Sparkle Study: Analysis of Sparkles in Media + Personal Application in Projects
- Katherine Nitti
- Apr 9
- 6 min read
Sparkles are a common effect I’ve found myself creating in projects, but I've grown to understand (with the help of some mentors), that they can be a deceivingly complex and delicate art form to master.
As I continue to explore magic-making, this post will go over how I used sparkles in two current projects, then later dive into the research I’ve done using several examples from popular films/tv series.
My Application/Projects
Sparkle Tool
For Alice Yeh’s ongoing SCAD MFA Thesis In Between, she was looking for a tool to be created to allow FX artists to easily add sparkles to animated animals (Alice's website here!).
Based on her provided reference images, I worked to make the sparkles:
Delicate yet populous
Have the occasional flare to add diversity in their shape
Accented and emphasized the characters
With this being a tool, I wanted to allow the artists enough control over the particle's shape and movement so it can be customizable to mood, movements, character, and more depending on the
shot. However, I wanted to make it straightforward enough so it did not become overly complicated, as well as stayed consistent.
I utilized a Ray SOP within the POP net to allow the particles to swirl within the animal's geo before breaking off to form a trail, to allow them to accent the creature's shape in an amount of time determined by the artist.
Additionally, I wanted to include the option of a flare to occur intermittently, again
determined by the artist. Similar to the flares in magic from Frozen or Winx Club as covered in my study below.
This was done by creating a separate particle layer with lower (yet adjustable) frequency. The scale of the flares allows them to reach their largest point in a sharp ramp towards the middle of their lifespan.
They are also oriented to always face the camera.
The sparkles act not as a magic controlled by the animal, but as something happening to it, like an extension of its body - similarly to my next project.
Fairy Hair
The second sparkle-related project is a revamp of a fairy in my previous personal project Willow.
Originally, there was a significant lack of intrigue or purpose in the sparkles of the fairy. I wanted to address this in a way that differed from the technique used for the sparkles in In Between.
To do this, I was inspired by the sparkles/magic from Encanto (analyzed further below). While not necessarily sparkly (nonetheless pixie-dust like), I wanted to experiment how this orb-emitting style may look in such a context.
I created the system with 3 layers of pop networks:
One that sourced chunks of points from her head to create hair-like strands
An offset, slightly smaller/ thinner version of the first layer
One that sourced the entirety of her scalp points, but had a shorter lifetime
The three layers added length and variety in movement, but also ensured it did not get too
thin at the top. It also allowed for easier customization, such as increasing the lifespan and wind force of one layer of particles during moments of lower speed.
The particles were then shaped using VEX to ramp their scale according to age.
Their size steadily increases, yet one hair layer has a slight flicker in their size. There is also
an overall randomness applied for variation.
To mask the transparency, I created a Cd attribute based on the previously created pscale, so the larger particles begin to fade out as they gain size. This was then later combined with a random value, so the fading had variation instead of being a repetitive/ constant gradient.
Research
Below are a few of my analyses of different uses of sparkles, and ones that heavily inspired the above projects.
Encanto - Walt Disney Animation Studios, directed by Jared Bush + Byron Howard
Sparkle shape
Sparkles are entirely circle, no flares or stars
More like orbs of light, or bokeh
Pulsate, both in size and brightness
Spawns small, then grows steadily until reaching its largest point. From there, it quickly fades out both in size and brightness
Depending on the speed and how dynamic the movement is, they may shift between sizes and brightness as they linger in the air before fading
Pulsating in brightness + shapes adds movement and intrigue that makes up for the lack of variation in particle shape
Are not drastically drawn by gravity - feel lighter, more free
Feeling / connection to story
The shifting brightness and sizes feel familiar to how a candle flame flickers and moves, connecting it to the source of magic in the film
Same sparkle style throughout the film to indicate connection to the candle (especially in Waiting On A Miracle)
Waiting On A Miracle:
Connects her desires to the candle, her family, and their magic. As she fantasizes, she is pleading to the source of the magic
It surrounds her family members and forms the powers its given to others, but she remains lightless
The diversity in the particle's direction and overall shape as they float feels like it is not being controlled, but it still listens and cooperates. Even in moments when she initiates the magics creation during her fantasy, it still seems to have a life of its own, working in tandem with her instead of being from her
Sparkle shape
Lingers in the air before sparkling away
Feeling of coldness, like when you exhale in the winter
Fall down as they fade / once their momentum dies out. Similar to how ice particles or snowflakes may
Snowflake motifs occasionally - grow outwards in fractals
Glitters and flares, star like shape
More frequent upon change/increase in energy, such as upon their first creation, or during a burst
Conversely, can be seen during the diminishing of the particles at times to help create the feeling of them blinking away
Elegant, crafted, and controlled
Feeling / connection to story
Form purposeful swirls that mimic the royal motifs associated with her identity
It's controlled by her entirely, as seen in its purposeful and sleek shapes and directed movement. Everything moves intentionally
Reflects her emotions in movement and shape
Ie: the first few bursts from Let It Go. They begin less directed, more experimental, weaker in shape, and have more snowflakes. As she gains more confidence their shape becomes more distinct and sculpted in their swirl, but still a bit experimental and natural as she continues to embrace her powers
Into The Unknown utilizes this controlled, consistent movement of her magic to indicate the presence of the ‘unknown’ magic. It takes over Elsa’s styled swirls, changing their shape into brighter, sharper stars, and accelerating quickly and more linearly. Even without Elsa’s reaction, the different shape and movement of the magic indicates that a separate force acted on it (2:17 in the official YouTube video)
Reminiscent of Cinderella magic
Snowflakes that grow similar to the stars do in Cinderella
Pulled by gravity
Slowly gets lighter and flutters/fades away as it falls
Swirls, purposeful, intentional
I also wanted to gather studies from 2D media and animated series to broaden examples
Little Witch Academia - Studio Trigger, created by Yō Yoshinari
This intro sequence performance relies heavily on flares/stars, a common motif for the show and for the main characters in this scene
Sparkle shape
Similar lifespan to Elsa’s flares, though more sparse: Spawn small, grow to their largest point around ⅓ - ½ way between their lifespan, then pulsate slightly as they decrease in size and shift between circle and flare
Impact/ high energy moments have larger + more flares
The pulsing
Feeling / connection to story
The star/ flare is a common symbol of Chariot and her wand's magic, connecting and foreshadowing several plot points (it's even on Akko’s hat!)
Plays into typical expectations and associations with magic, recognizable, easy to establish
Bold, flashy, but still memorizing and pretty. Relates to Chariots role as a performer, but a sincere one who hopes to use magic to inspire
Winx Club - Rainbow S.p.A, created by Iginio Straffi
Long running show that has been in several mediums and styles
Sparkle Shape
Magic is not controlled entirely by characters, but acts as a force happening to them that they embrace
Don't typically have gravity or weight
The amount of detail and randomness in their shape and movement varies between transformation
Shape animation (as it relates to lifespan) is typically either:
Constant
Pulsates quickly (flares)
Simple ramp, growing largest halfway through their life, then decreasing as they fade away
Diversity in shape throughout transformation
Ie: The sparkles on the body/clothes would be mostly flares and flashes, while the background is a different, less distracting pattern like circles
Draws attention to the transformation and the character
Feeling / connection to story
The show has several characters, each at times having their own motifs
Flora is most commonly seen with unique shapes, typically floral patterns
Aisha at times has sparkles in the shape of circles without flares, representing bubbles
Used in abundance, meant to be flashy and overtly magical
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