Fire Magic VFX Set

For this project, I created a set of stylized combat VFX based on the 'Witching Hour' concepts by Devin Yang. I wanted to push my technical skills as a VFX artist and explore using concept art as a basis for my design. This project took eight weeks and dozens of hours to complete.

I greatly expanded my knowledge of Unreal Engine 4 Niagara, including how to combine different particle systems together and use events to trigger emitters based on other emitters’ behavior. I also experimented with using mesh particles and Unreal’s material nodes system to create stylized fire, smoke, and explosions. This project challenged me to translate a two-dimensional concept into a 3D, real-time effect and to capture the vibrant colors of the concept while balancing the brightness and saturation of the many elements.

Since the effects from the concept are meant to be used in gameplay for the same character, I focused on making these effects visually consistent and readable, making the effects aesthetically pleasing and viable for gameplay. By pushing my boundaries as an artist on this project and learned a lot about particle systems and stylization along the way.

'Witching Hour' concept by Devin Yang: https://www.artstation.com/artwork/w6KYRZ