Hey everyone! This is my third VFX project in Unreal Engine 5. I’m really happy to say I managed to create this one in just a single day (my previous effects took about a week each!).
This time, I worked on a fireball projectile featuring an air-slicing shockwave and a dynamic trail. Through this project, I dove into Ribbon emitters and learned how to properly stretch textures across meshes using tiling and Dynamic Parameters.
I’d love to hear your thoughts, feedback, and any tips on how I can improve this effect further. All the best! artstation
Maybe the thing i can suggest you about the ribbon is this:
On the ribbon emitter try to use the “curl noise” in the particle update, it will give some random movement and i think it could improve the vfx. Also, sometimes when you use a ribbon for a spell/vfx like a projectile try to use the setup “Spawn particles from other emitter” so it will be attached to the projectile, because the velocity of it usually be specified within the blueprint itself and there’s no need to use add velocity, because it would follow the projectile, I usually use it to see how the ribbon would turn out in that case.
I would also add another texture on top of the one you used for the sphere (within the material) to introduce some “chaos,” as it might look too repetitive otherwise.
Regarding the particle color inside the material: I noticed you used the alpha channel, but try connecting the RGB node instead of using a Lerp between two colors; you should be able to achieve the same result using the color curve in Niagara without overcomplicating the material itself.
I think that covers the advice (hoping it was somewhat useful and that I managed to make myself clear); I’ve only been studying VFX for a little over a year, so I really relate to where you’re coming from. Don’t give up—keep it up! Feel free to ask if you have any other questions, and if anyone with more experience than me spots me writing something wrong pls correct me, i’m stupid afterall lol.
Hope i have offered some useful advice
