Halloween Tutorials Roundup #halloween #vfx #tutorial

We’ve revisited some of our favorite Halloween VFX tutorials, perfect for getting into the spirit of this haunted holiday. We have dug up some of our favorite older tutorials plus loads of new ones. Check them out, if you dare. Mwahahahahaha.

VFX Tutorials

Day-for-Night Haunted House Effect from Film Riot

Film Riot walks you through how to create a horror vibe with a day-for-night haunted house shot. We love Halloween and below the tutorial, we have recommendations for other options for effects he brings up in the video. Plus, we list some sound design options!

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Creating Spooky 3D Lighting – Cinema 4D & Greyscalegorilla Plus

Nick from Greyscalegorilla creates a spooky 3D Lighting look using Cinema 4D and Redshift alongside the Flashlight Gobo collection from Greyscalegorilla Plus.

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Add a Blood Moon with Boris FX Optics

In this Quick Tip, Mick Harauz shows you how to add a creepy blood moon to your images in just a few steps in Boris FX Optics.

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Spooky Scene Workflows: Redshift, ZBrush, Substance, Cinema 4D

Join ZBrush environment artist and instructor Rodolfo Silva and Maxon Master Trainer Dustin Valkema for a new four-part spooky webinar series.

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Make a Bubbling Cauldron with Cinema 4D, Thinking Particles, Xpresso

Make some magic with Cinema 4D, Thinking Particles, some deformers, and Xpresso with this Bubbling Cauldron tutorial.

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Ghostly Text Reveal, Sapphire in AE, including a Project File

John Dickinson breaks down a ghostly text reveal that he created using Sapphire and Particle Illusion in After Effects.

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Friday the 13th | VFX and Chill

From Friday the 13th, Hashi was all alone in a spooky abandoned house, he’s sharing free scripts with all of you! In this episode, Hashi also shows techniques for making smoky ghosts, bloody text, popping balloons, faces in smoke, and more using simulations in Cinema 4D.

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Create Transparent Ghostly Effects with Mocha & Particle Illusion

Create transparent ghostly effects using Mocha Pro and Particle Illusion to transform an actress into a ghost.

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ZBrush: Creating Thin Membrane-Style Wings (Good for Bats, Dragons)

Just in time for Halloween, learn three different ways to create membrane-like wings (think bats, dragons, monsters) in ZBrush with this tutorial from Pablo Muñoz Gómez.

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The Thing With a Hundred Eyes with Red Giant

Here’s a classic Halloween tutorial and free template! Red Giant‘s lead designer Leo Hageman shows you how to use the Contact Lens Kit. It’s a free and easy-to-use project with 100 different eye presets! The presets are based on well-known horror, fantasy, and sci-fi characters.

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Spooky Season VFX & Chill with Hashi & Seth

From the crypt of YouTube! Watch Hashi & Seth create a dementor raptor Beetlejuice tribute on the Spooky Season episode of VFX and Chill.

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The Last of Us Clicker, GeoTracker for After Effects

In this tutorial, learn how to take some stock footage of a Zombie and turn it into a mushroom-faced Clicker inspired by HBO’s The Last of Us – using GeoTracker in After Effects and some 3D cordyceps.

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Other Horror VFX and Titles Tutorials to check out

• American Horror Story Virgin Mary – Learn how to make a scene similar to the creepy Virgin Mary scene from American Horror Story in which the statue changes expressions.
• Smoke & Fog, Orbs, and Light Flicker: New Effects in Continuum 2023.5 – Nick Harauz gives you a tour of Smoke & Fog, Orbs, and Light Flicker effects in the latest release of Boris FX Continuum 2023.5.
• Freebie: 5 Free Horror Film Inspired LUTs + Tutorial – Lightworks has some free spooky LUTs, just in time for your Halloween video. The LUTS include looks inspired by: Saw, The Shining, The Ring, Evil Dead, and Let the Right One in.
• Create Retro Horror Movie Titles in After Effects – Charles Yeager at Premium Beat has a tutorial for Retro Horror Movie Titles in After Effects that are similar to titles from Stranger Things. In addition, he provides project files so you can play right along.
• Modern Frankenstein Classic Horror Film Titles with Titler Pro – Need to make some classic horror film-style titles? Indeed, you can with Titler Pro from NewBlue! Check out how MediaByOne puts a new spin on an iconic titling sequence using Filters 5 and Titler Pro 7.
• Classic Movie Monster Photoshop Composite – Follow along with Corey Barker as he uses Photoshop to create a classic movie monster composite of Nosferatu.
• Create Monster Visual Effects in After Effects with the Monster Toolkit and Mocha AE – This one is from 2015 but it holds up!

Sound Design Tutorials

Burning Question: How Do I Create Sound Design for Horror Films?

The sound design in horror films can put your audience directly into the experience. In this article, learn about the history of horror music scores and spooky sound design, and how to make them, whether you’re a musician or not. There are lots of tips on what sounds and techniques work well in the genre.

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How To Create a Hair-Raising Soundscape This Halloween

Another from Halloween’s past, Alessandro Mastroianni shows you how to create a Hair-Raising Soundscape for your horror film using Krotos Audio Dehumanizer 2 and Concept 2.

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Use Krotos Audio Reformer Pro to Design Sound for Haunted House Attractions

Create some spooky haunted house attraction sounds with sound designer Dan Bieranowski using Krotos Audio Reformer Pro.

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Create Zombie Sound Effects Using Simple Monsters

Terrify your friends or add more devilish detail to your sound design by performing an eerie array of goblin growls, grim reaper laughs and bloodcurdling zombie screams in the studio.

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More Sound Design Tutorials

• Krotos Audio: Create Monster Sounds From a Limited Set of Samples – Get creative with Weaponiser, Dehumaniser, a balloon, a digeridoo, and a plunger. Wait. What? Music composer Nikita shows you how to create monster sounds in minutes, using just those items.