PNG option. A23D bakes the visual result of the PBR set into a PNG, including the contribution of Albedo, Ambient Occlusion, Normal, Height, Roughness, Metalness, and related material data. Opacity is stored in the PNG alpha channel, so transparent or cutout areas composite correctly in After Effects.

1. Download the Baked PNG

Sign in to your A23D account.
Browse to the texture or decal you want to use.
In the Software dropdown on the asset page, select After Effects. A23D automatically delivers the baked texture map in the format best suited to After Effects (PNG) - no manual format selection required.
Click Download, save the .png file to a known location on your computer.

2. Import the PNG into After Effects

In After Effects, select File > Import > File, double-click an empty area in the Project panel, or drag the PNG into the Project panel.
Select the A23D baked PNG and click Open.
Drag the imported PNG into your composition.
For a decal, label, stain, crack, signage element, or flat material overlay, place the PNG above the target footage, render, or design layer.

3. Check the Alpha Channel

The baked PNG uses opacity as its alpha channel. If the transparent edges look correct, no extra setup is needed.

If the PNG shows dark, light, or colored halos around semi-transparent edges:

Select the PNG footage item in the Project panel.
Go to File > Interpret Footage > Main.
In the Alpha section, try Straight - Unmatted first.
If the halo remains, try Premultiplied - Matted With Color and choose the matte color that matches the edge.
If needed, apply Remove Color Matting to the layer to clean up remaining fringe.

4. Composite the Texture

Use the layer's Position, Scale, Rotation, and Opacity controls to place the baked PNG.
Use the normal Blend Mode for a cutout element that should keep its original color and alpha.
Use Multiply, Overlay, Soft Light, or Screen only when you intentionally want the texture to blend creatively with the footage underneath.
For perspective placement, use Corner Pin, CC Power Pin, or Mocha AE tracking data.
For a repeating surface, precompose the PNG and use Motion Tile to extend or repeat the texture area.

5. When to Use the Separate PBR Maps

Use separate Albedo, Normal, Roughness, Metalness, AO, Height, and Opacity maps only when your workflow has a real material system that can read those channels.

In After Effects, do not import the separate Normal, Roughness, Metalness, or Height maps expecting a flat layer to relight like a physically based material. Those maps are data inputs for a shader or renderer. For After Effects compositing, the Baked PNG is the reliable option because the PBR appearance is already flattened into the color image and opacity is carried by alpha.

If you need editable 3D material response, set up the PBR material in a 3D application first, render it, and bring the rendered result into After Effects for compositing.

Additional Resources

For detailed information on After Effects' import pipeline, refer to Adobe's official documentation:
🔗 Adobe Help - Importing and interpreting footage items
🔗 Adobe Help - Advanced 3D renderer