Maxon's Free Motion Tool Autograph Adds Native Vertical Japanese Text

Maxon's Autograph, a free motion graphics and compositing app, shipped version 2026.1.0 on 12 August 2026 with native support for vertical text layout and Japanese character sets. According to Maxon, the update delivers powerful tools for Japan's animation and compositing industry, with native support for vertical text and Japanese characters, including proper right to left column flow for vertical scripts rather than a workaround built from horizontal text boxes rotated ninety degrees.

The same release adds an Edge Smoother modifier that instantly smooths aliased edges on graphic elements, aimed squarely at anime and CG compositing workflows, plus an upgraded Forward method for Vector Blur intended to streamline the same kind of work.

This is a small update from a tools perspective and a real capability gap closed for anyone pitching motion work with an APAC audience. Vertical CJK typography has historically meant either building the layout by hand with rotated text boxes and a lot of manual kerning, or reaching for a third party plugin bolted onto After Effects. Having it work natively in a free tool lowers the barrier for any studio that occasionally gets a brief with Japanese language requirements but doesn't do enough of that work to justify a specialist toolchain.

It's also a reminder to check your own studio's tooling for gaps like this before a brief exposes one under deadline. Most Western motion pipelines are built around Latin script assumptions by default: left to right text flow, horizontal reading order, kerning tables tuned for a Latin alphabet. A brief that needs vertical Japanese typography done properly will find those assumptions quickly, and it's a much better conversation to have before a pitch than during production.

Autograph is free to use, which lowers the cost of simply trying it on a real file before committing a paid seat to it, worth doing even if vertical text isn't a need your studio has run into yet.