Game Plan

I spent the first week familiarising myself to all of the 2d vfx I could practically explore. I identified a summarised list:

• Backgrounds and overlays (looping, motion lines, comic styles)
• Text elements
• Strikes, impacts and attacks
• Elemental/energy effects:
• Clouds and explosions (speed clouds, bursts, bombs)
• Fire and sparks
• Energy and electricity (zaps, power-ups, blasts)
• Water and liquids

I also identified different case studies that were particularly exemplar for each effect.
My plan is to create a bunch of test that explore how these 2d vfx affect a plain, simple character:

I decided to test what I know now and compare it to what I know at the end using this:

Using an existing character design, I used some effects to exaggerate expressions.

Context of Practice 3 Proposal

For my COP3 title, I think "How do 2D visual effects affect character animation and its appeal?" allows me to explore my interests in the post-production side of the pipeline. It’s a very practical and visual topic too, which means I will be able to experiment and test out lots of different methods.


I plan to research the fundamentals and origin of vfx animation and then use this to look at the relationship of character appeal and vfx. This can be explored in both a cultural and aesthetic context. A lot of the media I consume is either anime or anime-inspired, where a lot of the more expressive 2d vfx originate from. I might even compare the Western and Japanese styles of vfx too. Another potential direction I could take my research, is exploring the difference between character animation and vfx animation (especially when animating something like sentient fire or a transformation/morph). I acknowledge that the majority of vfx animation in the industry is 3D CGI, I feel 2D vfx has a certain charm and intrigue that is more suited for me (although this doesn’t mean I will rule out 3d vfx completely, as it can be a powerful tool, even just for reference).

I hope to develop a working understanding of 2d vfx, especially elemental/energy effects like fire, explosions, energy, electricity, and liquids. Some other 2d vfx elements I have identified through research are backgrounds and overlays, text elements, and strikes and attacks. This will grant me useful skills in the industry and may even lead to a career as a 2d vfx animator. I also want to experiment and find out the ‘vfx threshold’ - how much vfx is too much vfx? I will explore this by using 2d vfx to enhance character animation, making characters express emotion and then pushing it using vfx. I could also potentially explore the aesthetic impact, and different art styles of vfx. This will result in a series of tests as my practical outcome, using character performances that are then enhanced by different 2d vfx. I may even test its effectiveness using polls if necessary.

As for a case study, I feel Hades from Hercules (1997) is perfect as a primary case study as Hades is a very iconic and expressive character. I could study and break-down his character performance for its expressive 2d vfx and its impact on the character appeal.Some other case studies for 2d vfx are characters from Aggretsuko and Steven Universe. I will also look at the works of studios like Golden Wolf, The Line and Bardel Entertainment as they all work very intensively on 2d vfx. Some artists and animators I could research and/or contact are Fraser MacLean, Barry Ward, and Booby Prod (and his work on various video game trailers).

Relevant reading material:

Gilland, J. (2009). Elemental Magic. Oxford: Focal Press.
Gilland, J. (2012). Elemental Magic , Volume 2. Oxford: Focal Press.
Okun, J. and Zwerman, S. (2015). The VES Handbook of Visual Effects. Burlington: Focal Press.
Gress, J. (2015). Visual Effects and Compositing. Indianapolis: New Riders.
Oona Salla. Mastering the elements basics of 2d effect animation. https://www.theseus.fi/bitstream/handle/10024/137717/Salla_Oona.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y, 2017.