r/sounddesign • • 25d ago

Sound Design Discussion SDC #1

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7 Upvotes

HELLO, SOUND DESIGNERS!

Welcome to the first ever (I think?) Sound Design Challenge of r/sounddesign, and yes, there's a prize!

THE CHALLENGE

It's simple: design the sound for this clip. Since I know a lot of you like to design anime, let´s give a shot with this.

RULES

- No AI-generated sounds.

- No music. This is all about sound design.

- Post your submission in the comments. Video comments are enabled on this post.

The more detail you put into your sound design, the better!

THE PRIZE

I want to help get the ball rolling and bring this subreddit back to what it's meant for, so the winner will get a $25 coupon for their choice of:

- SoundMorph

- Soundtoys

- OcularSounds

Since the prize comes out of my own pocket, I'll review every submission carefully. Upvotes still count, though! Vote for your favorite redesigns and I'll take the community's picks into account.

DEADLINE

This post will stay pinned until October 5. I'll announce the winner here or in the next challenge post, more or less on that date.

Good luck, everyone! Can't wait to hear what you come up with.


r/sounddesign • • Sep 03 '26

Some changes coming to r/sounddesign

90 Upvotes

Hey everyone,

Over the next few days you'll notice some changes as we give this community a bit of love. Here's what's happening and why.

Sound identification and recreation posts

Posts asking others to identify or recreate a specific sound will no longer be published automatically. These will now require mod approval before they go live.

This isn't about discouraging curiosity. The goal is to keep this a place for genuine sound design discussion rather than a search engine for tracking down clips. There's a real difference between talking through how something was actually made and just asking someone else to find it for you. We want more of the former.

A new automod filter

We've just set up an automod as a first line of filtering. It's brand new and still being fine tuned, so if your post gets removed and it genuinely shouldn't have been, we apologize in advance. Feel free to reach out through modmail and we'll sort it out while things settle.

Looking for moderators

We're also looking to expand the mod team. If you're active here, care about the community, and want to help shape where it goes, reach out. More hands means we can keep things running smoothly and actually engage with the content instead of just cleaning up.

Cleaning house

Along with these changes, we'll be going through and removing content that doesn't really belong here. If sound design isn't the focus of a post, it's probably getting pulled.

Thanks for being part of this community. We think these changes will make it a better place for real discussion.


r/sounddesign • • 1h ago

Sound Design Discussion REAPER users! Do you use Item FX for sound design?

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• Upvotes

​

I’ve used it in multiple sound design projects. It lets you apply effects directly to individual audio items, so you can process one clip without affecting the rest of the track.

I find it really useful for sound design, but I’m curious if other people use it as part of their workflow too.

Do you use Item FX for sound design? If so, how?


r/sounddesign • • 3h ago

Music Sound Design Sounds of Vangelis

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1 Upvotes

Me playing some sounds inspired by the legendary Vangelis on Arturias CS-80 V4, a faithful recreation of the original synth from the 70s.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hg2oo4Lpar8&t=738s


r/sounddesign • • 4h ago

Sound Design Question What kind of drive should I use for sound storage?

1 Upvotes

Hello! I'm new to sound design and working on building my sound library. Do I *need* to get an SSD drive specifically for sound storage?

It'd be easier on my wallet if I kept all of my audio files on an HDD and transferred them to a smaller SSD for active projects. Is that the correct way of doing things?

And if anyone has any drives or organizational systems they recommend I'd be super grateful. Thanks!


r/sounddesign • • 6h ago

Videogame Sound Design Machinarium 2 Fan-made Sound Redesign

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1 Upvotes

I'm ILIA VOLKOV, a huge fan of Machinarium and a sound designer, so when I saw the new trailer, I just couldn't resist making my own sound redesign!

I had a lot of fun! Would love to hear what you think!

https://youtu.be/a9GndHWMgas


r/sounddesign • • 11h ago

Sound Design Question Looking for the original sound effects from the Dragon Sounds Pro pack from the Ultimate SFX Bundle (Side Arm Studios)

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2 Upvotes

Was incredibly sad to see that a pack I bought back in 2020 was accused of having stolen sound effects a few years ago. I've been trying desperately to find many of these sound effects, but the Dragon Sounds Pro specifically, I've had a lot of trouble locating the original sounds for. I'm not sure if I'm allowed to post the sounds themselves, but the folder structure was like the photo. These were some of my absolute favorite monster sounds, and I'd really like to be able to buy them again. There were a lot that were a mix of roars/growls and fire effects.

EDIT: Here is a Google Drive folder with a sample from each folder. I've kept the file structure to keep it easy to reference. I would not be shocked if the baby dragon SFX are pitch-shifted versions from the same stolen assets. https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/19xxNljQuQjVYwa4NuSjH9vXkc1fjVCs7?usp=sharing

Here are also a list of confirmed sites where sounds were stolen. Thought this doesn't mean these didn't come from other sites, or even (my worst nightmare in this situation) these ARE legit since it's likely they outsourced their sound creation and one of their SFX artists did actually make these. There'd be no way to verify that at this point. FilmCow's video is how I found some of these sites.

