Choosing a Product to Create

Choosing the right product to create as an ActionVFX Contributor is the first step toward success. The best products fill a need in the industry, align with your skills, and excite you as a creator. Here’s how to pick the right idea for your next VFX asset.

Before creating, research what artists are looking for. There are a few different ways you can do this. First, a great way to do this is by checking our Product Request Page. This tool shows what ActionVFX customers are actively requesting, giving you direct insight into what customers need.

✅ Browse Product Requests to see trends and common needs

✅ Browse the Product Roadmap to see what’s in progress, in review, planned, and completed.

✅ Find gaps in the marketplace—what’s missing?

✅ Validate your idea by ensuring there’s demand for it.

By choosing a product that people already want, you increase its chances of selling well.

Second, your past work is one of the best tools you have for identifying gaps in the marketplace. As a VFX artist or content creator, you’ve likely encountered situations where you couldn’t find the perfect asset or had to create something from scratch. These moments reveal real-world demand.

✅ Reflect on Your Past Projects: Think back to times you struggled to find the right element—what did you wish existed?

✅ Identify Pain Points in Your Workflow: What processes slowed you down because the right stock element wasn’t available?

✅ Look for Repeated Workarounds: If you often have to customize or combine assets to achieve a certain look, there could be a need for a more tailored, ready-to-use product.

These personal insights can be just as valuable because they come from real production needs.

Think about the types of VFX elements you wish you had for your projects. Chances are, if you regularly need a specific type of asset, other artists do too.

Ask yourself:

💡 Would I use this in my own work?

💡 Does it solve a common problem for VFX artists?

💡 Does it add something fresh to the marketplace?

💡 Is this product going to be easy to use and helpful?

By focusing on usefulness, you ensure your product has real-world value.

A great product isn’t just about demand—it’s also about quality. Choose something that aligns with your expertise so you can create the best version possible.

Visual effects artists often specialize in certain types of simulations. Rather than attempting something unfamiliar, focus on what you know best—especially the effects you’ve created professionally or repeatedly in your work.

✅ Smoke & Atmospheric FX: If you’ve built a system for billowing smoke or cinematic fog, you can create polished smoke elements with ease. Think drifting fog, industrial vent steam, or thick battlefield smoke.

Example: Artists experienced with pyro sims in Houdini can likely adapt their workflow to different smoke styles faster than starting from scratch on water sims.

✅ Fire & Explosions: If your strength is in fire sims, create varied fire bursts, ground explosions, or embers.

Example: Someone comfortable with high-detail pyro in Houdini should lean into expanding their fire or explosion work, rather than pivoting to complex fluid sims like ocean waves.

✅ Water & Liquids: If you’re familiar with fluid simulations, focus on splash elements, surface ripples, or rain interactions.

Example: An artist who has successfully created product shots with liquid splashes can extend their knowledge to realistic rain splashes or water explosions.

Filming practical effects requires different skill sets depending on the subject—lighting, camera techniques, safety, and even working with a crew. Rather than pushing into unfamiliar territory, focus on capturing the types of elements you’ve successfully filmed before or are confident you can handle.

✅ Fire, Explosions & Pyro: If you’ve safely filmed fire-based elements, expand on that. Fireballs, controlled burns, small gas bursts, or torch flames.

✅ Weather Elements: If have experience shooting weather elements, lean into rain, snow, mist, or wind effects.

✅ Surface Impacts & Debris: If you’ve filmed various debris blasts, debris impacts, or dust waves, expand into similar hits on different surfaces—dirt, concrete, wood, or water splashes.

By creating a product you know you can execute well, you will be able to create the product faster and at a higher quality than one you don’t have experience with.

The best products come from creators who care about their work. Passion fuels creativity, attention to detail, and innovation—all of which result in a better final product.

🔥 If you love creating fire elements, make the best fire FX possible.

🌊 If water simulations excite you, push your creativity with realistic water elements.

💨 If atmospheric effects fascinate you, craft the most stunning mist and fog assets.

When you’re excited about your product, customers will see the difference.

Once you’ve chosen the product you want to create, the next step is to plan your shoot or simulation work. A well-organized shotlist is an essential tool to ensure your production is efficient, consistent, and stays on schedule. A shotlist serves as your roadmap throughout the production process. It helps you:

🗂️ Organize your ideas and visualize the final product.

🕒 Track progress and stay on schedule.

🗨️ Communicate your vision clearly.

✅ Reduce mistakes and avoid missing important variations.

How to Build a Shotlist

The best way to structure your shotlist is by creating a simple table with key details for each shot. Your shotlist should capture the specifics of every element you plan to create, whether it’s a practical shoot or a CG simulation. Here’s an example:

The row in this example can easily be multiplied to track all of the clips in your collection. You can also add or delete columns based on what is applicable to your product. Here are some key details of each column in the example:

🔹 Shot Name: Assign a descriptive name to each shot for easy reference.

🔹 Sim #: If you’re working with CG, label each unique simulation setup. This helps you track variations that are rendered using the same sim such as rendering a front angle and high-angle version.

🔹 Variation: Note different versions of a shot (e.g., light rain, heavy rain, wind-blown rain).

🔹 Cam Angle: Specify the camera position (e.g., wide, close-up, side view, top-down. etc.).

🔹 Shot Description: Provide a brief but detailed explanation of what the shot should look like and any specific actions or visual details.

🔹 Frame Count: Estimate the number of frames for the shot to help with rendering time and scheduling.

🔹 Schedule: Assign deadlines for test renders (Temp) and final deliveries (Final) to stay on track.

💡Head over to these articles to download your own template to use for your collection

Use these Shotlist Templates to Save Time

Shotlist Template for 2D CG Products

Shotlist Template for 2D Footage Products

The best products check three key boxes:

✅ It’s useful and there is a demand for it.

✅ You can do it well.

✅ You’re excited to create it.

Start by exploring the Product Request Page for ideas, reflecting on your past projects, identifying pain points in your workflow, or looking for repeated workarounds, then choose something that fits your skills and passion. By following these steps, you’ll create a product that not only sells but also stands out.