Effects Animation

Using reference when designing and animating effects can be very helpful – whether observing everyday occurrences or studying online resources, reference offers you creative inspiration and guidance.

This short subtopic helps you interpret and collect reference materials, setting the foundation to translate your observations into well-designed and animated effects.

Finding effects reference

You can find potential examples of effects reference everywhere around you, from the steam coming from your coffee, running taps, splashing bathwater, or rain drops.

Inspiring animators

One of the best ways to get inspired about animating effects is to look at other animators' work.

Take a look at the work of the following excellent FX (effects) artists:

• Chris Graf
  • Website: https://www.chrisgrafx.com/
• Adam Phillips
  • Website: https://bitey.com/
• Slava Lightsoul
  • Website: https://www.artstation.com/lightsoul_m
• Joseph Gilland
  • Book: Elemental Magic: The Art of Special Effects Animation. ISBN: 978-0-2408-1163-5

Online resources

There are a vast number of effects reference you can look at and observe online. YouTube and Pinterest are just two examples.

YouTube

YouTube has many effect reference videos you can watch.

Watch this short video from Stylus Rumble, which shows their collection of splash and water feature references (0:20m).

Watch this second short video from Stylus Rumble, which shows their collection of dust references (0.19m).

Pinterest

For more reference examples, sign up to Pinterest and search for effects animation.

There are many varying effects styles, and you can create your own Pinterest boards and collect the effects that inspire you!

A fun way to get into effects animation is animating dust kicking up when an object hits the ground or something zooms by the camera.

You’ll get the chance to practise designing and animating a dust cloud in this subtopic, while exploring planning and design approaches essential for creating realistic dust effects.

Factors to consider

When animating dust, you need to consider the following factors:

• dust movement, weight, and impact
• timing
• dissipation.

Movement, weight, and impact

Direction of movement of dust

When animating dust, the main consideration is the direction in which dust and debris will be moving.

Usually, this will be determined by an outside force, for example, an object hitting the ground, which pushes the air out of the way as it hits the ground. This sudden rush of air will kick up the dust around the point of impact.

Weight of dust

Dust has a small amount of weight, so it will try to hug the ground and, depending on the amount of dust and energy in the impact, will not kick up into the air too much.

Impact influence on dust

If the impact is uniform, the dust will move outwards in a uniform ring around the impact zone.

If the impact happens at an angle, then the resulting dust cloud will be affected by that angle, kick up non-uniformly, and move in a direction influenced by the initial impact.

Timing

The impact will determine the timing of the dust cloud. The sudden rush of air squeezed out from between the ground and the object on impact will cause the dust to appear quickly. Then, as the dust moves away from the impact zone and mixes with the air around the immediate area, it will slow down and dissipate.

Dissipation

When getting dust to dissipate, try to break up the shapes incrementally so that the smaller shapes break up first; the larger shapes will take longer. Offsetting the timing will add interest and appeal to the animation's timing.

Swipe through the four images below to view the incremental stages of dust shapes breaking up.

Design

You can use different design approaches when animating dust, for example:

• Single tone design
• Two tone design

Single tone design

In this clip (11 seconds), the dust design has been drawn as a single-tone shape, with all the focus given to:

• the form of the shape
• the path and movement of the dust animation.

When you animate a dust cloud using only a single tone, think about the shapes you are trying to describe. You can add interest by using asymmetry and variation within the shapes.

Two tone design

In this clip (1 second), two tones are used to add interest and variation to the dust.

The second tone describes a shape's highlights or shadows. It also describes the highlights of the volumes within the shape, adding more definition and a three-dimensional look to the overall effect.

Suppose you decide to design a two-tone dust effect. When drawing the shapes, you must think about the direction of light and the forms you are trying to describe visually.

You draw:

• highlights on the edges of the forms facing the light source
• shadows on the edges facing away from the light source.

Animating a dust cloud

Watch Geoff design, plan, and animate a dust cloud in five videos, located in the playlist below. Use the hamburger icon in the top right of the playlist to access the video menu.

These videos help you complete Task 2: Animate a dust cloud below.

Air and wind effects are among the trickier effects to animate.

Learn the nuances of airflow and wave-like motion in the context of wind and smoke, then design and animate your own smoke plume in this subtopic!

Factors to consider

When animating air, you need to consider the following factors:

• influence of airflow
• wave-like motion
• timing.

