How to Create Liquid Glass in After Effects (Native Tutorial)

Project Setup & Color Depth Prerequisites

Before beginning, press Ctrl + K to open Project Settings. Change Color Depth to 16 Bits Per Channel (bpc). In 8-bit mode, deep Gaussian blurs and optical displacement produce noticeable stepping and color banding.

Step 1: Building the Procedural Height Map

The realism of your glass depends entirely on the smoothness of its gradient slope (the bump map):

1. Create a new Composition named [Height_Map_Precomp].
2. Draw a Rounded Rectangle with your desired glass card dimensions.
3. Apply Layer Styles > Bevel and Emboss. Set Technique to Smooth, Size to 15px, and Soften to 4px.
4. Add a subtle Fast Box Blur (Radius: 2) to eliminate any harsh 8-bit vector stepping on the bevel edges.

Step 2: Applying CC Glass & Displacement

1. In your main composition, place your background footage or animated graphic on Layer 3.
2. Place your [Height_Map_Precomp] on Layer 2 and hide its visibility eye icon.
3. Create an Adjustment Layer on Layer 1 named [Liquid_Glass_FX].
4. Apply Effect > Stylize > CC Glass to the adjustment layer.
5. Under Surface parameters:
   • Bump Map: Select [Height_Map_Precomp] (Set Source to Effects & Masks).
   • Softness: 12.0
   • Height: 15.0
   • Displacement: -10.0
6. Under Light parameters: Choose Effect Light, Light Intensity: 120%, Light Type: Point.

Step 3: Splitting RGB for Chromatic Dispersion

To simulate true prism dispersion:

• Add the Displacement Map effect to your adjustment layer.
• Set Max Horizontal Displacement to 4.0 and Max Vertical Displacement to 4.0.
• Duplicate the layer into three passes, isolating Red, Green, and Blue channels using Shift Channels with horizontal offsets of -2px, 0px, and +2px respectively. Blending mode: Screen.

Step 4: Polish with Specular Glow & Light Sweep

To give the glass physical punch, apply a subtle CC Light Sweep across the perimeter, and layer Deep Glow to the specular highlights for broadcast-ready radiance.