2D Explosion Animations: Make Cartoony VFX in Photoshop from Udemy

Get ready to make 2D visual effects of things go BOOM in a truly fun cartoony way. Because this course is all about awesome 2D explosion effects. Using Photoshop you will learn to create various kinds of explosive VFX that could easily be used as game assets, video FX or materials for any other 2D animation projects.

We have fire explosion, water bubble burst, lightning strike and more cool animations waiting to be brought to life. So, let’s get to it.

Why choose Photoshop for your 2D explosion FX?

Being a leading visual editing software on the market, Photoshop also provides a very comfortable environment for creating visual effects.

It is a powerful software, packed with useful tools that are easy to learn and enjoyable to use. Those qualities combined make Adobe Photoshop a go-to software for the majority of visual artists, photographers, and animators.

Making frame by frame visual effects such as 2D cartoony explosions is a fun and rewarding process. Photoshop makes it also an easy one.

What will you get from this course?

This course will teach you how to make your own 2D explosion animation sprite sheet from scratch. No previous Photoshop knowledge, or artistic skills required. Just a desire to learn making your own cartoony VFX.

In this course we will:

- Go over the basics of Photoshop to get ready for working with the software- Draw frame by frame our own cartoony explosion animations- Create various kinds of explosion FX including dust, gas and fire explosions - Test our 2D explosions and enhance them to become powerful VFX - Export our explosion animations as sprite sheets from Photoshop

Throughout the course we will look at the complete process of visual effect creation, enhancing and finally exporting the animation ready to use in cartoons, games or videos.

This course will provide you with the skill and knowledge to design and create your own 2D explosion VFX in the future.

Why choose this course to learn creating 2D explosion animations?

As an independent studio we often have to rely on our own skills in creating assets. Luckily for us, we enjoy creating cool cartoony looking stuff quite a lot.

This course is our way of sharing our knowledge with fellow artists. We tried to make it as clear and detailed as we could, to better serve both beginner animators and those of you who already have experience in the field.

Going over various kinds of explosion animations, this course is aiming to grant you an understanding of how to design and bring to life your own 2D VFX.

Moreover, we offer you:

- Personal guidance and answer to any questions (within reasonable response time of up to 1-2 work days, depending on the day of the week).- Quizzes to fortify your knowledge.- Lifetime access to course materials (including any future updates in the course).

We love games and adore animation. This 2D VFX creation course is designed to make it possible to other animators (beginners and advanced) to expand their abilities and be able to create their own fun cartoony assets.

Hope you enjoy taking this course, as much as we enjoyed creating it.

So, sign up, and start making your own awesome 2D explosion animations.

What's inside

Learning objectives

Getting familiar with photoshop commonly used tools and effects
Creating various cartoony frame by frame animations

Ways of making your 2d explosion vfx more powerful and substantial
Exporting animation as a sprite sheet ready for use in your 2d game

Getting familiar with photoshop commonly used tools and effects
Creating various cartoony frame by frame animations
Ways of making your 2d explosion vfx more powerful and substantial
Exporting animation as a sprite sheet ready for use in your 2d game

Syllabus

Introduction

In this lecture we discuss the topics to be learnt in this 2D cartoon explosion animations course, including exploration of Photoshop basics, creating various kinds of animations and exporting your work as a sprite sheet.

Get familiar with basics in this lecture on most commonly used Photoshop tools, and practices that will help you create excellent explosion VFX.

This quiz will help you test your understanding of Photoshop basics required for creating 2D animations.

Learn how to create a cartoony 2D water bubble burst visual effect.

In this lecture we will learn to draw a cartoony water bubble in Photoshop, which will serve as a basis for our bubble burst animation.

In this lecture we begin creating first explosion animation frames for our bubble burst visual effect.

This lecture will conclude the process of creating animation frames for bubble burst effect in Photoshop.

In this very important lecture you will learn how to export your animation as a sprite sheet from Photoshop.

Fortify your knowledge on creating an animation in Photoshop.

Learn to create a 2D animation of a cartoon heart explosion.

In this lecture we will prepare a cartoony heart in Photoshop for us to make a 2D explosion animation from.

This lecture will show you how to begin drawing frames for a nice, juicy explosion FX of a cute cartoony heart.

In this lecture we will finish up all of the remaining frames for the cute heard explosion animation.

Create a cool cartoony 2D dust explosion animation.

In this lecture we will start learning about creating a dust explosion VFX in Photoshop.

This lecture will follow up on the process of creating the dust explosion visual effect in Photoshop, continuing the work on additional frames of the animation.

This lecture will complete the creation of the cartoony dust explosion animation in Photoshop.

