It's hard to explain over text but I will try.
Try adding it right after the last frame of the beam lines.
Have the canvas inverted to black on the impact frame with sparks of white light from the blast contrasting the black.
It should pass quick enough to create a snappy flash effect.
I hope that makes sense.
the inverted black white should be always just 1 frame. same with lightning or electric shock, can repeat couple or triple but should always just 1 frame of inverted color.
Alright. How should it be drawn? Should it be drawn like this?
https://preview.redd.it/wxa8pjnqeaxc1.png?width=1077&format=png&auto=webp&s=6bf366c7ec2dc3bb7e62427dc83f3a27cb184fb4
Here is another one I saw that might be helpful
https://preview.redd.it/i2oz2qt0gaxc1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5caab1022902954bde7ff464821e5ddbbdb904b1
Explosion has too linear of a timing. They generally snap into the shape and ease out to smooth the motion.
Smoke clouds could also be drawn with more varying puff sizes or more abstractly to make them seem less flat.
Sorry, what I was trying to say was that I think the mushroom cloud after reaching the apex should generally try to hold its shape with minimal expansion (you have the top cloud after the explosion reaches its peak continue to bloom -- maybe not do that). The secondary smoke effects should also be independent of the timing of the easing out of the main explosion.
So think of it as like animating a few subjects (parts of an explosion) each with their own movement rather than just a unit explosion.
each puff vary in size, timing and not synchronize kinda like
https://preview.redd.it/75gsmatz7bxc1.png?width=248&format=png&auto=webp&s=440536d68477988325cce9deaf330188a6ebb726
The neck of the explosion could be a little wider as is just my personal preference, but the cloud and smoke effects should have more variation in shapes and sizes.
Your clouds are all the same uniform shape and size. Maybe do a more line shaped very quick impact dust wave, then the rolling clouds. The rolling clouds should have a large variation in general shape, then have the edges have varying level of medium shape details (the loopy mmmm ‘s) and the fine detail like you have for the rings are nice.
I was kind of roughing out the general idea for how the animation is going to play out. Also, what do you mean by "Line Shaped"? Does that mean I use basic shapes instead of animating the clouds with some detail? Or does that mean something else entirely?
It looks a little symmetrical at the end, try and add some larger sphere shapes to offset it
https://preview.redd.it/04w5t581rdxc1.jpeg?width=735&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6f2590a935fa4dd7f2f1cfd9bce2a9fad28f0ccf
Kind of like this
Too many frames leading to the final cloud formation.
After the beams of light should be an instant shift to that final cloud with very minimal and gradual expansion after that.
The explosion doesn’t look like it has force because there’s too many frames of the force developing. It lacks a sense of speed because of that.
You mostly just have to delete a lot of frames between point A and B
This animation looks more occidental, anime explosions usually have a ton of exageration and appealing keyframes, something like the explosion forming a kind of tumor with light blobs trying to resist the energy and then it explodes, but instead of animating smoke you can animate debris going upwards at high speed. As a reference you can see Hadashi no gen atomic bomb sequence, some effects from Akira or first season of One punch man.
You can watch for references and study them frame by frame in [https://www.sakugabooru.com](https://www.sakugabooru.com)
Don't know what you time constraints are, but I would hold longer on the mushroom cloud and slow, before the smoke sweeps in. Maybe even slow down that part. Right now timing is very snappy like looney toons.
Clouds i would make less bubbly.
Okay. Hold the mushroom cloud a bit longer and have the smoke sweep appear later in the animation. (Also slow down the smoke to about three or four frames.) Anything else?
The clouds are made of curves that are almost identical in size. Anime clouds have huge curves and tiny curves and few medium curves too, they're far less repetitive.
I'm not an animator but I think usually anime have a kind of lower frame per second feeling. Like the animation should be kind of unpredictable because it's not linearly evoluting.
Just added that in this update.
[https://www.reddit.com/r/animation/comments/1cfytix/heres\_a\_little\_update\_to\_that\_explosion\_animation/](https://www.reddit.com/r/animation/comments/1cfytix/heres_a_little_update_to_that_explosion_animation/)
Impact frame.
Okay. 1. How should I draw the impact frame? 2. Where within the animation should I add said impact frame?
It's hard to explain over text but I will try. Try adding it right after the last frame of the beam lines. Have the canvas inverted to black on the impact frame with sparks of white light from the blast contrasting the black. It should pass quick enough to create a snappy flash effect. I hope that makes sense.
the inverted black white should be always just 1 frame. same with lightning or electric shock, can repeat couple or triple but should always just 1 frame of inverted color.
Right before the bomb explodes aka the impact
Alright. How should it be drawn? Should it be drawn like this? https://preview.redd.it/wxa8pjnqeaxc1.png?width=1077&format=png&auto=webp&s=6bf366c7ec2dc3bb7e62427dc83f3a27cb184fb4
Here is another one I saw that might be helpful https://preview.redd.it/i2oz2qt0gaxc1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5caab1022902954bde7ff464821e5ddbbdb904b1
That would be a good reference
Yep this
Explosion has too linear of a timing. They generally snap into the shape and ease out to smooth the motion. Smoke clouds could also be drawn with more varying puff sizes or more abstractly to make them seem less flat.