Influence of airflow

Usually, it is the influence of airflow movement that you will be animating, not the air itself.

Occasionally, air and wind are depicted as a more graphical series of rougher-looking lines, which can be a fun and straightforward way to get the idea of airflow and wind across to the audience.

Play this clip (3 seconds) to see this in action.

Wave-like motion

Wind and smoke regularly show a wave-like motion in their movement and shapes.

Wind

The movement and energy of the wind is clearly visible in a flag fluttering in the breeze.

The wind creates a wave-like motion of flowing, overlapping action as the energy travels through the flexible – but fixed – medium of the flag.

Diagram 1 below shows how, ripples form on the flag's surface and then move along its surface. From above, you can see how the wind hits the flag and then travels along its surface.

Suppose you need to add a design to the flag. In that case, the best method to keep the design fixed on the surface is to:

1. Divide the flag into sections.
2. Use the divisions to help you place details on the surface.

Smoke plumes regularly show the wave principle in their shapes and how they move as the smoke twists and winds up and away from their source.

When you animate smoke, think about the peaks of the shapes and try to keep them moving at a constant speed in an upward direction.

Play this clip (4 seconds) to see this in action.

Timing

When you animate wind and smoke effects, keep the timing as consistent as possible:

• Wind can move at different rates depending on your shot's requirements, but it should usually be a consistent speed.
• Smoke plumes tend to move slowly and languidly, so the spacing between your drawings should not be too great.

Animating a smoke plume

Watch Geoff design, plan, and animate a smoke plume in four videos, located in the playlist below. Use the hamburger icon in the top right of the playlist to access the video menu.

These videos help you complete Task 3: Animate a smoke plume below.

Animating fire can be a great challenge!

Learn how to visually represent fire – from candles to fireballs – to help you plan, design, and animate a campfire.

Factors to consider

When animating fire, you need to consider the following factors:

• size and conditions
• flame movement
• timing.

Each of these factors impacts how you go about animating a fire effectively.

Size and conditions

When animating fire, ask yourself the following questions:

• What is the size of the fire?
• What are the conditions surrounding the fire?
• Is it windy or calm?

Flame movement

Fire is an exothermic reaction, so you need to think about how heat and hot air affect how flames move:

1. As the fire gets larger and hotter, it will draw in cold air at the base of the fire.
2. The cold air heats up and then rises as hot air, drawing the flames and any sparks generated.

Because the hot air rises, fire and flames will always travel upward, like the smoke in the previous subtopic. Remember this when drawing any in-betweens, and keep volumes moving upwards with the flow of hot air.

Timing

Fire and flames can vary in their timing and spacing. Generally, the larger the fire, the more erratic and chaotic the fire will behave.

As such, you can get away with more variation in the shapes and size of the flames as the fire animates.

Flames

Small flames

Small flames - like the flame of a candle or a match - are the simplest forms of fire that someone might ask you to animate.

Gentle small flames

Small flames can move gently and predictably. Add side-to-side and up-and-down movements to a flame for a gentle effect, as shown in Diagram 2.

Play this clip (2 seconds) to see this in action.

Turbulent small flames

Small flames can also move more haphazardly if there is even a very small amount of turbulence in the air surrounding the flame. Apply a circular path to a flame’s tip for a turbulent effect, as shown in Diagram 3.

Play this clip (3 seconds) to see this in action.

Larger flames

Larger flames and fires are more challenging to animate.

The best way to begin animating a fire is to draw flame-like shapes. Look at some reference material of flames and fire and try to identify the common shapes within the flames.

Extra detail

A small flame – like a candle – is almost the silhouette of a larger flame with variations in its colours around the edges. But as a fire gets larger – like a burning torch – you need to include extra detail within the flames to sell the larger scale of the fire.

Extra movement

The movement of a larger fire changes, too. Swipe through the three images below to see a description of this movement.

Another approach to animating larger flames is to create a series of rising shapes. You then use these rising shapes to create the undulating shapes of the flames, whipping backwards and forwards as each side of the flame gets hotter and cooler.

Play this clip (1 second) to see this in action.

Even larger flames

Fireballs

Detail in an even larger flame, like an explosive fireball, is even more extreme.

Play this clip (7 seconds) to see a fireball reference.

If you analyse the image, you will start seeing some simpler shapes in the overall form of the fire. There are cauliflower-like shapes in the volumes with some smaller surface details.

