There are 2 prongs to this question. First is technical, and looking at how others set up the animations will help you time yours. Second is stylistic: how much imagination do YOU have? FX can be realistic: electrical arcs, lightning bolts, flames, drizzling clouds, fireworks, chemical reactions in beakers. FX can be supernatural: gates into other dimensions, wrinkles in the fabric of space/time, crawling sentient slime, transporters, dematerializers, transmogrifiers, glowing sigils, acid balls, and the entire 4 volumes of the D&D encyclopedia of magical spells and another 4 volumes of artifacts. Decide what you want to build, let's say a water-stealing wand which dehydrates whatever it touches, then you have a final image in mind: person turned to sand (or salt), eroding into a pile, and blowing away in the wind. Break it into steps, storyboard it, and THEN build the effects. Carolly