Nuke Mushroom Cloud: Mushroom cloud explosion effect for 2D games: a ground blast that punches up a glowing stem and rolls into a towering smoke cap, with a dust skirt racing out along the ground.

Nuke Mushroom Cloud

Mushroom cloud explosion effect for 2D games: a ground blast that punches up a glowing stem and rolls into a towering smoke cap, with a dust skirt racing out along the ground.

Nuke Mushroom Cloud is an HD effect that plays once over 4 seconds, drawn on a 512 by 512 canvas. It is built from 1 simulated smoke and fire layer and 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, 120 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 4, 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 STUDIO

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 4 s clip.

Nuke Mushroom Cloud at 8 moments, from 0.25 s to 3.75 s

HOW IT'S MADE

Nuke Mushroom Cloud is built around a fluid simulation of fire and smoke on a grid, with 4 particle emitters on top. Techniques worth a look: particles feeding the fluid, particles stretched along their motion, keyframed parameters and post filters (bloom).

It plays once over 4 s: "Flash" goes off first, and "Gas lobes" joins at 0.05 s. To change the flame colour, select "Cloud" and edit Fire colours; Smoke colour sets the smoke. The colour swatches by the downloads recolour every layer at once.

Layers, in draw order

  1. Flashparticles / additiveA single particle at 0.02 s. It grows as it ages. Colour: pale gold.
  2. CloudfluidSimulated fire and smoke from a round source. "Gas lobes" and "Gas lobes" feed it.
  3. Gas lobes, Gas lobesparticles / additiveOne burst of 14 soft glows from a disc at 0.05 s. They feed smoke and heat into the fluid, shrink as they age and slow down with drag. Colours range between orange and gold.
  4. Sparksparticles / additiveOne burst of 40 streaks from a disc at 0.03 s. They fall under gravity and slow down with drag. Colours range between pale gold and orange.

DETAILS

Length
4 seconds, plays once
Canvas
512 x 512, HD
Layers
4 emitters
Blend
Mostly additive (glows)
Colours
pale goldorangegold
Sprites
Built-in shapes only
Tags
explosion, nuke, mushroom cloud, atomic, blast, smoke, fluid

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 Smoke & Fire

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