Best VFX Tools & ASSETS
I know I'm always scouring the internet for the best assets and tools that can make my videos more impactful and cinematic and take my Visual Effects to a new level.
After a bunch of time trying different packs and buying digital assets, I decided to list the best ones that I use for my projects time and time again.
These are your essentials must haves if you are building a library for your Vfx magic!
TOP PICKS
1 - ACTION VFX
The top spot on the list has to go to an amazing company that started as a Kickstarter project with the simple goal of listening to the needs of the VFX community and create assets such as explosions and fire elements that could fit compositor's needs.
Action VFX has now grown to have a huge variety of assets in their library including Atmospheric Smoke & Fog elements, Gas Explosions, Structure Fires, Burning Debris, Dust Particles, Muzzle Flashes, Dust Waves, Smoke Pumes, Bullet hits, Ground cracks, Water Blasts, Fire Embers, Sparks, and so so much more.
You can really see the dedication of the team behind Action Vfx and my favorite part is that they actually engage with their community and strive to make their products better.
Although I love Action Essentials from VideoCopilot and I still use assets from that library sometimes, I often find myself having to make a ton of adjustments and work within constraints of a now outdated pack.
Another great reason to include the Action Vfx library in your toolkit is because it will stand the test of time as these assets were not only shot in a very smart way to fit your composition needs but they were also shot at really high resolutions. This is not only great for scaling your productions up over time but its also amazing to be able to crop into certain assets and make multiple uses out of a single element.
Honestly words can't really do this vfx assets justice. Go over to Action VFX and see for yourself.
If you need epic and realistic Explosions, Fire, Muzzle flashes, or anything else for your next Action Sequence then look no further.
2 - VOLUMAX PRO
This Tool for After Effects is huge.
I'm actually developing a Matte Painting series and with this tool alone I will show you how you can bring flat 2D Matte Painting made in Photoshop to life.
I mean, look at the picture above... Isn't that crazy?!
Imagine creating set extensions and fantastic landscapes from another world or dimension and be able to move your camera and make them feel real and 3D!
Volumax Pro is very intuitive to use and you can get started on your own and experiment.
If you want to really be ahead of the game start practicing your Set Extension or Matte Painting skills now because at the end of the course I will launch soon I will be doing an epic contest!
Shhhh don't tell anyone...
Since this tool essentially uses Depth Maps that means that you can create the stunning 3D effect shown above with portraits and people!
Think of all the cool Intro possibilities!
Maybe I'm a bit too excited about all of this but think of all the crazy mind blowing things you can do with a tool like this.
Your friends are going to be scratching their heads and they will probably annoy you until you tell them how you did it.
3 - 140 Flash fx elements
There hasn't been a pack that I have used more than the 140 Flash Fx Elements for Motion Graphics and creating intros and animations.
The energy and impact these cartoon style animations can add to your animations and visual effects is insane.
The nice thing about this pack is how many different uses it has.
I have used this to create Mattes for textures and Stock Footage to create incredible Visual Effects.
The energy effects are amazing to create super powers and electricity effects.
You can use these assets as a Displacement map and subtly add them to create energy forces.
I used it so many times in Freelance projects for clients that the pack paid itself back in the first few minutes.
You can use the different shapes and elements and add them to simple 3D shapes and objects to make them come alive. Its insane how even simple and rough animations can get spiced up and elevated by the animated elements in this pack.
You can create really complex animations by combining the assets in this pack.
You can make really nice and clean logo reveals and intros with just a few steps.
The amount of energy this pack offers without having to do much and without having to use any additional or external plug ins.
Another great use of this pack is to add movement to animations. You can add these elements to even simple animations made in After Effects to make them feel even bigger.
I'm not much of animator but when I experimented with creating animations I was surprised by how much more dynamic the scene and movement felt by adding a few of these assets.
4 - VIDeolancer Transitions
This is hands down the best pack to create amazing and real feeling transitions.
They are not only great but they are also super easy to use and add in between to clips or pre-comps.
You can use the Motion Bro extension which makes it super easy to browse through the different transition styles and categories.
Here are just a few of my favorite types of transitions you can find in this pack:
Its also really simple to get these transitions into your Premiere project by simply dynamic linking the two clips or nested sequences that you want to apply the transition to.
Really a big fan of this pack and although you shouldn't overdo it and use these transitions over and over in your video just because they look cool, there are many instances where adding them has made the project move forward in a much more exciting way.
5 - Production Crate Fx
Another great asset library on this list is from Production Crate.
This library is a lot more CG focused but that does not take away from how useful these assets can be, especially when included with shot footage.
The dirt and debris assets as well as the cloud and natural elements are probably my favorites.
The library is constantly being updated and it has a ton of useful assets and even people!
You can add henchmen and zombies as extras and that is just a small part of what this library can offer.
I really recommend checking out Production Crate because it can be a secret weapon to create some incredible Visual Effects.
That's it!
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This helps me continue to post more articles like this as well as allowing me to continue to post free educational content on my website and YouTube channel.
Seriously, thank you.