VFX Breakdown – Shadow Spell & Post-Process Tweaks
In this quick breakdown, we’re looking at some mesh performance tricks and post-processing techniques used in the Shadow Spell effect.
Swirls Without the Overdraw
I started by using Houdini’s spiral tool to generate a swirly mesh. Initially, I added a cross-section to give it more volume, but once I brought it into Unreal Engine 5, I noticed it nearly doubled the overdraw. The visual upgrade wasn’t worth the performance cost.
Instead, I made a simple tube swirl and applied a masked material. It was lighter on performance and caught nice lighting from the scene. I also added vertex colour so I could fade parts of the mesh when needed.
Substance Textures
In Substance Designer, I created two sets of textures:
- A trail texture for the swirls
- Smoky elements to layer in extra detail during casting and impact phases
These were simple and modular, which helped with quick iterations across multiple parts of the effect.
Materials and Visual Balance
Each component (swirl, sparks, smoke) got a basic material setup using UV distortion and vertex colour masking. Nothing too complex. The goal was to keep it clean, efficient, and visually readable in motion.
Balancing overdraw and particle count was key. I wanted it to feel punchy without affecting frame rate too much.
Collision and Gameplay Ties
Once the visuals were locked in, I added collision events that trigger right as the spell hits. That impact stuns the enemy character. Timing it to the animation and VFX burst was a bit tricky, but syncing it through animation notifies did the job.
I used Paragon assets and animations for this setup. Finding the right motion to pair with the spell was the biggest challenge, so I used animation montages to trim, reverse, and adjust play rates until everything flowed smoothly.
Post-Process FX
To finish it off, I added a few post-process tweaks to boost the mood of the spell.
There were two methods I used:
- Adjusting the post-process volume in blueprint, great for quick changes like adding vignette, boosting contrast, or tweaking saturation.
- Using a post-process material, this allowed me to distort the screen, animate texture overlays, and push the dark magic feel a bit further.
For this effect, I ended up combining both to give the spell more impact when cast.
Want to See the Full Workflow?
This breakdown is just a short look at how I built the Shadow Spell FX.
If you want to:
- Follow the full workflow step-by-step
- Learn how to use Substance Designer and Unreal Engine for real-time VFX
- Access a full library of tutorials
You can join as a Tier 1 member at www.1mafx.com. It’s focused on giving you a practical VFX toolkit you can use in your own projects.
There’s also a full video breakdown of this effect available for members.
Create this VFX
