SPECIAL FX: What about hand drawn particle sprites ?
polycounter lvl 9
Hello, Polycounters
This topic regards something that I hold very dear since my ealiest day of gaming: Sprite particles or sprite FX, not sure how they are called but whatever, I'll give more example.
You guys probably must have seen the latest Killzone or inFamous games, right.
In terms of particles, they come across the best games that have really made a big show out of their particle system.
They of course look awesome. However, these particles are mostly computer generated driven by programmed settings and are animated by dynamics integrated in the engine. In the end, after the initial setup is done, I'm not sure but I don't think they hold any ''artistic value'' as they are mostly created and handled by the engine ( right) ?
But what about sprites?
I mean hand drawn special FX.
These are generally found in alot of RPG and MMORPG when characters are casting spells, magic or for other interaction.
Basically, I'm talking about pre-animated particle sprites, not animated by random values based on dynamics.
Square Enix are the best at making them.
So what do you think about them?
And also, is there any documentation on how to draw and animate these sorts of pattern so it looks as good? I haven't managed to find any...
Let's say for example, I want to make a shniny lightning strike without using any dynamics or particles, what program can I use to make them?
This topic regards something that I hold very dear since my ealiest day of gaming: Sprite particles or sprite FX, not sure how they are called but whatever, I'll give more example.
You guys probably must have seen the latest Killzone or inFamous games, right.
In terms of particles, they come across the best games that have really made a big show out of their particle system.
They of course look awesome. However, these particles are mostly computer generated driven by programmed settings and are animated by dynamics integrated in the engine. In the end, after the initial setup is done, I'm not sure but I don't think they hold any ''artistic value'' as they are mostly created and handled by the engine ( right) ?
But what about sprites?
I mean hand drawn special FX.
These are generally found in alot of RPG and MMORPG when characters are casting spells, magic or for other interaction.
Basically, I'm talking about pre-animated particle sprites, not animated by random values based on dynamics.
Square Enix are the best at making them.
So what do you think about them?
And also, is there any documentation on how to draw and animate these sorts of pattern so it looks as good? I haven't managed to find any...
Let's say for example, I want to make a shniny lightning strike without using any dynamics or particles, what program can I use to make them?
Replies
Look at the Infamous particles. You've got black smoke (trail), black smoke (puffs), fire trails, sparks. Each of these need controls for spawn speed, clustering, warping, trail speed, etc. LOTS of artistic decisions. But the tech artists and the programmers on the particle system editors put in a lot of work to supply the particle artist with all the tools needed to make those decisions, so some of it was in-engine. It's still art-driven, though.
[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Elemental-Magic-Volume-Special-Animation/dp/0240811631/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1396791228&sr=8-1&keywords=elemental+magic"]http://www.amazon.com/Elemental-Magic-Volume-Special-Animation/dp/0240811631/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1396791228&sr=8-1&keywords=elemental+magic[/ame]
[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Elemental-Magic-Volume-Technique-Animation/dp/0240814797/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1396791228&sr=8-2&keywords=elemental+magic"]http://www.amazon.com/Elemental-Magic-Volume-Technique-Animation/dp/0240814797/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1396791228&sr=8-2&keywords=elemental+magic[/ame]