Post Alchemy FX documentation

01Install

1. Download post_alchemy-2.0.0.zip from your Superhive library. Do not unzip it.
2. In Blender, open Edit › Preferences › Get Extensions.
3. Click the ⌄ menu at the top right and choose Install from Disk…, then pick the zip.
4. Make sure Post Alchemy FX is enabled in the list.

You can also drag the zip straight into the Blender window.

02Quick start

1. Open the Compositing workspace, or any Node Editor set to the Compositor.
2. Press N and open the Post Alchemy tab in the sidebar.
3. Pick a family (Glitch, Light & Lens, Screens) and click an effect. It is wired in between your image and the output.
4. Change its values under Effect Settings. Add more effects to build a stack.
5. Press Before / After to compare, then render with F12 or render the animation.

03The panel

The Post Alchemy tab appears in the sidebar of the Compositor, the Video Sequencer and the 3D Viewport. It has four parts:

Star an effect with the ★ button to add it to the Favorites tab. Surprise Me builds a random stack from a curated pool of effects that work well together.

04Effect stack

Effects run top to bottom: the first effect receives your clean image, and each one after it receives the result of the one above. Order matters. A glow placed after a CRT effect lights the scanlines; placed before, the scanlines cut through the glow.

05Settings, Mix & Mask

Every effect has its own Settings panel. Hover a value in Blender to see its tooltip; the full list is in the effect reference.

Mix

Every effect ends in a Mix value from 0 to 1. Use it to dial an effect back without touching its look.

Mask

Every effect group has a Mask input. Connect any black and white image (a Cryptomatte, an ID mask, a drawn mask or a gradient) and the effect only shows where the mask is white. Without a mask the effect covers the whole frame.

Editing by hand

The groups are named PA 001 Digital Damage and so on. Open one with Tab to see how it works. If you break one, use Rebuild Effect Groups in the panel menu to restore the originals.

06Animation

Effects are animated by default: glitches fire in bursts, glows breathe, screens roll and flicker. Animation is driven by scene time, so it follows your frame rate and plays the same on every render.

Any value can be keyframed like a normal Blender property: hover it and press I. Keyframe Mix from 0 to 1 for a quick transition, or Intensity for a hit on the beat.

07Presets

A preset is a saved stack with its values. Applying one replaces the current stack. The 16 built-in looks are: .

Your own presets

Build a stack, then press Save Preset and give it a name. Saved presets appear under the built-in ones in every project. Delete them with the ✕ next to their name.

08Sequencer strips

Post Alchemy works on any strip in the Video Sequencer, such as movie clips, image sequences or scene strips. Select a strip, open the sidebar with N and use the Post Alchemy tab exactly as in the compositor. The effects are stored in a Compositor modifier on the strip.

To give several strips the same look, build it on one strip, press Copy, select the other strips and press Paste to Selected.

09Live viewport

In the 3D Viewport, press Viewport Preview in the Post Alchemy tab. It switches the view to Rendered shading and turns on viewport compositing, so you see the finished look while you move the camera, animate or light. Turn it off to get full viewport speed back.

10Resolution & HDR

Resolution independent

All sizes (blur radius, block size, scanline spacing, pixel size) are measured against a 1080p frame and scale with your render. A look you build at 50% resolution matches the final 4K render. Sizes in the settings are in 1080p pixels.

HDR safe

Effects expect a scene-linear image, which is what Blender renders. Highlights brighter than 1.0 are handled without fireflies, negative colors or clipping. For best results keep AgX or Filmic as the view transform and grade after the stack.

Speed

Set Render Properties › Performance › Compositor › Device to GPU for the fastest previews and renders. All effects are plain nodes and also run on the CPU and on render farms without the add-on installed.

11Shortcuts

12Effect reference

All 60 effects with every control and its default. Open an effect to see its settings.

13Troubleshooting

The image is black or unchanged

Make sure the compositor is turned on (Compositing workspace, Use Nodes) and that the stack is connected to the Group Output or Composite node. Press Before / After twice to rewire the stack.

An effect looks too strong or too weak

Very bright renders push glow effects harder. Raise the effect's Threshold, lower Mix, or lower exposure before the stack.

The look changes between preview and final render

Check that both use the same frame and that Animate is on or off as you expect. Resolution changes do not change the look.

Rendering is slow

Switch the compositor device to GPU, mute effects you are not using, and avoid stacking several large blurs (Dreamy Glow, Black Mist, Halation) at full strength.

I edited a group and broke it

Use Rebuild Effect Groups from the panel menu. Your stack keeps its values.

14Changelog

2.0.0

Rebuilt from scratch for motion design: 60 effects in three families, 16 new presets, animated by default with the Animate switch, resolution independence, HDR-safe glows, favorites, Surprise Me, copy and paste stacks, paste to selected strips, and the Ctrl Alt E pie menu.