Since the Star Wars pop culture explosion, no film franchise has made as big an impact on Hollywood and Visual Effects as the Marvel Cinematic Universe. A truly industry changing feat, the nearly two dozen films have followed a consistent thread through not only narrative development, but technological as well. 

The core components haven’t changed from the comics nonetheless: it’s all about the heroes. Capes, masks, webs, lasers, and all. There’s someone for everyone to love in the MCU, and frankly, we all wish we were a hero. So, in the spirit of October, let’s take a look at how YOU can go superhuman in four amazing tutorials. 

In this tutorial, our good friend Grant at FilmLearnin takes a very advanced concept and simplifies it for an After Effects and 

C4D user. The magic is truly ruined for VFX artists as we know: nearly every piece of headgear in the MCU is added digitally. They’ve even tried a physical version, and still gone back through in post. 

In this tutorial, you get a taste of facial tracking with simple implementation and even a basic camera data roundtrip from After Effects to C4D. With a little tweaking you can put your snapchat filter friends to shame. 

Everybody and their brother has an Iron Man HUD tutorial, but how many of them are completely free? This walkthrough from FXhome utilizes Hitfilm Express to create a convincing, fully tracked Iron Man style heads up display. 

The concepts in the video are pretty much universal and can be applied to any compositing software from After Effects to Nuke. Another great thing about this tutorial and all digital interface style effects is you must strike a strong balance between pre-existing elements and your own additions. There’s plenty of room to add some personal flare as well with colors, shapes, and more. 

Though the standard flight effects and laser battles make for great popcorn eating scenes, Doctor Strange flipped the script and became a real standout for its imaginative visuals. The inception-esque final fight scene is one of the most stunning in all the MCU and is sure to spark any artists imagination. 

Did I mention particles? As seen in this tutorial from MJake, Doctor Strange’s spells have all the glow, spark, and animation you need to scratch that effect slider itch. Similar to the HUD effect, the Doctor Strange shield and spells benefit from a build-your-own approach. You start with simple stars and shapes, and add layer upon layer of complexity. 

The fun starts with the particles and light effects. The best sell in the film itself came from the integrated lighting, especially for the larger portal effects. Try to fake this with masked color corrections on your face and other surfaces close to the effect. If you’re feeling really crafty, strap an LED panel to the back of your hand! 

Harness the power of the MCU’s secret weapon in this in depth tutorial from Red Giant. This look is achieved entirely in After Effects to quite impressive results. One of the strongest takeaways are in regards to the core components. At the foundation of the energy itself, for example, is the true 

swiss army knife of VFX: noise. 

Beyond setting up the core animations, it’s all about the embellishments and the implementation. In the video, multiple energy effects are tackled: from blasts out of the hands, to the full body aura that Captain Marvel is known for. The best part is the core concepts which remain unchanged.

Consider ways you can take these to other hero looks as well, such as Black Panther’s kinetic suit, or even Nightcrawler's teleportation can rely on similar concepts.

First time here? ActionVFX creates action stock footage for visual effects and filmmaking. (We also have some great free stuff!)

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