Glass Tiles
Break the image into refractive glass tiles with bevel-like offsets and repeated panes.
Add Glass Tiles
Open an image or build the source composition first. Put this effect after the content it should process in stack processing order. Choose Material → Glass → Glass Tiles in the effects picker, or search for Glass Tiles with Cmd/Ctrl + F. Select the new layer in Layers to open its Effect Panel.
Lay out the panes
Set Tile Width, Tile Height, Rotation and offsets. Gap separates the panes and Seed varies their layout.
Refract and light
Increase Displacement, then use Bevel and Bevel Width for the edges. Set Light Angle and Specular for highlights, adding Dispersion for colour fringes.
Compare and finish
Toggle the layer eye to compare with the incoming composition. Use the Effect Panel footer for opacity and blend mode, or add a mask to limit the affected area. In Video or Live, use the function menu on a supported control to add keyframes or a driver.
Control reference
Show individual controls
| Control | What it does | Values and animation |
|---|---|---|
| Bevel | height of the virtual pane bevel | 0 to 1 Default: 0.45 Continuous keyframes |
| Bevel Width | width of the sloped glass edge | 0 to 10 %; 1 to 256 px (typed input: 1 to 1000) Default: 0.35 % Continuous keyframes |
| Dispersion | colour split along lit refractive pane edges | 0 to 1 Default: 0.18 Continuous keyframes |
| Displacement | how far each pane refracts the image | 0 to 50 %; 0 to 256 px (typed input: 0 to 2000) Default: 0.8 % Continuous keyframes |
| Gap | space carved between neighbouring panes | 0 to 10 %; 1 to 256 px (typed input: 1 to 1000) Default: 0 % Continuous keyframes |
| Offset X | horizontal shift of the pane grid | -1 to 1 Default: 0 Continuous keyframes |
| Offset Y | vertical shift of the pane grid | -1 to 1 Default: 0 Continuous keyframes |
| Rotation | maximum random rotation per pane | 0° to 180° Default: 4° Continuous keyframes |
| Seed | change for a different random pattern | 0 to 9999 Default: 0 Discrete keyframes |
| Tile Height | height of each glass pane | 0 to 20 %; 1 to 500 px (typed input: 1 to 2000) Default: 5 % Continuous keyframes |
| Tile Light Angle | direction of the key light over the pane bevels | 0 to 360 Default: 135 Continuous keyframes |
| Specular | strength of glossy highlights on pane edges | 0 to 1 Default: 0.35 Continuous keyframes |
| Tile Width | width of each glass pane | 0 to 20 %; 1 to 500 px (typed input: 1 to 2000) Default: 5 % Continuous keyframes |