Learn how to make gas explosion animation in Photoshop.

This lecture will deal with a toxic gas cloud explosion effect that we will start creating in Photoshop frame by frame.

In this lecture the process of creating frames for the 2D animation of the toxic gas explosion continues.

The concluding lecture on the toxic gas explosion FX.

Learn how to make lightning strike visual effect in Photoshop.

This lecture opens the section on a cool 2D VFX of a the lightning bolt striking the ground. Let's learnt how to create this animation frame by frame in Photoshop.

We continue working on the 2D lightning strike animation in Photoshop, making it look richer, and cooler.

In this lecture we complete the lightning strike FX.

Learn how to make a cartoony fire explosion visual effect in Photoshop.

This lecture will introduce you to the animated 2D fire explosion in Photoshop, and we will animate the first few frames.

In this lecture we continue working on the cartoony fire explosion effect in Photoshop, adding more frames, effects and adjustments.

This lecture completes the process of fire explosion effect creation.

The part where we summarize what we've learned, and complete this Photoshop 2D explosion animations course.

A short summary lecture, where we review the things learnt throughout this 2D explosion FX course, and all the cartoon explosion animations you now know how to create for your games, videos or cartoon projects.

Activities

Be better prepared before your course. Deepen your understanding during and after it. Supplement your coursework and achieve mastery of the topics covered in 2D Explosion Animations: Make Cartoony VFX in Photoshop with these activities:

Brush Tool Mastery

Show steps

Practice using the Photoshop brush tool to create various strokes and textures. This will improve your control and efficiency when drawing explosion frames.

Show steps

Experiment with different brush settings like size, hardness, and opacity.
Practice creating smooth gradients and sharp edges.
Try using custom brushes for unique effects.

Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art

Show steps

Read 'Understanding Comics' to gain a deeper understanding of visual storytelling principles. This will help you create more impactful and dynamic explosion animations.

View The Cartoonists Club: a Graphic Novel on Amazon

Show steps

Read the book and take notes on key concepts.
Analyze how the principles are applied in existing animations and comics.
Apply these principles to your own explosion animation designs.

Animate Simple Shapes

Show steps

Create short animations of simple shapes (e.g., circles, squares) exploding. This will give you practice with frame-by-frame animation and timing.

Show steps

Choose a simple shape to animate.
Plan the animation sequence, breaking it down into key frames.
Draw each frame in Photoshop, paying attention to timing and spacing.
Export the animation as a sprite sheet.

Four other activities

Expand to see all activities and additional details

Show all seven activities

Timing Exercises

Show steps

Practice animating a ball bouncing and exploding at different speeds and timings. This will improve your sense of timing and weight in animation.

Show steps

Animate a ball bouncing at a consistent speed.
Animate a ball bouncing with varying speeds (e.g., accelerating downwards).
Add an explosion effect at the end of the bounce.
Experiment with different explosion timings.

VFX Asset Collection

Show steps

Compile a collection of reference images and videos of real-world explosions and visual effects. This will provide inspiration and help you understand the physics of explosions.

Show steps

Search online for images and videos of explosions, fire, smoke, and other VFX.
Organize the collected assets into categories (e.g., fire explosions, dust explosions, water explosions).
Analyze the assets, paying attention to shape, color, and movement.

Create a Short Animated Scene

Show steps

Create a short animated scene that features one or more of the explosion effects learned in the course. This will allow you to apply your skills in a creative context.

Show steps

Plan the scene, including the setting, characters, and action.
Create a storyboard to visualize the key frames.
Animate the scene in Photoshop, incorporating the explosion effects.
Add sound effects and music to enhance the scene.

The Animator's Survival Kit

Show steps

Study 'The Animator's Survival Kit' to reinforce your understanding of animation principles. This will help you create more realistic and dynamic explosion animations.

View Adventures in Animation: How I Learned Who I... on Amazon

Show steps

Read the book and complete the exercises.
Apply the principles to your own animation projects.
Analyze how the principles are used in professional animations.

Career center

Learners who complete 2D Explosion Animations: Make Cartoony VFX in Photoshop will develop knowledge and skills that may be useful to these careers:

Visual Effects Artist

A visual effects artist creates effects and imagery for film, television, and video games. This course is specifically designed to teach the creation of 2D explosion visual effects, making it highly applicable to this role. The course teaches you how to create your own 2D explosion animation sprite sheet from scratch, enhancing your abilities to create fun cartoony assets. Through hands-on lessons, you will learn to create diverse explosion effects, such as fire, dust, and gas explosions, using Photoshop. The course also covers the process of enhancing these effects to create powerful visuals, which is a critical skill for any visual effects artist. In this role, you will be tasked with improving immersion, and this course helps you to improve in that very area.

