Sparkle
Add star-shaped glints to bright regions for jewellery, wet highlights, glitter, and specular accents.
Add Sparkle
Open an image or build the source composition first. Put this effect after the content it should process in stack processing order. Choose Texture & Pattern → Sparkle in the effects picker, or search for Sparkle with Cmd/Ctrl + F. Select the new layer in Layers to open its Effect Panel.
Place highlights
Choose Placement and adjust Threshold to select bright regions, or use the available distribution controls. Set Density and Min Distance to separate the marks.
Style and stabilize
Choose Shape, Size and Color, then adjust Brightness and Variance. Lock Positions keeps the chosen points stable while you refine their appearance.
Set an individual colour
Click the relevant colour swatch to open its picker. Colors and Palettes explains colour values, transparency and the canvas sampling controls where available.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Rotation | Rotates the sparkle arms around each sparkle's centre. | 0° to 360° Default: 0° Continuous keyframes |
| Brightness | master sparkle brightness — above 100% blows out the cores | 0% to 200% Default: 100% Continuous keyframes |
| Color | sparkle tint — pure white is the lens-filter classic | Colour Default: #FFFFFF Colour keyframes |
| Density | how many sparkles to scatter across the image | 0/MP to 500/MP Default: 80/MP Continuous keyframes |
| Threshold | how bright a pixel must be to host a sparkle | 0% to 100% Default: 70% Continuous keyframes |
| Lock Positions | Keeps sparkle positions fixed while brightness, size variation and colour can still change. | On / Off Default: Off Not keyframeable |
| Min Distance | minimum spacing between sparkles — keeps them from piling up in tight bright spots | 0 to 5 %; 0 to 200 px (typed input: 0 to 1000) Default: 0 % Continuous keyframes |
| Placement | where sparkles land — Highlights is the iconic glamour look | Highlights / Random / Even Grid Default: Highlights Discrete keyframes |
| Seed | change for a different random pattern | 0 to 999 Default: 0 Discrete keyframes |
| Shape | the sparkle glyph | 4-Point Cross / 6-Point Star / 8-Point Cross + X / Round Dot Default: 4-Point Cross Discrete keyframes |
| Size | average sparkle diameter — small for pinpricks, large for bursts | 0.2 to 10 %; 4 to 200 px (typed input: 4 to 1000) Default: 2.5 % Continuous keyframes |
| Variance | how much sparkles vary in size | 0% to 100% Default: 60% Continuous keyframes |