Learn Stylized Elemental FX with these Character Mascots

FX are born out of the need to represent natural elements doing incredible things. Let's look at the elemental characters at VFX Apprentice.

Fire. Water. Earth. Air. No, this isn't The Last Airbender, these are the elemental characters that make up the world around us. In this post, we'd like to put the spotlight on our friends and mascots, the VFX Apprentice elementals. 

The VFX Apprentice mascots actually have roots in the incredibly popular YouTube short film, Alight. To date, the film has racked up over 21 million views since it was first published and was an early viral film on the platform. 

In Jason Keyser's film, we are introduced to the unnamed fire boy and water girl. The characters are now known as Sparker and Aquanna, and each continues to be a part of VFX Apprentice to this day. 

Download VFX Apprentice Mascots Files

Want to play with the elemental characters? Get coloring book pages, character sheets, pixel art sprites, and desktop wallpapers. Free to download, grab them now. 

Aquanna

Aquanna, the water elemental, embodies the creativity and adaptability of our apprentices as they create beautiful real-time VFX and 2D animated FX. 

Aquanna is a part of our foundational drawing exercises, where you can learn how to draw stylized water with a coloring book template. 

Sparker

Sparker, the fire elemental, represents determined VFX apprentices on the journey of learning FX as they face setbacks, triumphs, and everything in between.

Like Aquanna, Sparker too was featured in a series of new lessons. For beginners, you can follow along with another in the series of drawing foundations. 

For those interested in tacking animated 2D FX as a career, we've recently added a new FX course Ignited to VFX Apprentice All Access, which breaks down the process of creating a 2D animation featuring character FX. Our trusty pal Sparker takes to the sky eventually finding himself high above the world and creating a massive explosion. 

The series is led by animator Slava Lightsoul, whose recent credits include Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. You'll see how to use storyboards and animatics to block out an idea, and then create a rough animation pass. From there it's all about refining your animation, backgrounds, and compositing. 

Joules

Joules, the electric elemental, demonstrates the power our Apprentices wield as they expand their software skills.

If you have joined the VFX Apprentice Community Discord, then odds are you are very familiar with Joules, who is there to guide you through the setup process as well as connect you to all the channels you can access. 

Coopers

Meet the Coopers. As the air elemental, they represent the inviting and engaging support & friendship our Apprentices develop.

Noti

Noti embodies the massive library of FX knowledge. As the light elemental, he illuminates the mysterious world of VFX learning. He will stop at nothing until he knows everything!

Cozma

Cozma, the magic elemental, embodies our dedication to unraveling the mysteries of real-time VFX and 2D FX for VFX Apprentices at each step along their learning journey.

Terry

Terry, the earth elemental, is the embodiment of our shared humble beginning and a willingness to steadily plod through the process. 

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