The details and colour variation show that the flames are hottest in the very bright areas and darker where the flames are cooler in temperature.

Campfires

The clip below of an animated campfire is a very stylised version of flames with its blocky, almost oval shape. Still, when it moves, there is no mistaking a campfire!

Play the clip (1 second) to see it in action.

Design

Select + to view four design components you can use when animating fire.

Animating a campfire

Watch Geoff design, plan, and animate a campfire in two videos, located in the playlist below. Use the hamburger icon in the top right of the playlist to access the video menu.

These videos help you complete Task 4: Animate a campfire below.

Water and splashes can be among the more challenging effects to animate.

Explore the different ways water behaves – such as small or deep splashes – so you can simulate its movement by designing convincing water effects animation.

Factors to consider

When animating water, you need to consider the following factors:

• fluid dynamics
• surface tension
• gravity.

Fluid dynamics

Water as a liquid will always flow and try to find the lowest possible resting place. When it rests, water will try to level itself out unless an outside force is applied to keep the liquid water moving and flowing.

Surface tension

Water will also tend to clump and stick together due to a force called surface tension, which attracts and holds water molecules together.

Surface tension is a universal force attracting in all directions at once, so any water not in contact with a surface will always try to assume a spherical shape.

Contrary to popular opinion, the assumed ‘teardrop’ shape of raindrops is incorrect. Rain or falling water will always try to assume a sphere shape.

Gravity

With a dripping tap, the water behaves like it is sticking to the underside surface of the tap until there is too much weight of water present. This is due to surface tension.

Gravity will then tear a drop of water from the clump, and it will fall. Timing and spacing will be especially important to simulate gravity in your animation.

Small splashes

In small-scale splashes, the surface tension of the water has a greater influence over the overall shape of the water. It will tend to want to clump together and form a sheet or blobby clumps.

Play the clip below (10 seconds) and note the clumped-together shapes and overall blobby nature of the water splashes.

Key stages of a splash

A splash can be described in four key stages.

Stage	Description
1. Strike	An object striking the water breaks the surface. The surface tension is temporarily broken and dragged down by the fast-sinking object.
2. Initial splash	The water moves as a cohesive sheet of water. This stage is where the energy of the splash is at its greatest.
3. Transition	As the energy dissipates from the initial splash, gravity starts to act on the movement. The sheet slows down, becoming curvier in appearance. The sheet is also starting to pull apart, and holes are forming in the design.
4. Dissipation	The water sheet starts to fall, speeding up as gravity takes hold of the water droplets. The sheet will continue to break up into individual droplets of water. During this stage, a secondary column of water can form as the break in the water's surface reestablishes after the object that caused the splash struck the water's surface.

Design

To make things easier initially, think about the splash in 2D space, using only simple shapes and no detail. Using this approach, you can:

• Think about the movement of the water in the vertical and horizontal directions.
• Remove the added complexity of depth (for the moment).

Play this clip (1 second) to see an outcome of this approach.

Key positions

Now, select + to view four key positons that help you animate a small splash. Each step is aligned to the four splash stages explained above.

Secondary column

Splashes will generate a secondary column of water. The column shoots up through the centre of the initial splash as the surface of the water reforms after the object has passed through.

You may find it easier to animate the secondary column of water on a separate level from the main splash, to control the secondary column’s timing and appearance more easily and independently from the main splash.

In the Dissipation key position above, the secondary column has been drawn in a different colour for clarity. You will again need key positions for the:

1. first appearance of the column
2. apex or highest position
3. dissipation
4. lowest position of the dissipation just before it disappears.

Timing

Lastly, add any in-betweens that may be required to smooth out the splash.

Remember to have easing around the apexes of the moving parts of the splash. That means easing into and out of the apexes so that the droplets and secondary column appear to:

1. slow down as they reach the apex
2. then, speed up again as they leave the apex.

Doing this will give the splash animation the illusion of gravity and weight.

Animating a small splash effect with no depth

Watch Geoff animate a small splash effect (with no depth) using the above process in this video, which will help you complete Task 5: Animate a small splash effect with no depth below.

Adding depth

You now know the mechanics and stages of a splash!

Next, you need to consider adding depth – so start thinking of a splash in 3D.

Select + to view two simple stages of designing the key position of a 3D splash.

