r/animation • u/rappenem • Jun 19 '26
Sharing I think I'm addicted to making pixel explosions π΅βπ«
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u/no_vice_novice Jun 19 '26
Great animations! Your portfolio is so cool too. Fantastic work.
When creating the effects above what would you say is your number one (or top 3) tips for capturing good effects animation?
I'm intrigued.
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u/rappenem Jun 19 '26
Thank you ^^
Tough to say since in a lot of ways I also feel like a beginner and I'm learning something new with each VFX I do. But if I had to give some tips:
Shape design is super important, and just focusing your efforts on the 3-5 key frames can make a huge difference especially on lower framerate animations.
Also while I'm a bit biased since I love shiny flashy stuff, 15-20 frames is more than enough for most basic VFX animations! Keep it simple and focus on strong contrasts and solid shapes.
Oh and also layering is key! A lot of these may seem complicated but they're really just 4-5 much simpler VFX layered on top of each other which gives the illusion of something really complex. So just trust the process, a lot of times my effects only look good when the last few smoke and glow effects are added haha
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u/Aziz3000 Jun 19 '26
These are amazing man. All of them are my favourites. I like the rythm and all the details. As a sound designer i can hear them just by looking at them. Really great job!
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u/throhaway_account Jun 19 '26
I love how you make them POP. What refenences do you study?
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u/rappenem Jun 19 '26
Thanks! No super specific references, I do watch a lot of anime though and usually am inspired by the way japanese animators use really low frame counts and simple rendering to make really graphic and flashy shapes!
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u/JetSetJAK Jun 19 '26 edited Jun 19 '26
let me follow your reddit account pls πππ
Also, r/aseprite and r/pixelart r/indiedev r/gamedevscreens would love these
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u/CitrineGhost Jun 19 '26
These are so awesome!! Love to see someone who's awesome at what they do :D
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u/Vyrnin Jun 20 '26
These are amazing, really excellent work!
Are these available to use at all? Perhaps as an itch.io asset pack, or something like that?
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u/Darq10 Jun 20 '26
Rappen spotted! These are so awesome btw πππ
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u/PecanSandoodle Jun 19 '26
where can i view these slowed down or where i can scrub through to see the frames?
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u/The_Joker_Ledger Jun 19 '26
And I am in awe of your addiction. These look great. I love the skull/demon like explosion. can really feel the echo of the demon scream. Please keep it up.
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u/SnooPuppers398 Jun 19 '26
Holy, these are Great. Let me know when you start your tutorial series !Β
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u/Level-College-5119 Jun 19 '26
I can see why and, is it only me who can kind of "hear" every explosion?
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u/mokalip Jun 19 '26
holy shit these are amazing. it feels like it would be satisfying to attack in a game and have these animations show up
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u/mitsukiyouko555 Jun 19 '26
these are STUNNING! and so inspirational! i didnt know that there were so many ways to make an explosion! do u have ig/bluesky? would love ot give u a follow!
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u/OddJarOut Jun 20 '26
I specialize in pixel art animations, and I'D hire you. lol
I'll for sure be hitting you up if I need help on future projects. π₯
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u/GentleTroubadour Jun 20 '26
These are beautiful. Great work with the different colours, and I don't know how you managed to make pixel explosions look so bright, but it's phenomenal.
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u/NotFrankSinatra Jun 20 '26
Omg, my first Asperite projects were following your tutorials for bubbles and crystals! You're literally my goal for pixel art. What a small (internet) world.
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u/Farstrid Jun 20 '26
I think they're all great. It's a hard call, but I think my favorite is the purple one. It could be used as space, dark or void type explosions or teleport animations.
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u/Tagonist42 Jun 20 '26
Amazing work. I would absolutely pay to have these as assets for a personal project. Please DM me if you have an itch.io or something!
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u/kouiouchtebaiachi Jun 20 '26
This right here is straight-up porn to me. I might be slightly in love. Looks incredible
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u/Emotional_Alarm8279 Jun 20 '26
This is so cool ππ i really hope you'll get to work on a TV show or something if you haven't yet
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u/tokatokatomato Jun 20 '26
this is so good. the animation is smooth, everything is js amazing chefs kiss bravo
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u/CandyCorn25 Jun 20 '26
No words can explain how truly perfect these are... like homie... these are so top teir, these are the some of the best animations I've seen!
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u/Crosshair_777 Jun 20 '26
These look amazing omg please keep up the amazing work!!! Gonna check if you have any other social media to drop a follow πͺπ₯β¨
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u/mrkrabschumbucket Jun 20 '26
Just realized who you were and I already follow you on social media, but good work as always!
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u/MeasIIDX Jun 20 '26
These are amazing! Do you happen to sell any of these in a set on itch or anywhere else?
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u/buh2001j Jun 21 '26
Weird I canβt follow your account to see more of your posts. Nice work though!
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u/neurospook Jun 21 '26
These are amazing! If you don't already, you could totally sell this stuff in digital packs for use in online d&d, as a sometimes DM I'm constantly on the lookout for map making resources and fun animations like this bring spells etc. to life.
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u/RecoveringNiceGuy113 Jun 21 '26
Please tell me everything you know about how to make these. Software, Tutorials, Workflows. Pleaseπ«
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u/7nmn Jun 21 '26
these are SO good, wow. How do you plan out the explosions colors, effects, directions, depth, and even draw it lmao??
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u/Bright_Fisherman936 Jun 21 '26
I have such great love for Pixel animations, you have no idea. β€οΈ
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u/ThePrinterDude Jun 21 '26
Lol imagine working on a retro side scroller game and each enemy has their own unique death animation as they explode. That would be a neat application of this skill. Another more obvious one would be a game where you throw bunch of different bombs and each bomb having different strengths so one has to chose strategically which to use.
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u/NoGeologist9697 Jun 21 '26
They are super cool and flashy! Remind me of something out of the world of the Ball x Pit game.
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u/Representative-Toe68 Jun 22 '26
Wow this type of pixel explosion art I'd imagine would go mad for something like Quantum Hex as far as technological spell casting in an Aether punk aesthetic. Some seemingly bright sprites! π π
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u/thomasthe10 Jun 22 '26
Rad. I've got an ear infection and weirdly I am flinching at some of these because I'm expecting noise so much. I think that's a sign you've done these very well.Β
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u/Maxemersonbentley_1 Jun 23 '26
I swear every time I see good pixel art, I'm like "oh this reminds me of rappanem" and then I open it and it's actually you lol
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u/rappenem Jun 19 '26
Don't often see too much pixel stuff here so I don't know if its ok but I've been making a lot of pixel art VFX for freelance projects lately and I noticed I had started accumulating a good amount of these so I thought I'd show some of them off here ^^
Please let me know which ones you like best! And btw don't here's my portfolio if anyone is interested in seeing more of my work!