Motion graphics tool Caddis 1.0 puts a node graph in every layer
Originally posted on 19 May 2026 for the beta, and updated for the 1.0 release.
Motion designer Mike Gaynor has released Caddis, an interesting new compositing and motion graphics tool that combines node-based and layer-based workflows.
The GPU-accelerated tool makes it possible to create effects using a standard After Effects-style timeline, with the “procedural power of a node graph inside every single layer”.
A compositing tool with a familiar layer-based workflow, plus the power of nodes
Motion graphics artists looking for an alternative to After Effects have had a good run over the last few months, with both Autograph and Cavalry being made available for free.
To judge from the launch video, Caddis will require less of a change in workflow than either, with users able to begin work from a familiar layer-based timeline.
The key difference to After Effects is that selecting a layer in the timeline pops up a corresponding node graph in an interface panel next to the viewport.
You can then create more complex effects by wiring together nodes – there are over 130 in the 1.0 release – while continuing to adjust timings from the timeline.
In a LinkedIn post, Gaynor wrote: “The idea is that you shouldn’t have to choose between the two paradigms.”
“The timeline still does what timelines do — but every parameter is a node you can wire, modulate, or replace.”
An alternative to After Effects rather than a drop-in replacement
Caddis is “not a drop-in AE replacement”, so it doesn’t import After Effects projects.
Instead, users import video, audio, images and vector files in standard formats, and rebuild the composition inside Caddis, a process described as “faster than you’d expect”.
Completed projects can be exported as video – Caddis supports H.264 and ProRes – or PNG and EXR image sequences, and in “standard web formats”.
You can get a feel for the type and complexity of the projects that Caddis can create in the launch video.
Created using and integrating AI
One interesting feature of Caddis is that it’s vibe-coded.
The software is part of a new wave of CG tools created by people whose expertise is in the job they are designed for, rather than tools development itself.
According to Gaynor, who is fitting development around his full-time job as Senior Motion Design Lead at e-commerce firm Shopify:
“I’m not a developer by trade, and that turned out to matter less than I expected. 15 years of doing motion work means I know what to put in a tool and, just as importantly, what to leave out. AI now lets one person act on that knowledge directly.”
Caddis also uses AI in another way, with nodes for tasks like depth estimation and matte generation. AI tasks are processed in the cloud, and priced on a credit basis.
New tracking, shading and instancing systems during the beta period
If you first picked up on Caddis on its initial release, the software has evolved considerably since, with new builds rolling out every few days during the beta period.
Several added major new toolsets, including a complete planar and point tracker for motion tracking; a Shader node with support for GLSL shading; and an instancing system.
The typography toolset has also been overhauled, with OpenType controls, rich text styling, and support for variable fonts.
Price, system requirements and release date
Caddis 1.0 is compatible with macOS 12.0+ and Windows 10+. It costs $129.
Read more about Caddis on the product website
Find a full list of nodes available in Caddis in the online documentation
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