See salaries and explore the career path for Visual Effects Artist

Animator

An animator brings characters and stories to life through movement. This course provides a focused education on creating dynamic 2D explosion animations, which are valuable for various animation projects. The course teaches you how to create your own 2D explosion animation sprite sheet from scratch, enhancing your abilities to create fun cartoony assets. You can use the skills learned to add explosive effects to cartoons, short films, or even educational content. The material covered in this course will focus on visual effect creation, enhancing, and exporting the animation, which translates to money saved and more control over animation projects. The course's emphasis on creating various kinds of explosion effects, such as dust, gas, and fire explosions, provides a solid foundation for creating visually stunning animations.

See salaries and explore the career path for Animator

Game Artist

A game artist creates visual assets for video games, from characters and environments to special effects. This course on 2D explosion animations directly translates into creating dynamic and engaging visual effects for games. The course teaches you how to design and create your own 2D explosion visual effects from scratch, enhancing your abilities to create fun cartoony assets. By learning how to create fire explosions, water bubble bursts, and lightning strikes in Photoshop, you gain a practical skillset that you can immediately apply to game development. Mastering the creation of sprite sheets, as taught in this very course, is crucial for optimizing game performance. As a game artist, you are tasked with improving immersion, and this course helps you do exactly that.

See salaries and explore the career path for Game Artist

Motion Graphics Designer

A motion graphics designer creates animated graphics and visual effects for various media. The 2D Explosion Animations course is highly relevant for creating eye-catching and dynamic motion graphics. The course teaches you how to create your own 2D explosion animation sprite sheet from scratch, enhancing your abilities to create fun cartoony assets. The course's lessons on creating various explosion effects, including water bubble bursts and lightning strikes, will enable you to craft engaging visual elements for commercials, music videos, and explainer videos. The final product can be easily integrated into motion graphics projects. This course will aid in learning a vital element of motion graphics.

See salaries and explore the career path for Motion Graphics Designer

Character Designer

A character designer creates the visual appearance of characters for animation, video games, and other media. While this role focuses on character appearance, the ability to create complementary visual effects can greatly enhance a character's presence. The course teaches you how to create your own 2D explosion animation sprite sheet from scratch, enhancing your abilities to create fun cartoony assets. Learning to create various explosion effects, such as heart explosions, dust explosions, and gas explosions, adds another dimension to character design, enabling the creation of dynamic character introductions, transformations, or special abilities. The course's focus on cartoony visual effects aligns well with character design, enhancing the quality of the final product. As a character designer, you will be tasked with improving immersion, and this course helps you do exactly that.

See salaries and explore the career path for Character Designer

Storyboard Artist

A storyboard artist visualizes the narrative of a film, animation, or video game through a series of drawings. While storyboarding focuses on conveying the story's flow, understanding visual effects can enhance the impact of key scenes. The course teaches you how to create your own 2D explosion animation sprite sheet from scratch, enhancing your abilities to create fun cartoony assets. Learning to create different explosion effects, such as fire explosions, water bubble bursts, and lightning strikes, allows a storyboard artist to depict these scenes with greater accuracy and detail. This can help directors and animators better understand the intended visual impact of explosive moments. The course's practical approach to creating 2D explosion animations is valuable for any storyboard artist who wishes to improve their understanding of visual storytelling.

See salaries and explore the career path for Storyboard Artist

Multimedia Artist

A multimedia artist creates animation, visual effects, and other visual elements for a variety of media. This role is versatile and requires proficiency in various software and techniques. The course teaches you how to create your own 2D explosion animation sprite sheet from scratch, enhancing your abilities to create fun cartoony assets. This course can help you improve your skillset. Learning to create 2D explosion animations in Photoshop adds a valuable tool to a multimedia artist's arsenal. Mastering the creation of sprite sheets, which is an integral part of this course, ensures compatibility with a wide range of platforms and applications. This course may be useful for those who are trying to improve their craft.

See salaries and explore the career path for Multimedia Artist

Technical Artist

A technical artist bridges the gap between artists and programmers, ensuring that art assets function correctly in a game or animation engine. While this role involves technical skills, a knowledge of visual effects creation can improve communication and collaboration with artists. The course teaches you how to create your own 2D explosion animation sprite sheet from scratch, enhancing your abilities to create fun cartoony assets. By grasping the process of creating 2D explosion animations and sprite sheets, a technical artist can better optimize visual effects for performance and integration. The ability to create and export sprite sheets from Photoshop, as taught in this course, is particularly valuable for technical artists. This course may be useful for those who are trying to improve on collaborative work.

