VFX overlays: smoke, fire and lightning you can recolour

Updated September 18, 20262 min read

How do you add smoke, fire or lightning to a video without filming it or buying a plugin?

Use a generated VFX element on a transparent or black background and composite it over your shot. Because the element is procedural, you set its colour, density, direction and timing before export, so the smoke drifts the way your scene needs and the fire matches your grade instead of fighting it.

Stock VFX packs give you one take of a fire or an explosion. If it burns the wrong way, sits in the wrong corner or comes in a colour your grade cannot rescue, you are stuck masking and keying around it. Generating the element instead lets you shape it to the shot: move the source, change the wind, slow the plume, or pick a new seed until the timing lands on your cut.

Five backgrounds / vfx presets to start from

Hover any card to play it. Opening one loads it in the editor with every control unlocked.

Smoke Plume Rise
8s
A thick column of billowing smoke rises from the bottom of the frame, curls, spreads and thins out as it drifts with the wind.
Ground Fog Roll
10s
Low fog rolls across the bottom of the frame in parallax layers, thickening and thinning as it drifts past.
Fire Column Loop
6s
Layered flame tongues lick upward from a hot white core, flickering at their cool edges while stray licks break off the top.
Fireball Explosion
3s
A white flash blooms into a churning fireball that rises and cools into rolling black smoke while glowing debris arcs out.
Lightning Storm Strikes
6s
Branching bolts crawl down from the sky at seeded moments, flicker through restrikes and light up the frame with every hit.

All backgrounds / vfx

Which format should you export?

A PNG sequence with alpha for compositing in Premiere Pro, After Effects, DaVinci Resolve and Final Cut Pro, WebM with alpha for CapCut and the web. MP4 on black for Screen or Add blending. Choose 9:16 for Shorts and Reels so the plume has room to rise.

Format: MP4 · WebM · PNG sequence
Alpha: WebM or PNG sequence
Resolution: 720p to 8K
Aspect: 16:9 · 9:16 · 1:1 · 4:5
License: Commercial use included

Three tips that make it look intentional

Export with a transparent background when the effect must sit behind or between layers, and on black when you plan to use a Screen or Add blend in your editor.
Match the effect colour to your grade first. Warm fire on a cool shot looks pasted on; nudging the accent towards the scene's highlights sells it.
Change the variation seed until a strike, puff or flash lands on the beat you want, rather than retiming the clip afterwards.

Three things people get wrong

Laying a bright effect over a shot without any interaction. Add a little of the effect's colour to the footage around it so it feels lit by the fire or the flash.
Running density at maximum. Real smoke and fog breathe; too many layers flatten into a grey sheet.
Using a seamless loop for a single event. Pick a one-shot element for impacts and explosions so they start and finish inside the clip.

Frequently asked

Can I use these VFX elements commercially?

Yes. Every element is generated from original procedural code, with no third-party footage, so you can use the exports in client work, ads and monetised videos under the licence.

Do the loops repeat cleanly?

Loops marked seamless end on exactly the frame they start on, so you can stack them on the timeline for as long as the shot runs without a visible jump.

For stock sellers
How to sell motion graphics on stock footage sites
Pick a marketplace and pass its review, produce clips that answer briefs rather than showcase technique, submit each one with a title, description and keyword list, and build a catalogue rather than a portfolio. Income comes from coverage over time, not from any single upload.
Read the guide
For stock sellers
Keywording stock video: what marketplaces actually match on
Describe the literal content first, then the attributes a buyer filters by (colour, orientation, duration, transparency, format), and only then the mood or style words. Search engines match on what is in the frame far more reliably than on how the clip feels.
Read the guide
For stock sellers
What sells: motion graphics with standing demand
The recurring furniture of edited video: lower thirds, titles, transitions, subscribe and follow prompts, sale badges, animated charts and counters, loaders, countdowns and seamless backgrounds. They are needed on almost every project, which makes demand continuous rather than seasonal.
Read the guide

Make your next clipin the next five minutes

Editing and previewing are free. You only spend a credit when the finished file lands on your machine.

