Hey there,

If you’re trying to get your VFX to stand out - you must use Color. Color is not just a decoration - it’s design, emotion and clarity all rolled into one. In fact, color is one of the most powerful tools in VFX.

🌈 Color = Gameplay

Color choices trigger immediate emotional reactions. You can use this to shape the player’s perception of an effect before they even realize what it does. For eg: Does that other player have a red outline? It’s probably an enemy.

Let’s break it down:

🔴 Red - Aggression, danger, enemy outlines, fire attacks or unblockable moves.
🟢 Green - Calm, healing, growth. Great for nature spells, buffs, regeneration.
🔵 Blue - Trust, chill, clarity. Ice spells, water FX, friendly outlines.
🟡 Yellow - Energy, optimism, power. Buffs, holy magic, electricity.

🖌️ Color Relationships

Analogous colors (next to each other on the color wheel) feel harmonious. They’re great for subtle calm VFX. For eg: green + teal for a healing spell.
Complementary colors (opposites on the wheel) create visual tension and contrast. Perfect for high-impact moments. For eg: a bright orange explosion against a blue background.

But there’s a catch here: Complementary contrast is powerful - so if you don’t balance value (light/dark) and opacity, it can become competitive for the player’s eye.

🎨 Color Hierarchy

Want your VFX to feel polished and intentional? Start thinking in layers.

Primary color: The dominant emotion/theme. This is the “anchor” of your effect.
Secondary color: A supportive tone that adds harmony or contrast.
Tertiary color: Accent or detail - something subtle that adds texture or motion without stealing focus.

This structure not only makes your FX feel balanced - it helps with readability in gameplay.

👁️ Contrast & Saturation

One of the most tactical ways to direct the player’s eye is to use color in VFX.

Use high saturation and light values to pull focus toward gameplay-critical effects (like an explosion).
Use desaturated or darker values on less-important effects to let the main action stand out. (a basic attack is less saturated & darker value than an ultimate attack)

If everything glows - then nothing does.

Pro-tip: Before you finalize your next FX, turn your screen to grayscale. What still stands out? If the answer is “everything” or “nothing” - it’s time to adjust your values and saturation.

⚖️ Balance

One of the fastest ways to kill a good VFX? Color overload.

Color behaves differently depending on:

The environment (bright skybox vs dark dungeon)
The number of effects on screen
The player’s attention at that moment

Something that looks amazing in an isolated test map might become unreadable in a real gameplay moment with 5v5 enemies facing off all spamming spells.

Also, don’t forget colorblind accessibility. Color can’t be your only indicator. Back it up with shape, contrast or patterns.

💡Final thoughts

You Got This! Color is your game design weapon - when you learn to wield it well, your VFX will immediately stand out.

Want to go deeper into color or get personalized feedback on your work? Just hit reply!

PS: 🚨 Join TheFXFrontier Discord - Connect, share knowledge, get feedback and grow with fellow VFX artists. Copy-paste this in your browser if the link doesn’t work: https://discord.gg/CRkCKUpH8R

Thanks for reading!

#15 - Fix Boring VFX FAST!! 🔥