See salaries and explore the career path for Technical Artist

Digital Painter

A digital painter creates artwork using digital tools, often for concept art, illustrations, or visual development. While digital painting focuses on creating still images, understanding animation and visual effects can enhance one's artistic versatility. The course teaches you how to create your own 2D explosion animation sprite sheet from scratch, enhancing your abilities to create fun cartoony assets. By learning to create 2D explosion animations in Photoshop, a digital painter can expand their skillset to include motion and dynamic effects. The course's emphasis on creating various kinds of explosion effects, such as fire, dust, and gas explosions, provides techniques that can be applied to digital paintings to add drama and impact. This course may be useful for those who are trying to improve their craft.

See salaries and explore the career path for Digital Painter

Graphic designer

A graphic designer creates visual concepts, using computer software or by hand, to communicate ideas that inspire, inform, and captivate consumers. While graphic design is often focused on static images, understanding animation principles and visual effects can set a designer apart. The course teaches you how to create your own 2D explosion animation sprite sheet from scratch, enhancing your abilities to create fun cartoony assets. Learning to create simple 2D animations, such as explosion effects, can add a dynamic element to websites, social media graphics, or promotional materials. While the skills taught in this course may not be central to graphic design, they can provide a unique edge and expand one's creative capabilities. This course may be useful for those who are trying to improve their craft.

See salaries and explore the career path for Graphic designer

Instructional Designer

Instructional designers create learning materials and experiences. They often incorporate multimedia elements to improve engagement. The course teaches you how to create your own 2D explosion animation sprite sheet from scratch, enhancing your abilities to create fun cartoony assets. Learning Photoshop can help contribute to the appeal of lessons. This course may be useful for those who are trying to improve their craft.

See salaries and explore the career path for Instructional Designer

Digital Marketer

A digital marketer promotes brands through various digital channels. This role may benefit from the ability to create engaging visual content. The course teaches you how to create your own 2D explosion animation sprite sheet from scratch, enhancing your abilities to create fun cartoony assets. Learning new visual marketing techniques improves your success rate. This course may be useful for those who are trying to improve their craft.

See salaries and explore the career path for Digital Marketer

Content Creator

A content creator develops engaging material for various platforms. This role could involve creating visual effects. The course teaches you how to create your own 2D explosion animation sprite sheet from scratch, enhancing your abilities to create fun cartoony assets. This course creates additional marketing assets. This course may be useful for those who are trying to improve their craft.

See salaries and explore the career path for Content Creator

Educator

Educators teach or train students various subjects. This role would benefit from the ability to explain visual content. The course teaches you how to create your own 2D explosion animation sprite sheet from scratch, enhancing your abilities to create fun cartoony assets. Learning Photoshop can help educators connect with visual effect media. This course may be useful for those who are trying to improve their craft.

See salaries and explore the career path for Educator

Illustrator

Illustrators create images for various media, often with a focus on storytelling and visual communication. This role would benefit from this course's ability to create visual effects. The course teaches you how to create your own 2D explosion animation sprite sheet from scratch, enhancing your abilities to create fun cartoony assets. Learning Photoshop can help illustrators create more dynamic materials. This course may be useful for those who are trying to improve their craft.

See salaries and explore the career path for Illustrator

Reading list

We've selected two books that we think will supplement your learning. Use these to develop background knowledge, enrich your coursework, and gain a deeper understanding of the topics covered in 2D Explosion Animations: Make Cartoony VFX in Photoshop.

ADVENTURES IN ANIMATION

Save

Comprehensive guide to traditional animation principles and techniques. It covers topics such as timing, spacing, weight, and character animation. While it doesn't focus specifically on VFX, the fundamental principles it teaches are essential for creating believable and engaging animations, including explosion effects. This book is commonly used as a textbook at academic institutions.

Adventures in Animation: How I Learned Who I...

Hardcover

The Cartoonists Club: a Graphic Novel

Save

Explores the theory and history of comics and sequential art. It provides valuable insights into visual storytelling, panel design, and the use of visual language to convey meaning. While not directly about animation, it helps to understand the principles of visual communication, which are essential for creating effective explosion animations. This book is more valuable as additional reading than as a current reference.

The Cartoonists Club: a Graphic Novel

Paperback

Check price

The Cartoonists Club: a Graphic Novel

Kindle Edition

Check price

2D Explosion Animations

Make Cartoony VFX in Photoshop

What's inside

Learning objectives

Syllabus

Save this course

Activities

Career center

Reading list

Share

Similar courses