FX Artist and Illustrator Bobby Donald has unveiled his latest After Effects experiment – which came about because he "got carried away" – a striking stylized 3D-looking explosion created entirely from 2D layers
According to the creator, the project began with a set of simple and small cel-style smoke puffs, which were eventually combined into a single explosion FX. The color and shading were developed by merging several of the smaller puffs, then layering on additional FX and compositing to add color and make the smoke dissipate more naturally.
The mini sprites themselves, he added, involved a lot of warping. To distort the smoke and build up the cel-style look, the author used Mesh Warp, Bulge, Transform, Twirl, and Liquify. "I chose this angle and used a floor grid to practice depth and a 3D look," Bobby said.
