This video shows how to make a magic spell effect in Blender 4.1. You will learn how to quickly apply shaders to object to make a magic spell effect using Blender. The final render was done in Blender 4.1.
Whisps
I add a UV sphere, subdivide it, and shade it smooth
I select the entire UV sphere and add it to a vertex group – making sure to click on assign
I add a vertex weight edit modifier – this influences the weight of the vertex
I make sure to also select the vertex group
For the falloff, I use a custom curve and reverse the curve
For the influence, I add a new mask texture and for the texture type, I use clouds
Back under the modifiers, I change the texture coordinates to global
I add a mask modifier and select the vertex group
As I increase the threshold, I can see some of the faces disappear
I now add a smooth modifier and increase the factor and repeat
I add a simple deform modifier and increase the angle to 360-degrees
I can also change the Axis
I split the viewport and open the shader editor
I add a new material and add an emission shader
I add a mix shader to combine the principled shader with an emission shader
I add a noise texture and connect it to a color ramp
I connect the color ramp to the factor of the mix shader
I increase the scale, detail, and roughness of the noise texture
I give the emission shader a color
I move the black color stop to the right and the white color stop to the left to adjust the noise texture
I apply all of the modifiers – I need to do this so I can animate it
Sphere
I add a second sphere and subdivide it and shade it smooth
I scale it so it fits within the whisps
I add a new material and add an emission shader
I give the emission shader a color and increase the strength
I add a mix shader to combine the principled shader with an emission shader
I add a noise texture and connect it to a color ramp
I connect the color ramp to the factor of the mix shader
I increase the scale and detail of the noise texture
I move the black color stop to the right to adjust the noise texture
Animation (Whisps)
I split the viewport and open the timeline
Under the output tab, I change the frame rate to 30 and the frame end to 120
On frame 1, I make sure I have the whisps selected
I add a keyframe to the scale and distortion of the noise texture by hovering my cursor over the fields and using the I-key
On frame 30, I change the scale and distortion and add keyframes
On frame 60, I change the scale and distortion and add keyframes
I repeat this on frames 90 and 120
On frame 1, I add a keyframe for the rotation of the whisps using the I-key
On frame 120, I rotate the whisps 360-degrees around the Z-Axis and add a keyframe for the rotation using the I-key
On frame 120, I rotate the whisps 360-degrees around the Y-Axis and add a keyframe for the rotation using the I-key
I select all the keyframes and use the T-key to open the interpolation options
I will use linear to prevent any slow start or stop in the animation
Animation (Sphere)
On frame 1, I make sure I have the sphere selected
I add a keyframe to the scale and distortion of the noise texture by hovering my cursor over the fields and using the I-key
On frame 30, I change the scale and distortion and add keyframes
I repeat this on frames 60, 90, and 120
I select all the keyframes and use the T-key to open the interpolation options
I will use linear to prevent any slow start or stop in the animation