Rays in the shape of your text or logo
Set Emit From to Alpha and the rays come from the silhouette of the letters or logo. Set it to Brightness and they come only from bright areas.
EssentialAlso in ProGPU
TMCLight Rays
Rays of light (god rays) spreading from a single point
Creates rays of light (god rays) that spread out from a single point. The rays can extend in the exact shape of text or a logo, or shoot out only from the bright parts of the frame.
Key features
A gradient that changes with distance
Gradient over Distance in Color Mode creates a natural falloff that is white near the source and turns orange farther away. Comes with 12 preset palettes.
Converging or spreading
A single Direction setting switches between converging god rays (Toward Source) and a spreading burst (Outward).
Rays that ripple with Shimmer
Shimmer, Shimmer Detail, and Evolution make the rays ripple, so the light moves even on a still image.
Quick start
Follow these steps in order the first time.
- Apply Effect › TMC › TMC Light Rays to the layer that will emit light.
- Drag Source Point in the Composition panel to set where the light comes from.
- Choose Alpha or Brightness for Emit From, and set which areas emit light with Threshold.
- Adjust the length, falloff, and strength with Ray Length, Falloff, and Boost.
- Set the color in Color Mode, and raise Samples if you see banding in the rays.
Parameter guide
Listed in the same order as the Effect Controls panel.
Effect Controls · TMC Light RaysClick a group to expand it
Source4
Emit From
BrightnessAlpha
Threshold
The level at which the effect starts to apply
Threshold Softness
Width of the soft transition at the threshold edge instead of a hard cutoff
Source Point
Point the rays spread out from (placed at the layer center when first applied)
Rays8
Ray Length
Falloff
How much the effect weakens with distance
Boost
Direction
Toward SourceOutward
Samples
How many samples are taken along each ray (4–256, default 48). Higher values give smoother rays without banding but render more slowly.
Extend Beyond Layer
Checkbox that enlarges the output area so the rays can reach past the layer edge (always applied, and grayed out, when Render is Composite + Extend)
Extend Range
How far the output area may grow when the rays extend past the layer, as a multiple of the layer's area (1–16, default 5.0)
Quality
Always renders at Ultra quality, so this can't be changed (grayed out)
LowMediumHighUltra
Color8
Color Mode
SourceTintGradient over Distance
Tint
The color tint applied to the effect
Use Preset Palette
Loads one of 12 ready-made palettes into the gradient. None leaves the current gradient as it is.
12 palettes
Color Gradient
Selected Stop Color
Sets the color of the color stop selected in the gradient editor.
Cycle Repetitions
Sets how many times the gradient repeats.
Phase
The angle that shifts the repeating gradient (360 degrees = one full cycle)
Saturation
Animation4
Shimmer
Shimmer Detail
How finely the shimmer pattern is divided (higher values split the rays into thinner flickering spokes)
Evolution
The evolution stage of the noise pattern. Keyframe it to bring the pattern to life.
Seed
Changes the random pattern. The same value always gives the same result.
Output3
Render
Output mode (Composite: rays composited only inside the layer's shape / Rays Only: the rays alone / Composite + Extend: the default, rays also show outside the layer and over transparent areas)
CompositeRays OnlyComposite + Extend
Blend Mode
How the effect is blended with the original
NormalDissolveDarkenMultiplyColor BurnLinear BurnDarker ColorLightenScreenColor DodgeLinear Dodge (Add)Lighter ColorOverlaySoft LightHard LightVivid LightLinear LightPin LightHard MixDifferenceExclusionSubtractDivideHueSaturationColorLuminosity
Mix
Practical tips
- If the rays are cut off at the layer edge, check that Render is set to Composite + Extend, and if they still clip, raise Extend Range.
- To composite the rays separately, set Render to Rays Only and layer them with a blend mode.
- It isn't linked to the 3D camera. In shots where the camera moves, drive Source Point with keyframes or an expression.
Where to use it
- A background of sunlight pouring through the clouds
- An opening where a logo appears, radiating light
- Backlight spreading from behind a character, like stage lighting
Pairs well with
Technical notes
- GPU-accelerated with OpenCL on Windows and Metal on macOS, with a CPU fallback.
- Adds light even in areas where alpha is 0, and buffer expansion lets the rays reach past the layer edge.
- Supports 8 · 16 · 32 bpc and Multi-Frame Rendering, and motion blur applies to animated parameters.
Included in both Essential and Pro
Start with Essential for $99, or get all 25 with Pro for $199.