ParticleFX Studio and RTFX compared
RTFX hand-drawn 2D FX packs and ParticleFX Studio compared for game effects: what you get, price, licence for paid games, formats, editing, engine data and when each is the better choice.
RTFX Animation sells packs of hand-drawn, frame-by-frame 2D effects animation (fire, smoke, explosions, liquids, energy, electricity and more) with a toolkit for Adobe After Effects and Premiere Pro, and describes them as made for game developers and motion designers. ParticleFX Studio is a different kind of product: a browser studio where effects are simulated particles you can change and re-render, with a free library of 660+ effects. They overlap when you need cartoon-style effects for a 2D game. Checked on 21 October 2026.
| ParticleFX Studio | RTFX | |
|---|---|---|
| What you get | A particle effect studio and a library of editable effects | Packs of hand-drawn FX animations, with an extension for After Effects and Premiere Pro |
| Platform | Any modern browser (Windows, macOS, Linux, ChromeOS) | Adobe After Effects and Premiere Pro on macOS and Windows; the pre-rendered clips work in other editors |
| Price | Free studio and library; plans from $7.99 a month for the AI agent | One-off: about $18 to $69 a pack on rtfxanimation.com, up to $139 on VideoHive |
| Use in a paid game | Included: any project, including paid commercial games, with no per-project licence and no credit needed | Their terms ask for an Extended or Enterprise licence for game use, one end product per licence; on their store the Extended licence adds $130 to a pack |
| Look | Simulated particles in HD or pixel art, and toon effects with flat colour bands and ink outlines | Hand-drawn, frame-by-frame animation |
| Changing an effect | Change colour, timing, size, shapes and motion, then re-render at any resolution, length and frame rate | Recolour, scale, time and combine the drawn elements in After Effects; the drawn frames themselves are fixed |
| Formats | GIF, APNG, WebP, PNG frames, spritesheets, WebM, MP4, Roblox flipbooks, live web runtime | After Effects projects and pre-rendered MOV clips with alpha; PNG sequences in some packs |
| Engine data | Unity, Godot 4, GameMaker, TexturePacker (Phaser, PixiJS) and Aseprite (with a plan) | None found: video clips and image sequences |
| Sound | None | RTFX Generator includes 700 sound effects |
| AI | An agent that builds effects from a description; an MCP server for coding agents | None found |
| Size of the library | 660+ effects, free to download | RTFX Generator: over 1,000 FX elements and 100 typography elements; Magic Button: over 900; Elemental 2D FX: 260+ elements |
| Learning | Free guides on timing, shape language and colour | A paid course, Basics of 2D FX animation ($590) |
When RTFX is the better choice
- You want the authentic hand-drawn look. Frame-by-frame animation by an artist has a quality that simulated particles imitate but do not reproduce.
- You work in video: trailers, motion graphics, YouTube or social clips edited in After Effects or Premiere. That is the workflow RTFX is built around, and its typography elements and transitions fit it.
- You want sound with the visuals: RTFX Generator bundles 700 sound effects.
- You want to learn traditional effects animation by hand: RTFX sells a course on it.
When ParticleFX Studio is the better choice
- You want to change an effect, not just recolour it: its timing, shape, size, number of particles or length, then render it again cleanly at the size and frame rate your game needs.
- You want the licence to cover a paid game without buying a licence per project: exports can be used in any project, including commercial games sold on Steam, with no credit needed.
- You need game-ready output: spritesheets with Unity, Godot, GameMaker, TexturePacker or Aseprite data, Roblox flipbooks, and pixel art locked to your palette.
- You want to work in the browser, with nothing to install and no Adobe subscription.
- You want to describe an effect to an AI agent, or have Claude Code or Cursor make effects over MCP.
- You want to start free: the studio, the library and its downloads cost nothing, and a free account exports 3 effects a day.
For the drawn look in ParticleFX Studio, see the 2D cartoon FX collection: cel-shaded explosions, smoke poofs, slashes and hit flashes built with flat colour bands, ink outlines and pop, hold and shrink timing.
Already own RTFX packs with a licence that covers your game? Their PNG sequences can be packed into a spritesheet in your browser with the free sprite sheet maker.
Try the cartoon effects
Every effect is free to download as a spritesheet or GIF, and free to open and change in the studio.
Questions
Is ParticleFX Studio hand-drawn like RTFX?
No. ParticleFX effects are simulated particles, rendered frame by frame when you export. The toon effects copy the drawn look with flat colour bands, ink outlines and snappy timing, but they are not drawn by hand, and that is the difference RTFX customers pay for.
Do I need a separate licence to use ParticleFX effects in a paid game?
No. Effects you export, including ones started from the library, can be used in any project, including paid commercial games, with no per-project licence and no credit needed. Reselling the library or the FX packs themselves as effect packs is not allowed.
Can I use RTFX animations in a game?
According to RTFX's terms, checked in October 2026, game use needs an Extended or Enterprise licence, and each licence covers one end product. Check their current terms before you buy.