Sapphire for Autodesk

Sapphire for Autodesk Flame, Inferno, Smoke, Fire, Flint

Create The Heavens And The Earth. Without A God Complex.

With a host of effects and amazing efficiency, you can create a universe of goodness in no time flat.

Part visionary, part well-oiled machine, GenArts Sapphire for Autodesk is the undisputed leader of visual effects. It earned this status by providing the perfect balance of creative control and efficiency. Sapphire is packed with over 200 state-of-the-art image processing and synthesis effects, including: Glows, EdgeRays, LensFlare, Lightning, FilmEffect, Warps and Textures. It features unrivaled image quality, a unique organic look, and easy usability. Sapphire is responsible for so many Oscar-winning films, it should have its own seat at Nobu.

Sapphire 5 ships in Q1 2010! Find out more.



  • Over 45 new effects in version 4, including FilmDamage,
    FilmEffect, DeinterlaceAuto, ZDefocus, Cartoon, Light3D, Rays,
    BleachBypass, TextureFlux, and many more.
  • New redraw option auto-adjusts resolution for real-time interactivity.
  • 14 new types of LensFlares.
  • 129 "Spark" plug-ins, each with many options and parameters that can be adjusted
    and animated for an unlimited range of effects.
  • Resolution independent, fully antialiased, high quality images.
  • On-screen UI widgets for visual control of parameters.
  • Multi-processing support for faster rendering.
  • Batch processing support on Flame, Inferno, and Flint.
  • Support for background rendering with Burn on Linux.
  • Supports both 8-bit and 12-bit image formats.
  • Supports both 32-bit and 64-bit operating systems, IRIX and Linux.
  • Online hyper-linked documentation.

For Sapphire Plug-ins on Autodesk Combustion please visit our AE plug-ins page instead.

Now Playing At A Theater Near You.
  • Over 45 new effects in version 4, including FilmDamage, FilmEffect, DeinterlaceAuto, ZDefocus, Cartoon, Light3D, Rays, BleachBypass, TextureFlux, and many more.
  • Many new enhancements and parameters including new LensFlares & Glares, and revamped RackDefocus & Glow
  • Automatic down-rez option for real-time interactivity
  • New Add Noise and Use Gamma parameters for all effects

New Effects:

  • FilmDamage simulates aged film by adding scratches, dust, stains, grain, shake, flicker, etc. to your clip.
  • FilmEffect models film exposure and processing to make your video footage look like it was shot on film.
  • DeinterlaceAuto detects the pulldown pattern in a clip and automatically deinterlaces or reinterlaces it.
  • Rays produces light beams emitting from the bright areas of an input clip.
  • ZDefocus defocuses areas of the source clip by different amounts using depth values from a ZBuffer input.
  • BlurDirectional blurs the source clip in a given direction.
  • Cartoon gives cartoon-like looks with exaggerated edges and flat areas of color.
  • CartoonPaint is similar to Cartoon, but uses a paint brushed version of the input.
  • Posterize generates a contoured version of the input by limiting the number of colors in the source, and replacing detailed texture and noise with solid colors.
  • BleachBypass generates a stylized version of the source clip by simulating a bleach bypass process.
  • DogVision generates a dual color-channel version of the input image.
  • Vignette darkens the outer edges of a clip with various shape options.
  • HalfToneRings generates a half-tone version of the source clip using a repeating pattern of concentric rings.
  • Deband removes banding artifacts from a clip by diffusing pixels across the banded areas while keeping the original edges intact.
  • TileScramble scrambles the clip into rectangular tiles.
  • WarpMagnify simulates a magnifying glass or lens over an area of the source clip.
  • WarpCornerPin performs a 3D perspective warp of the source image to align the corners with the four indicated points.
  • WarpsComp allows applying any of the Warp effects to an RGB clip and its alpha channel together, and then compositing the result over a background.
  • LensFlareMask allows generating lensflares while selectively blocking or colorizing the flare using a separate Mask input.
  • GradientRadial makes a smooth radial color gradient in an ellipse shape.
  • GradientMulti generates a smooth multi-color gradient using multiple control points, and optionally combines the gradient with a background clip.
  • Shape draws a shape into the image. Shapes range from polygons and circles to stars, flower shapes, and swirled starfish shapes.
  • TextureMoire creates an abstract Moire texture by adding together two patterns of concentric rings.
  • TextureTiles draws a repeating pattern of hexagons, triangles, diamonds, or stars.
  • TextureNeurons creates a moving texture resembling moving nerve cell tendrils.
  • TextureLoops generates a pattern of overlapping loop shapes.
  • TextureFlux creates a moving texture of fluctuating liquid or cellular patterns.
  • WipeRings performs a transition using a pattern of concentric rings.
  • WipeTiles performs a transition using a pattern of growing or shrinking hexagons, triangles, diamonds, or stars.
  • SwishPan performs a transition by panning one image off and another on with motion blur.
  • DissolveLuma transitions between two input clips using a pattern derived from their luminances.
  • DissolveGlow performs a transition while adding glow to both clips.
  • DissolveFilm performs a transition in a film-like color space to preserve highlights during the dissolve.
  • TimeDisplace displaces one clip by variable amounts in time depending on the brightness values of another clip.
  • FeedbackBubble generates flowing time based feedback effects by warping the trails using a solid noise pattern.
  • FeedbackDistort generates time based feedback effects while distorting the trails using a second input clip.
  • Convolve can create a wide variety of blur effects using arbitrary filter shapes and coloration by performing a mathematical convolution of two input clips.
  • ConvolveComp convolves a kernel with front and back clips separately and composites them using a matte.
  • ZConvolve convolves areas of the source clip using a kernel which is scaled by different amounts using depth values from a ZBuffer input.
  • ZGlow glows areas of the source clip by different widths using depth values from a ZBuffer input
  • Light3D performs 3D relighting of a clip using an input clip describing the surface normals.
  • TriTone generate a 3-color version of the source clip.
  • QuadTone is similar to TriTone but generates a 4-color version of the source clip.
  • Invert inverts the Luma, Chroma, Red, Green, and/or Blue channel of the source clip.
  • ShowBadColors colorizes pixels that fall outside a given color range.
  • ChannelSwitcher allows arbitrary reordering of the RGB channels of the source clip.

