Tuesday, September 27th, 2016 Posted by Jim Thacker

GenArts ships Sapphire 10


Originally posted on 9 September 2016. Scroll down for news of the commercial release.

GenArts has unveiled Sapphire 10, the latest update to its collection of plugins for editorial and compositing software, adding three new effects and extending Builder, its node-based tool for building custom effects.

The update, which is due to ship later this month, will be previewed at IBC 2016.

In separate news, GenArts has just been acquired by Boris FX, developer of the rival Boris Continuum Complete collection of effects plugins. You can find more details of the buyout here.

New features in Builder plus three new effects
At time of posting, GenArts hasn’t released a demo video of the new tools, so we’ve reproduced the descriptions of them from its press release in full below.

Updated: There is now an overview video. Watch it at the top of the story.

You can also see ‘sneak peek’ clips of some of the new Builder presets on the firm’s Facebook feed.

New Features in Sapphire 10

Builder Improvements – The creative possibilities have truly become limitless with new enhancements to the one of a kind custom effect creation tool, Builder. Firstly, multiple source clips, either with a matte from a path or alpha channel, can now be used directly inside Builder. This allows editors and artists to easily create and combine Sapphire effects like never before, boosting productivity and efficiency. Secondly, the new snap to grid feature allows complex node trees to be quickly and easily cleaned up, for more efficient workflows.

New Presets – In Sapphire 10, over 150 new presets, including 60 new advanced Builder Effects, have been added to the collection of more than 3,000. These new presets serve an important function, illustrating and inspiring users as to the creative possibilities that can easily be achieved with Sapphire.

Improved Preset Browser – Given the tight deadlines under which Sapphire users work, gaining efficiencies wherever possible is key. The improved preset browser features easier access to advanced presets, and a significant increase in overall load time. Also, users now have the option to quickly preview any of the over 150 newly added presets within the “new” category, which is accessible with a single click

New Effects in Sapphire 10

S_Luna – Enables creative professionals to depict accurate and photorealistic lunar cycles down to date and time with this high-resolution moon generator. Using a complex bump map to achieve stunning realism, Luna features a wide array of options such as halo, glow, color tint, and atmosphere.

S_Brush – With this new effect, images can now be appear as if they were hand painted by applying realistic paint brush strokes to any image or graphic. Use different mediums like oil or chalk, as well as many different brush surfaces such as felt tip, sponge, or pencil.

S_RomanTile – Artists can now form a quilted patchwork of tiles with a textured geometric mosaic overlay. Custom grout can be applied for an increased sense of realism, textures can be adjusted, and embossing can be used to achieve a variety of different looks.


Updated 27 September: Sapphire 10 is now shipping for After Effects, Premiere Pro, Media Composer, Smoke, Flame, Nuke and DaVinci Resolve on Windows, Mac OS X and Linux.

It also works with other OFX-compatible tools.

New licences cost $1,699 for most host software, and $2,800 for Avid and Flame. All prices include a year of support.


Updated 6 October: GenArts has announced new ‘single-product’ pricing of $1,699 or $169/month for the Flame edition of Sapphire 10. The edition is compatible with three Autodesk tools: Flame, Flare and Smoke.

The multi-host version of Sapphire 10, which supports Flame, Avid software and OFX-compatible tools, including Nuke and After Effects, still costs $2,800. See the full pricing plan here.


Visit the Sapphire product website