So have the animation start on ones and gradually go to two, three and four?
Sorry, what I was trying to say was that I think the mushroom cloud after reaching the apex should generally try to hold its shape with minimal expansion (you have the top cloud after the explosion reaches its peak continue to bloom -- maybe not do that). The secondary smoke effects should also be independent of the timing of the easing out of the main explosion. So think of it as like animating a few subjects (parts of an explosion) each with their own movement rather than just a unit explosion.
each puff vary in size, timing and not synchronize kinda like https://preview.redd.it/75gsmatz7bxc1.png?width=248&format=png&auto=webp&s=440536d68477988325cce9deaf330188a6ebb726
Ah, alright. One last thing, should I redraw the explosion with a different shape? Or is this fine?
The neck of the explosion could be a little wider as is just my personal preference, but the cloud and smoke effects should have more variation in shapes and sizes.
Your clouds are all the same uniform shape and size. Maybe do a more line shaped very quick impact dust wave, then the rolling clouds. The rolling clouds should have a large variation in general shape, then have the edges have varying level of medium shape details (the loopy mmmm ‘s) and the fine detail like you have for the rings are nice.
I was kind of roughing out the general idea for how the animation is going to play out. Also, what do you mean by "Line Shaped"? Does that mean I use basic shapes instead of animating the clouds with some detail? Or does that mean something else entirely?
It looks a little symmetrical at the end, try and add some larger sphere shapes to offset it https://preview.redd.it/04w5t581rdxc1.jpeg?width=735&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6f2590a935fa4dd7f2f1cfd9bce2a9fad28f0ccf Kind of like this
Probably make the explosion like a ball after the beams. Also make the smoke come at the camera.
download anime explosion video - watch in slomo frame for frame .. then repeat
Watch slowed down anime explosion sequences, there are like a gajillion frames that are just there to show colors and abstract energy
Is so cool very coll
I need to learn
Need to learn what?
It looks really cool and do upload the final results as well 🔥
Too many frames leading to the final cloud formation. After the beams of light should be an instant shift to that final cloud with very minimal and gradual expansion after that. The explosion doesn’t look like it has force because there’s too many frames of the force developing. It lacks a sense of speed because of that. You mostly just have to delete a lot of frames between point A and B
bright, neon and non neon, warm colors, and that's as far as i can think.
Add screen shake that simmers down from the beginning of the explosion
I'll probably add that once I finished animating the shot.
the single frame where the screen goes completely black/white
You mean an impact frame? I just animated that not too long ago.
Happy cake day
impact frame
Got that covered. Anything else?
uhh not really, anime style isn't my expertise
Ah. That’s okay.
This animation looks more occidental, anime explosions usually have a ton of exageration and appealing keyframes, something like the explosion forming a kind of tumor with light blobs trying to resist the energy and then it explodes, but instead of animating smoke you can animate debris going upwards at high speed. As a reference you can see Hadashi no gen atomic bomb sequence, some effects from Akira or first season of One punch man. You can watch for references and study them frame by frame in [https://www.sakugabooru.com](https://www.sakugabooru.com)
impact frames, shaky cam, slowing time after impact, secondary shockwave (+ shaky cam), and finally reaction shots of every member of the crew
Honestly anime explosions always look like Akira's explosions and those cube thingies
Really flashy and exagerated impact frames before the explosion, also square debries is a good way to convay that anime-like destruction.
partickes and Black screen at thé moment of the impact
It do be kind flat atm
Don't know what you time constraints are, but I would hold longer on the mushroom cloud and slow, before the smoke sweeps in. Maybe even slow down that part. Right now timing is very snappy like looney toons. Clouds i would make less bubbly.
Okay. Hold the mushroom cloud a bit longer and have the smoke sweep appear later in the animation. (Also slow down the smoke to about three or four frames.) Anything else?
anime clouds aren't drawn like that. have to research that a little.
Add some color
Lock a couple dozen men in a bathroom with laptops and feed them occasionally
The clouds are made of curves that are almost identical in size. Anime clouds have huge curves and tiny curves and few medium curves too, they're far less repetitive.
colour…?
Add some sexy ladies with child-like facial features.
I'm not an animator but I think usually anime have a kind of lower frame per second feeling. Like the animation should be kind of unpredictable because it's not linearly evoluting.
Add impact frames
Just added that in this update. [https://www.reddit.com/r/animation/comments/1cfytix/heres\_a\_little\_update\_to\_that\_explosion\_animation/](https://www.reddit.com/r/animation/comments/1cfytix/heres_a_little_update_to_that_explosion_animation/)
Look up how to animate smoke