Power-ups,” fire and lightning, activating a magic forcefield, or even sparkling jewels — these effects (and many more!) are the responsibility of an FX artist.
They also create explosions, destruction, particle systems, and liquid simulations. Their role can also be as broad as generating procedural environments, building basic assets, character effects (cloth, hair, etc.), and solving challenging pipeline problems.
FX Artist responsibilities may include:
Designing and creating FX animation, procedural simulations, dynamic simulations, particle and fluid systems
Lighting and rendering FX elements and producing composites to showcase ideas and concepts