Ep3 - Making a Spark Burst - Learn with Us: First Playable Grenade Explosion | BFX-U
Light the spark of your new effect.
Time To Customize
The inaugural BFX-U | Learn with Us course rolls on with Episode 3. By now, you should be getting to grips with some of the terminology you’ll be using, and have a fundamental understanding of what Unreal Engine and Niagara actually do. It’s now time to put those lessons into action and begin crafting that playable grenade explosion effect. General Manager and Founder Keith Guerrette and Director of Marketing & Content Julian Bahmani pick up where they left off and embark on the practical part of this journey.
Episode 3 is available on the Beyond-FX YouTube channel right now, alongside the rest of this BFX-U | Learn with Us series. Don’t forget to like and subscribe, so you don’t miss out on all of our future educational content such as our Quick Tips and Level-Up Series. We recommend you refer back to previous episodes of the series to keep cementing those basics, as you start picking up new skills.
Episode 3 - Unreal Sparks
With the introductions out of the way, and the basics of the Niagara particle editor introduced, the team is now looking at the nitty-gritty of creating realistic and explosive visual effects. Sparks are a natural place to start and a must-have element of any fiery effect. After providing useful insight into how to preview the effect as it is created, Keith Guerrette walks us through the intricacies of controlling the sparks.
Velocity, drag, turbulence, scale, direction, and range are just some of the elements you’ll need to keep an eye on. Terms like vector and float are given more context and each time a unique component is brought into play, the impact this has on the visual effect is showcased.
The tools you pick up here should help you create a custom spark effect that is based entirely on your vision. From randomizing the pop, to controlling the color, the power is in your hands to make choices that form realistic or whimsical end results.
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Keep The Questions Coming
Throughout this tutorial, we’ve made some recommendations of what to avoid and how to get the most out of the Niagara system. But, are you looking for another shortcut to use? Do you have more questions about the terms that were discussed? Perhaps you want to know more about the limitations or benefits of this method.
Irrespective of what you want to know, we’ll do our best to arm you with the knowledge you need. Make sure to ask your questions on our socials and YouTube feed.
Plus, we absolutely want to see how your project is coming along. Show us the spark effects that you’ve produced using this BFX-U | Learn with Us course by tagging us on Twitter @Beyond_FX. Tune in to Episode 4 right now, to continue your training.
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