Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago

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A deep dive into building a Japanese‑horror look using Sapphire TextureRidges, Effect Builder, Continuum, and a stabilized tattoo replacement from Silhouette.

This is Part Two of a two-part series in a collaborative project in After Effects between Product Specialist Christoph Zapletal, doing VFX inside of the Silhouette Plugin, and Design Director John Dickinson who uses Sapphire and Continuum to create a Japanese horror movie-inspired look.

Follow along with John as he breaks down the matte creation, background design, text treatment, final polish and design decisions, turning experimentation into a finished, cinematic look.

Check out Part One here: youtu.be/rkC8z5RrlCE

// PROJECT FILE //
Grab the project file and follow along: bit.ly/boris-fx-ghost-story

// K E Y P O I N T S //
⦁ Building a custom organic matte using Sapphire TextureRidges, Shape, Threshold, WarpPolar, and parameter linking inside Effect Builder.
⦁ Using Sapphire TextureRidges with Sapphire Builder to create organic, evolving backgrounds.
⦁ Designing a stylized text reveal with Sapphire Noise, ChannelSwitcher, UltraGlow, and Continuum Edge Grunge for smoky, gritty motion graphics.

Learn more about Sapphire and Continuum and download a free trial: borisfx.com/products/sapphire
borisfx.com/products/continuum

// D I S C O R D C H A N N E L //
borisfxdiscord.com

// C H A P T E R L I S T //
00:00 - Introduction
00:26 - Download the project file
00:57 - Preparing the footage
07:12 - Creating an organic matte with S_TextureRidges
16:08 - Adding S_DistortBlur to the tattoo
18:00 - Creating the background using S_TextureRidges
21:32 - Creating the text look using Sapphire and Continuum
26:54 - Adding detail with Sapphire Grunge
29:17 - Increasing depth with S_Dust
29:43 - Final touches with S_UltraGlow
30:19 - Final Thoughts