Orb, a new After Effects plugin by Video Copilot

Update. Video Copilot’s Orb is now available (and free). You can find out more and download the plugin and watch a 30 minute tutorial on the dedicated page on the Video Copilot website. 

Video Copilot has announced a new plugin for After Effects called Orb that started life as a simple replacement for CC Sphere but has become a complete generator for generating 3D planets including physically based shaders, the ability to design the atmosphere, custom terrain bump maps, environment reflections, automatic shadow illumination GPU acceleration and more. 

Orb is out now,  alongside an accompanying tutorial. You can see a trailer on YouTube and read more on the Video Copilot blog.