Cartoon Bonk: Cartoon bonk effect for a 2D character sprite: a rock drops on its head, it freezes for a beat with a white flash, squashes flat and springs back like jelly while stars circle overhead and the rock bounces away.

Cartoon Bonk

Cartoon bonk effect for a 2D character sprite: a rock drops on its head, it freezes for a beat with a white flash, squashes flat and springs back like jelly while stars circle overhead and the rock bounces away. Swap in your own sprite. Sprite made with SpriteLab.

Cartoon Bonk is an HD effect that loops seamlessly every 1.6 seconds, drawn on a 320 by 320 canvas. It is built from 4 particle emitters. Most layers blend additively, so it glows on dark backgrounds.

Colour

Recolours the preview and the free downloads.

Free download with a transparent background, cropped to the effect, 48 frames at 30 fps. Use it in commercial games, no credit needed.

Roblox: the download is a flipbook for a ParticleEmitter. Set FlipbookLayout to Grid8x8, FlipbookMode to OneShot and Lifetime to 1.6, then emit one particle per cycle. Roblox setup.

REMIX WITH AI

Try:

Left empty, it just opens in the agent, free. Each change is one AI build, and you start with free builds.

Engine data for Unity, Godot, GameMaker and Aseprite comes with a plan: open it in the studio.

OPEN IN THE STUDIOUSE MY SPRITE

Drop in your own character with Use my sprite: it takes the hero's place at the same height and the whole effect follows it. Change the colours, timing or size, or export for Unity, Godot 4, GameMaker, Phaser, PixiJS and Aseprite.

FRAME BY FRAME

8 evenly spaced moments across the 1.6 s loop.

Cartoon Bonk at 8 moments, from 0 s to 1.4 s

HOW IT'S MADE

Cartoon Bonk plays on a character sprite, with 4 particle emitters around it. The hero itself gets hit-stop, squash and stretch, bounce, shake, colour flash and outline. Techniques worth a look: sprite modules, particles stretched along their motion, keyframed parameters and post filters (bloom).

It loops seamlessly every 1.6 s, and 3 of its layers fire in bursts, so it pulses instead of flowing evenly. To change its colour, select "Bonk Burst" in the studio and edit the Colour over Life gradient. Size on the same layer sets how big its particles are. To see it on your own character, press Use my sprite in the studio: every layer follows the new sprite. The colour swatches by the downloads recolour every layer at once.

Layers, in draw order

  1. HerospriteThe character sprite. Extras: hit-stop, squash and stretch, bounce, shake, colour flash and outline.
  2. Falling RockspriteA placed image. Extras: hit-stop and keyframed motion.
  3. Bonk Burstparticles / additiveA single particle at 0.5 s. It grows as it ages. Colour runs from white to gold over each life.
  4. Impact Linesparticles / additiveOne burst of 12 streaks at 0.5 s. They slow down with drag. Colours range between white and pale gold.
  5. Circling Starsparticles / additiveA stream of stars from a ring, its rate keyframed over the loop. They orbit the emitter, swell and then shrink away and spin. Colours range between pale gold and gold.
  6. ChipsparticlesOne burst of 10 debris at 0.5 s. They fall under gravity and spin. Colours range between grey and dark grey.

DETAILS

Length
1.6 seconds, seamless loop
Canvas
320 x 320, HD
Layers
4 emitters
Blend
Mostly additive (glows)
Colours
whitepale goldgreygold
Sprites
ParticleFX Originals by ParticleFX Studio (CC0), Kenney Particle Pack by Kenney (CC0), Cast (Free to use)
Tags
bonk, cartoon, toon, squash, stretch, dizzy, stars, falling rock, mimic, sprite, character

USING IT IN YOUR GAME

Phaser, PixiJS
The PNG sheet is a plain grid of frames that both can slice. A TexturePacker JSON atlas comes with a plan, from the studio.
Unity
Import the PNG sheet as a Sprite with Mode set to Multiple and slice it, or open the effect in the studio for a ready-made grid.
Godot 4, GameMaker, Aseprite
Open it in the studio and pick your engine in Export: with a plan, it writes the files that engine imports.
Web and chat
The GIF plays anywhere; the APNG keeps soft edges on any background.
Blend mode
This effect is made of light. For the same glow in your game, draw the sprite with additive blending, or export it on black from the studio for additive shaders.

Step by step: Unity, Godot 4, Roblox, GameMaker, Phaser and PixiJS, Aseprite, Web games (live runtime). Drawn with additive blending: see glow effects without a black box.

MORE Sprite FX

Bounce Landing particle effectBounce LandingDouble Jump Flip particle effectDouble Jump FlipStunned particle effectStunnedDazed particle effectDazedHit Squash particle effectHit SquashKnockout particle effectKnockoutSurprised Jolt particle effectSurprised JoltAngry Shake particle effectAngry Shake

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE

Stun Stars particle effectStun StarsSlime splat particle effectSlime splatAcid spit particle effectAcid spitBlocky Character Break Apart particle effectBlocky Character Break ApartBomb Booster particle effectBomb BoosterCartoon shock particle effectCartoon shock

All Sprite FX effects or the full library.