Moho Forum

Hey guys!

In this short little animation I'm working on, a campfire plays a big part.
This is kinda the focus, so I want the fire to look really nice. Though, I'm pretty bad at making fire, and I don't know of a good way to do it.

I want it to be really smooth and pretty, so could someone show/link me a good tutorial to make or learn how to make nice fire?
I don't really mind if it is particles or just vector animation, heck, I don't even care if it's for Anime Studio!

I'm using Anime Studio 9, but I could make due of a tutorial that's for different version or using features I don't have.

Thanks guys, and have a good rest of the day!

My best luck with fire so far has been to make it in Photoshop on multiple layers for each frame of fire, and import to ASP as a PSD file with the 'individually' option, then put all the layers in a switch and animate them in AS. Here's a tutorial below, just don't export to GIF and save as a PSD file, then import that into AS.

I use Elements 11 but plan to try doing similar in the other apps I have that export PSD files like Artrage and Sketchbook Pro, they all have their strengths so I want to experiment with all of them with ASP. I think ASP is great, but part of that greatness is the ability to integrate PSD files nicely. Just so you are aware of the options

I'm also waiting on a book Elemental Magic V1 about animating special effects in 2D. http://www.amazon.com/Elemental-Magic-V ... 0240811631

Oh one thing about fire no matter what you use to draw it, ASP or PS, is using the layer settings motion blur effect might be worth trying. I'm experimenting with it today, using Sketchbook Pro's new animation feature to draw it and then importing the png sequence into ASP. Seems pretty cool though my fire still needs work.

this post from Slowtiger might help: viewtopic.php?f=6&t=24488&p=135352

Thank you guys so much these are so helpful!!
I don't have Photoshop, but I have PSP 8, and while it isn't nearly as nice (and crashes all the gosh darn time) but it is a usable substitute.
Thanks again!

I have made some fire tests using particles and threshold. It's far to be perfect, but it works well enough for me.
You can check them in
Library>effects>Particle effects>Victor Paredes
- Fire_threshold
- Fire_threshold2

Best AS fire effect, IMO: viewtopic.php?f=5&t=24212

selgin wrote:I have made some fire tests using particles and threshold. It's far to be perfect, but it works well enough for me.
You can check them in
Library>effects>Particle effects>Victor Paredes
- Fire_threshold
- Fire_threshold2
-Fire examples-

Those are gorgeous!
I can't find them in my library, where can I download them?
I would love to play around with them!

synthsin75 wrote:Best AS fire effect, IMO: viewtopic.php?f=5&t=24212

Wow that is beautiful. And it would look great in what I'm working on, though I feel like it's a bit advanced for me...

synthsin75 wrote:Best AS fire effect, IMO: viewtopic.php?f=5&t=24212

I forgot that thread! I agree with you, it's the best fire effect on the whole forum

Hopper200456 wrote:I can't find them in my library, where can I download them?

They are part of AS10 and I think you won't be able to open them in a previous version. Anyway, here are both:
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/544 ... shold.anme
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/544 ... ld_04.anme

selgin wrote: They are part of AS10 and I think you won't be able to open them in a previous version. Anyway, here are both:
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/544 ... shold.anme
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/544 ... ld_04.anme

Poopy.
Well I'll give it a shot anyway, because they just that good looking.

I've been trying to get something similar to this tutorial happening in ASP but no real luck so far, I have been messing with animating a curve profile. Does anyone have any advice? I like the general look.

I couldn't wait to try out oddity's technique in synthsin's link. The basic set up is fairly easy, but it takes some time to find the right settings for the particle layer. Here's what I came up with after playing around for a couple hours:



Here's the AS file to examine (v9.5).

The only thing I couldn't figure out was how to slow down the flame, which I solved by rendering at half rate. But perhaps someone could suggest another way?

I slowed it down some.


Mostly just increased the particle lifetimes and lowered the rate.

Here's the file: FlameTest (slowed).anme

I'm back to doing it frame by frame, I can't get Oddity's effect to look how I want it, it is great for what it is but it is hard to stylize into different things for me, the particles are just kinda hard for me to wrap my mind around conceptually. I just need to learn to draw fire better, which in the long run may pay off better. I do wish that something like that After Effects example were easier in AS, that is pretty slick, and looks like the artist still has a decent amount of control.

I do wish that something like that After Effects example were easier in AS, that is pretty slick, and looks like the artist still has a decent amount of control.

Remember what AFX is: a program to add effect to stuff created elsewhere. So it has to provide some ready-made solutions out of the box, which look convincingly enough when compared to live footage. Advantage: you can achieve some decent-looking results quite fast. Disadvantage: all movies out of AFX look somewhat the same.

AS on the other hand is a program where you really create stuff, and it is for animation, drawn stuff, not mimicking real life. This means you need to know more, observe better, and be creative with your tools. Disadvantage: you have to do it yourself. No simple button for "Fire". Advantage: whatever you create will be truely your own, your style, your invention.