New Features and Parameters:

  • LensFlare has 14 new Flare Types and new parameters to adjust the look of the flares, and can auto track and render flares at multiple hotspots.
  • RackDefocus includes new Shape, Roundness, and Boost Highlights parameters, as well as improved performance.
  • A new Drag Auto Res redraw option allows results to be previewed in real time while adjusting parameter values.
  • All effects have a new Add Noise parameter which can be helpful for regraining results or avoiding banding.
  • All effects include new Use Gamma and LUT parameters for processing in linear color space.
  • All the Warp effects have a new Crop Input option.
  • WarpChroma has new Color, Brightness, and White Balance parameters.
  • Layer includes many new blend modes: Linear Burn, Linear Dodge, Vivid Light, Linear Light, and Pin Light. It can also optionally hue-shift or blur the foreground and/or background layers.
  • Glows, Glints, Glare, and EdgeRays have new Glow From Matte, Glow Under Source, Light BG and other parameters.
  • Glare includes 4 new Glare Types and new parameters to adjust the look of the glares, and has improved performance. The Convolve:Even If Slow option has been removed, since convolve mode should be consistently faster.
  • FlickerRemove and FlickerMatch now output the measured flicker data as keyframe data.
  • Lens has been renamed Distort and has new Rel X and Rel Y parameters.
  • EdgeFlash has new Fg and Bg Lights and Darks parameters.
  • Sharpen and Gamma have independent controls for each RGB channel.
  • Blurs have a new Mix With Source parameter.
  • HueSatBright has a new Preserve Luma parameter.
  • MotionDetect has new combine modes.
  • The Feedback effects have a new "min" combine mode.
  • An Undo option is also included for the parameters on the Crop/Help page.
  • The pixel aspect ratio is automatically set from the input clip metadata.

BUY NOW USING OUR SECURE ORDER FORM

To purchase for Combustion, please visit our AE plug-ins page instead.

Prices for the entire package of Sapphire Plug-ins v4 in US dollars:

    New license       Upgrade v3 to v4
for Flint SD or Smoke SD (2-core)      $6,000   $1800
for Flint or Smoke (4 or 8-core)    $10,000   $2800
for Flame or Fire    $10,000   $2800
for Inferno $14,000   $3800
for Inferno with 8 render nodes (Japan)    $18,000   $4800
for Burn      $900     $250

There is no charge to transfer from IRIX to Linux as long as you have a version 4 license.

Burn licenses are per Linux workstation (with any number of CPUs).

The upgrade from Flint/Smoke SD (2-core) to Flame or Flint/Smoke (4 or 8-core) is available for $4000 (the difference in price).

To purchase, you can buy now using our secure online order form, fax a Purchase Order to us at 1-617-492-2852, or contact your local Autodesk sales representative or reseller.