Key stages

Now that you have a key position to build from, add the remaining key positions by following the steps in the previous section Small splashes > Design.

Select + to view the four key stages of a splash, if you need a refresher. Which stage do you focus on next?

Play this clip (1 second) to see an outcome of this 3D approach.

Ripples

You also need to animate some ripples when you have small water splashes.

These include ripples:

• that expand outwards from the location of the initial splash
• for any droplets ejected from the water's surface by the initial and secondary splashes.

Watch this GIF to see ripples in action.

Design

The ripple's design in the previous clip is quite simple: two concentric rings with the space between them filled with a solid colour value.

When designing the breakup portion of the animation, break up the ripple into asymmetrical and different-sized sections, which is more appealing than having all the sections the same size and spaced the same distance apart.

Timing

To animate a stylised ripple, you need to animate an expanding circle that:

1. starts fast, then
2. eases into the final position, while
3. breaking up into smaller parts before disappearing entirely.

Watch the GIF again to see ripples in action.

The following image describes the animation sequence’s ten frames:

1. The ripple starts small and almost unbroken.
2. As the ripple expands outwards, it slows down.
3. It breaks up into smaller, separated parts, with the larger ripple sections taking the longest to break up and disappear (which creates some nice overlapping timing that adds interest to the sequence).

Animating a small splash effect with depth

Watch Geoff animate a small splash effect (with depth) in three videos, located in the playlist below. Use the hamburger icon in the top right of the playlist to access the video menu.

These videos help you complete Task 6: Animate a small splash effect with depth below.

Layering effects

You can create more complex animated effects by layering several elements together.

Watch the GIF below – it’s a good example of breaking up a large, relatively complicated effect and making it much more achievable.

There are seven different animated cycles included in the waterfall. Each one has no more than five or six animation frames, but the whole, when viewed together, is extremely convincing.

Watch the GIF below to see the different animated cycles.

Large and high-energy splashes

In large-scale and high-energy splashes, the energy of the water's momentum is high enough to easily overcome the surface tension of the water. It will break up the water into many more tiny parts, giving it a foamy, highly vaporised, and frothy effect.

Play this clip (7 seconds) of a wave crashing against rocks. Animating this would be a hugely challenging task!

Design

You need to greatly simplify the design to animate the complex wave featured in the above clip.

Play this next clip (3 seconds) for an example of another large-scale wave crashing on the rocks. This footage will become your starting point for the simple design approach outlined below.

Select + to view three simple design steps for a large-scale wave effect using the clip above.

Explore the visual flair of animation through special effects like pops, trails, lightning, and electrical arcing. These effects inject dynamism into your frames, creating a visually engaging experience.

Pop effect

The pop effect is a fun and quick animation sequence.

It is useful for adding detail and nuance to a shot which needs an impact or a bit of extra business going on around another larger effect.

Timing

The pop is a short effect, usually only a few frames long – this image shows a sequence of 15 frames:

The pop should appear and disappear quickly, leaving only a brief impression of it having been on-screen.

Play this clip (1 second) to see the pop in action.

Once you have your pop animated, you can get a lot of value from the sequence by simply duplicating the animated element, scattering it around the shot, and varying the start frame of each instance of the sequence.

Play this clip (2 seconds) to see an example of a duplicated pop.

Design

The design of a pop is where you can have fun and get inspired by nature's patterns, which you can then apply to the effect during the pop's breakup section.

In the first clip above, the breakup is like segments inside an orange or pomegranate. With some small adjustments to the design of the breakup portion, you can apply the pop to:

• ripples on a pond surface after a raindrop
• dusty hits from bullets striking a wall
• small firework explosions.

With imagination, the options are almost limitless!

Animating a pop sequence

Trail effect

You can use the trail effect when characters or objects suddenly zip by the camera or suddenly go from a standing start to off-screen, in the style of Road Runner or Wile E. Coyote.

Play this clip to see a trail in action.

Key stages of a trail effect

Select + to view four stages of the trail effect from the clip above.

Design

Now that you’ve got familiar with the key stages of a trail effect, how can these stages drive a trail’s design?

Effect’s path

You should start creating this effect by designing a strong image of the path that the effect will take. Spend time on the design and try to develop a single interesting and appealing frame.

As mentioned. the effect's ‘path’ will be the effect’s lasting picture, the image that burns into your mind, even once it's gone.

