New motion graphics tool Caddis puts a node graph in every layer
Motion designer Mike Gaynor has unveiled 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”.
The software is currently free in beta, ahead of a commercial launch next month.
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 month, 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 already over 100 in the beta 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”.
There isn’t currently any online documentation – Gaynor says that it will be rolled out alongside the stable release, but 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 will also use AI in another way, with nodes for tasks like depth estimation and matte generation. AI tasks will be processed in the cloud, and priced on a credit basis.
Price, system requirements and release date
Caddis is compatible with macOS 12.0+. A Windows version is due “shortly after” launch.
The software is currently free in invite-open beta, ahead of the official launch in June 2026. It will have a standard price of $129.
Read more about Caddis on the product website
(Includes a link to register for the beta)
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