When the ActionVFX team kicked off our recent asset production, we were focused on solving a real production gap. Artists were having to warp flat wounds, animating stills, or leaning on time-consuming paint overs just to sell a burn. We knew we could offer something smarter: realistic, animated practical burn wounds that react and disturb. That’s how we came to create the Burning Flesh collection:

"We knew we could do something that would be animated and grotesque and would just get something really fresh and new that would fit well with like a body on fire or burn wounds". Zac VanHoy, ActionVFX’s Asset Development Supervisor.

Our goal was to create an asset that integrates into real workflows across horror, action, sci-fi — and sells the pain.

These Wounds Move

Burn wounds in VFX are more than surface damage. They ripple, crackle, bubble. They respond to trauma, heat, movement. We built the Burning Flesh collection to do the same. They’re fully animated practical elements, shot with blistering realism in high-resolution and designed to live inside your composite. Some assets pulse. Others shred or peel. All of them are deeply textured and deeply uncomfortable. This makes them perfect for:

• Body-on-fire shots
• Explosive aftermaths
• Horror reveals
• Sci-fi weapon burns
• or supernatural attacks

Because the elements are already reacting to heat and light, they comp in naturally. You spend less time selling the effect and more time building the story.

Filming Practical Burning Flesh FX

Making this collection meant committing to the kind of practical shoot you don’t fake.

“We also used some mixtures that you might would find in like a school project volcano… to get some fizzing and bubbling as well.” Zac VanHoy, ActionVFX’s Asset Development Supervisor.

Collaborating with FX pros to build layered prosthetics and heat-reactive materials that would behave like burning flesh.

This shoot required full precision: prosthetics were timed to deform under heat; lighting rigs were calibrated to expose the wound textures at multiple burn stages. With controlled fire sources, blistering compounds, and high-speed capture, we were able to simulate how skin bubbles, splits, and chars in intense scenarios.

“It definitely gives you something that you're not going to be able to easily simulate in CG.” Zac VanHoy, ActionVFX’s Asset Development Supervisor.

Realistic Burn FX

Burning Flesh is built for the kinds of moments that leave an audience stunned. We made this because we saw too many burn effects fall flat. Zac VanHoy, our Asset Development Supervisor, led this project from early tests through to post-production. What came out of it is a toolset that bridges creativity and technical control.

"It’s something that is shot for real which always is a leg up… real fire, real explosions that we film… there’s still little nuances that you are going to get, imperfections that you're going to see when using and filming real objects and assets."

It hits that rare sweet spot: gross enough for horror, controlled enough for feature work, flexible enough for game cinematics, shorts, or commercial VFX.

Ready to Use The Burning Flesh collection is live now. Every clip is built with artists in mind, designed to work across After Effects, Nuke, Resolve, Fusion, Unreal, or whatever your pipeline calls for. Explore the collection: 👉 Burning Flesh Stock Footage Collection

Tag us #MadeWithActionVFX with your results, we love seeing how you use the assets.

If your next shot calls for trauma, tension, or something that makes people flinch — ActionVFX has the assets you need.