VFX / FX
Readable effects. Controlled simulation domains. Game sprites vs cinematic volumes.
When to Use
- Smoke, fire, dust, sparks, debris
- Magic / sci-fi energy FX
- Muzzle flashes, trails, impacts
- Geometry Nodes driven particle systems
Path Decision
Game real-time → Meshes/cards/ribbons + emissive mats (+ GN)
Cinematic → Mantaflow / particles / GN → render → comp
Hybrid → Sim in Blender → bake flipbooks/meshes for engine
Workflow
Brief (silhouette + timing) → Proxy emitter → Sim/GN prototype
→ Art-direct motion → Materials/lights → Cache → Render/comp or export
Effect Types
| Type |
Blender Approach |
| Smoke/fire |
Mantaflow domain + flow; keep domain tight |
| Sparks |
Particle Newtonian + collision + trail |
| Debris |
Rigid body shards (physics-sim) |
| Magic ribbons |
Curves / GN extrude + emissive |
| Dust hit |
Short particle burst + soft sprites |
Domain Rules (Volume)
- Domain only as large as needed
- Resolution from low → high after motion approved
- Open borders intentionally; avoid wasted empty voxels
- Collection:
COL_FX_[Shot]
Naming
- Emitters:
FX_Emit_[Name]
- Domains:
FX_Domain_[Name]
- Caches: document frame range in brief
Game Export Notes
- Prefer mesh cards / GN instances over volume export
- Atlas flipbooks when baking fire/smoke for engines
- Keep pivot at logical spawn point
Constraints
MUST DO
- Approve motion at low res before high-res sim
- Light FX intentionally (emissive + key)
- Cache before final render
MUST NOT DO
- Huge empty domains
- Unbounded particle counts
- Skip timing brief (start/peak/end frames)
Scripts
Tested on Blender 5.2 LTS via the official Blender MCP. Run with execute_blender_code (or headless,
see the blender-mcp-workflow skill); read the script header for every argument.
When the user will paste code into Blender themselves, give them the short runpy call with the absolute
path of this installed script and their ARGS. Don't inline or rewrite the script: the tested file is the point.
| Script |
What it does |
scripts/smoke_domain.py |
Mantaflow gas domain fitted around an emitter + flow (SMOKE/FIRE/BOTH, INFLOW), Principled Volume material, open top, low preview resolution; never bakes. |
import runpy
result = runpy.run_path("<skill_dir>/scripts/smoke_domain.py", init_globals={"ARGS": {"emitter": "SM_Crate", "flow_type": "BOTH"}})["result"]
Reference Guide
| Topic |
Reference |
Load When |
| Fx Timing Brief |
references/fx-timing-brief.md |
When needed |
| Volume Domain Rules |
references/volume-domain-rules.md |
When needed |
| Game Fx Export |
references/game-fx-export.md |
When needed |