Create your first animation free Browse the library

velements

Backgrounds / VFX

VFX overlays: smoke, fire and lightning you can recolour

Updated September 18, 20262 min read

How do you add smoke, fire or lightning to a video without filming it or buying a plugin?

Five backgrounds / vfx presets to start from

Hover any card to play it. Opening one loads it in the editor with every control unlocked.

Smoke Plume Rise
8s
A thick column of billowing smoke rises from the bottom of the frame, curls, spreads and thins out as it drifts with the wind.
Ground Fog Roll
10s
Low fog rolls across the bottom of the frame in parallax layers, thickening and thinning as it drifts past.
Fire Column Loop
6s
Layered flame tongues lick upward from a hot white core, flickering at their cool edges while stray licks break off the top.
Fireball Explosion
3s
A white flash blooms into a churning fireball that rises and cools into rolling black smoke while glowing debris arcs out.
Lightning Storm Strikes
6s
Branching bolts crawl down from the sky at seeded moments, flicker through restrikes and light up the frame with every hit.

All backgrounds / vfx

Which format should you export?

Format: MP4 · WebM · PNG sequence
Alpha: WebM or PNG sequence
Resolution: 720p to 8K
Aspect: 16:9 · 9:16 · 1:1 · 4:5
License: Commercial use included

Three tips that make it look intentional

Export with a transparent background when the effect must sit behind or between layers, and on black when you plan to use a Screen or Add blend in your editor.
Match the effect colour to your grade first. Warm fire on a cool shot looks pasted on; nudging the accent towards the scene's highlights sells it.
Change the variation seed until a strike, puff or flash lands on the beat you want, rather than retiming the clip afterwards.

Three things people get wrong

Laying a bright effect over a shot without any interaction. Add a little of the effect's colour to the footage around it so it feels lit by the fire or the flash.
Running density at maximum. Real smoke and fog breathe; too many layers flatten into a grey sheet.
Using a seamless loop for a single event. Pick a one-shot element for impacts and explosions so they start and finish inside the clip.

Frequently asked

Can I use these VFX elements commercially?

Yes. Every element is generated from original procedural code, with no third-party footage, so you can use the exports in client work, ads and monetised videos under the licence.

Do the loops repeat cleanly?

Loops marked seamless end on exactly the frame they start on, so you can stack them on the timeline for as long as the shot runs without a visible jump.

For stock sellers
How to sell motion graphics on stock footage sites
Pick a marketplace and pass its review, produce clips that answer briefs rather than showcase technique, submit each one with a title, description and keyword list, and build a catalogue rather than a portfolio. Income comes from coverage over time, not from any single upload.
Read the guide
For stock sellers
Keywording stock video: what marketplaces actually match on
Describe the literal content first, then the attributes a buyer filters by (colour, orientation, duration, transparency, format), and only then the mood or style words. Search engines match on what is in the frame far more reliably than on how the clip feels.
Read the guide
For stock sellers
What sells: motion graphics with standing demand
The recurring furniture of edited video: lower thirds, titles, transitions, subscribe and follow prompts, sale badges, animated charts and counters, loaders, countdowns and seamless backgrounds. They are needed on almost every project, which makes demand continuous rather than seasonal.
Read the guide

Make your next clipin the next five minutes

Editing and previewing are free. You only spend a credit when the finished file lands on your machine.

Create your first animation free Browse the library

How do you add smoke, fire or lightning to a video without filming it or buying a plugin?

Five backgrounds / vfx presets to start from

Which format should you export?

Three tips that make it look intentional

Three things people get wrong

Frequently asked

Can I use these VFX elements commercially?

Do the loops repeat cleanly?

Keep reading

Make your next clipin the next five minutes

How do you add smoke, fire or lightning to a video without filming it or buying a plugin?

Five backgrounds / vfx presets to start from

Which format should you export?

Three tips that make it look intentional

Three things people get wrong

Frequently asked

Can I use these VFX elements commercially?

Do the loops repeat cleanly?

Keep reading

Make your next clipin the next five minutes