Fireball in Hand

Quick test of this effect: forums.cgsociety.org/​showthread.php?f=86&t=788897

I noticed it doesn't always play smoothly on vimeo which is a problem for such a short clip, but you can download the 1280x720 quicktime and it will probably play fine.

Something similar was done with a blue flame in Maya for Kung Foo Panda, but I can't find the video or remember the artist that created the effect. shawnlipowski.com/​reference/​KFP014_1280.jpg