Niagara
I wanted to dive deeper into the world of VFX and create my own effects. I decided to learn Unreal Engines integrated VFX tool Niagara. Since I had no experience at all with Niagra or VFX I started from zero and slowly tried new things. When learning about certain topics I wrote down important points in order to understand and learn the components of Niagara.
Dandelion
After learning the basics of Niagara, the first system I created was a Dandelion effect. I combined all the modules I had learned to this point to create this effect. For this effect, I used the sprite renderer to display the shape of dandelions. The first thing I did was spawn the particles in a big box rather than on one point. I added wind force and aerodynamic drag to the system to randomize the movement of the particles. For more variety in the system, every particle has a random size.
Fire
Next, I created a dynamic fire effect. By utilizing sub-UV animation techniques, I animated a detailed fire texture, allowing for realistic and captivating flames. To enhance the realism, I used various modules, including random motion, color variation, and opacity changes.
Flame Thrower
The Flame thrower effect is the first system that I created out of multiple emitters. The system starts with a blue flame at the origin, on top of that is the main body of the flame in a vivid yellow and red. The Flame concludes in a dark smoke. To add more realism to the flame I added some heat distortion. Another way how I enhanced the realism is by adding ambers that are flying out of the flame.
Mesh Renderer
So far I only used the sprite renderer to create my systems. To increase the quality and complexity of my effects I started to learn more about the Mesh Renderer. I created a simple vortex to see how this renderer is working and how I can use it in my future systems.
Circles
I created the material for the circles not in a third-party program, instead I used Unreal's Material editor and used Radial Gradient Exponentials to create a circle material. The textures are baked and then drawn to a render target. After that, I used them on a plane combining them with the Mesh Renderer.
Ribbon Renderer
The next renderer that I learned was the ribbon renderer. I used this to create a trail behind moving objects, by adjusting the width, opacity, and color over time I was able to create an effect to my liking. I am currently learning more about the ribbon renderer and all its functions. And I already have cool effects in my head that I can create with it.
UV Manipulation and Shaders
My area of expertise lies more in programming, but I still enjoy the creative aspect of art and the idea of creating something visual based on your own imagination, so I started looking into shaders, which combines both coding and art. I started with simple UV manipulations such as offsetting, rotating, distorting, and dissolving textures.
W.I.P.
This project is one of two projects on which I am currently working on. At the moment I am learning more about Visual Effects, Niagara, and Shaders. I am trying to improve my skills and to develop more stunning and complex effects. My goal with this project is to learn how to create visual effects for abilities or hit reactions. I think VFX makes a big difference in a game and so far I am very much enjoying working and learning about VFX.