Effect forms

Once you have your path key frame done, you can then create the animation around it. You need to think about how the effect is going to form.

• Does the path form as a character or object zips by?
• Is it from something starting within the frame (like the clip above)?

In the example above, the effect builds as if the character or object has sucked some of the ground dust or vapour off the surface from where it starts.

Effect starts to break up, then dissipates

You can handle the effect's dissipation much like the dissipation of smoke or mist, where the path breaks up slowly according to its size.

Larger parts break up into smaller and smaller parts and take longer to disappear than the smallest parts. The key thing to remember is that only some of the effect disappears at the same time.

Try to ensure that the dissipation is varied over the whole path.

Timing

The trail's formation happens very quickly. The dissipation should take longer and disappear at a slower rate.

This contrast in the fast and slow timing of the effect will add even more appeal to the shot.

Animating a trail sequence

Watch Geoff animate a smoke trail sequence in three videos, located in the playlist below. Use the hamburger icon in the top right of the playlist to access the video menu.

These videos help you complete Task 7: Animate a trail sequence below.

Lightning and electrical arcing

Lighting is another extremely rewarding effect to animate. As with the trail effect, the ‘lasting picture’ design of your main key position for the electrical effect is the effect's most important part.

Play this video (54 seconds, on loop) to see a lightning effect in action – it’s positively brimming with fantastic electrical effects for your viewing pleasure!

Reference: Elec_2D 2 from Matthieu Petit on Vimeo.

Design

Any electrical effect you design should be as asymmetrical as possible. When creating the key design, try to think about the massive amounts of energy the arc is channelling! Select + to view five steps to design an arc between two points, a simple way to start.

Once you have decided on a sufficiently interesting arc design, you can start to make it move!

Timing

An electrical arc will appear and dissipate extremely quickly, and each arc or strike will usually only last for approximately 10 -20 frames.

You should animate all electrical effects on ones, i.e., one drawing per frame.

Select + to analyse one of the smaller arc animation sequences from the clip you played at the start of this subtopic.

This sequence is a total of 8 frames before it disappears from the screen.

Animating an arc

Play this clip (2 seconds) to see an arc animation in action.

Use a formula and create your own

Now, have a go at creating your own arc animation! Select + to follow a four-step formula.

Large arcs or lightning strikes

Play the following two clips to compare an animated lightning strike.

This clip (1 second) does not have a white card and a black card added to the animation.

This next clip (1 second) has a white card and a black card added to the animation.

Which clip appeals to you the most?

With large arcs or lightning strikes, and to simulate the flash of the blast, consider adding a white card and a black card on successive frames after the strike.

The screenshot below shows that the FX animation continues after the flash. This sequence ensures that you do not lose two of your animated frames.

Animating an electrical sequence

Watch Geoff design and animate an electrical sequence in this video, which will help you complete Task 10: Animate an electrical sequence below.

In this Effects Animation topic, you’ve explored how effects animation allows for a focus on abstract shapes and freer movement. You’ve:

• built your skills in collecting reference materials to help translate your observations into animated effects
• considered factors to depict various physical processes such as airflow, wave-like motion, flame movement, and surface tension
• used planning and design approaches to animate realistic effects, such as dust clouds, smoke plumes, campfires, and water splashes
• crafted special effects by creating sequences for pops, trails, and lightning.

As you continue your journey in animation, remember to harness the skills and techniques you’ve gained in this topic to elevate your future projects with captivating, realistic animated sequences.

Reflect on what you’ve learnt, practised, and achieved

As you wrap up this topic, take a moment to reflect on what you've learnt, practised, and achieved by completing the various learning tasks in this topic.

You've dived deep into animating different effects. Consider how your emerging skills are now valuable tools in your creative arsenal. Harness these techniques to infuse life and dynamism into each frame, guiding your animation towards impactful, visually stunning creations. Keep pushing the boundaries of what's possible!

#	Learning Task Name	Duration (Hours)
1	Create thumbnails, drawings and notations	2
2	Animate a dust cloud	8
3	Animate a smoke plume	6
4	Animate a campfire	8
5	Animate a small splash effect with no depth	6
6	Animate a small splash effect with depth	8
7	Animate a pop sequence	4
8	Animate a trail sequence	8
9	Design a series of arc key shapes and colour treatments	1
10	Animate an electrical sequence	6