Plugin Everything shows how you can make the best looking fake 3D in Ae based on Alpha Channels.

We’ve seen that it’s unnecessary to create 3D objects to get a 3D look in Adobe After Effects. When you deal with characters and motion graphics, you can painstakingly create a 3D look just by moving points around. If you are looking to create something a little more “real” looking, check out this new tutorial from the people at Plugin Everything.

Create 3D from Alpha Channels.

Faking a solid 3D look is pretty simple when you use Shadow Studio 2 and Deep Glow from Plugin Everything. The technique also uses an inverted alpha to simulate bevels and lighting for the fake 3D scene.