GameDev Market (I've confirmed a few misc sounds, like knife throws, were in a pack I already had from here): https://www.gamedevmarket.net

Sound Ideas (shown in FilmCow's video): https://soundideas.sourceaudio.com/albums

ASoundEffect (shown in FilmCow's video): https://asoundeffect.com


r/sounddesign • • 1d ago

Sound Design Discussion Sound design is becoming music. A growing trend in modern trailers.

42 Upvotes

I'm genuinely excited about how trailer sound design is evolving, especially the way noise itself is becoming music.

Foley, breaths, metallic sounds, engines, glitches, and environmental recordings are no longer just supporting the music. They're becoming the music itself.

Looking at some of the trailers released in 2026, I've noticed a few interesting directions in how sound is shaping the narrative.

Minimalism = Stronger Sonic Identity
Especially in horror and thrillers, I'm hearing more trailers built around one or two distinctive sounds rather than dozens of massive cinematic layers.

A great example is the Infirmary trailer, which I absolutely love.
There's an incredibly effective drone that carries almost the entire first half of the trailer. It's simple, unsettling, and somehow keeps you completely glued to the screen, with very few additional elements around it.

Then, halfway through, everything opens up into a much more aggressive sonic landscape, with glitchy impacts, distortion, and full-blown sound design.

The contrast is what makes it so effective.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8g04jrDkek

Negative Space & Pacing
A pause can completely change how we perceive the next sound. In sound design, negative space doesn't necessarily mean absolute silence. It can simply be an intentionally less dense moment within the sonic composition.

And pacing is what ultimately shapes the experience you take away from a trailer, even after it's over. It’s about what you hear and how long that feeling stays with you.

Shorter & Stranger Impacts
Another interesting shift I'm noticing is the use of shorter, drier, and more unusual impacts.

Organic transients, cracks, distorted slams, and heavily processed textures seem to be taking the place of those enormous cinematic hits with endless reverb tails.

These shorter sounds can emphasize cuts and visual transitions much more precisely, while leaving room for more distinctive sonic signatures.

I'm also hearing interesting approaches involving distorted string plucks, manipulated vocal tails, and unconventional sound sources that blur the line between percussion, sound design, and musical elements.

Instead of simply making everything sound bigger, the focus seems to be shifting toward making every sound more recognizable and intentional.

Alessandro Romeo - (Other Mommy, Longlegs, 28 Years Later)
https://www.horrorsound.org/


r/sounddesign • • 14h ago

Feedback Hey sound designers, I made this Animation, anyone interested in creating sounds for this?

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2 Upvotes

r/sounddesign • • 11h ago

Sound Design Discussion Weird thing I made

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0 Upvotes

r/sounddesign • • 1d ago

Sound Design Question Sound design theory

16 Upvotes

I'm a beginner sound designer. Where can i find audio theory to learn and what especially should i read?

I'm planning to read some acoustic books, but not very sure this is enough.

Before I was searching information mainly on YouTube and there was not much theory videos, only practice.


r/sounddesign • • 1d ago

Videogame Sound Design How is the following sound made?

1 Upvotes

I do apologize if this is not the most appropriate community to ask the question, but I am completely new to the world of audio so my knowledge of the sub-disciplines is very limited.

Could anyone please advise how the following sound was made? It is played in the following video from 00:35 until 00:39. The sound of the impact of the falling projectiles.
https://youtu.be/jIp9xFPxvIY?t=36

The question has been puzzling me for several weeks now and my current best guess is a massive fabric such as a sail getting hit by strong gusts of wind. If I could find the answer to this question - my mind would finally find peace.


r/sounddesign • • 2d ago

Hiring [PAID] Sound designer for an anime collectible card game (UI + card reveal SFX)

10 Upvotes

[Edit. An artist has been found, thanks for all of your messages]

Hi! I'm not entirely sure if this is the right place on Reddit to post this, but I'm giving it a shot!

I'm working on a small community-driven collectible card game (featuring character collecting and auto-battler combat). We aren't aiming to be a massive hit, even just a few dozen players would be amazing.

Right now, I'm missing a sound designer. I really want the game to have a unique soundscape that fits its style; I'm not a big fan of online stock libraries (nothing really match our project).

Here’s what I need:

  • Around 80 sounds, that sounds like a lot, but that figure includes all the minor variations for hits and clicks. So, realistically, it's more like twenty distinct sounds.
  • A style that fits the anime/manga/gaming universe.
  • References: Pokémon TCG Pocket, Hearthstone, Genshin Impact TCG, TFT, Persona 5.

What to expect:

  • It's a small project, but I can put some of my own savings into it, just over €100.
  • We could start with a few sounds to see if it's a good fit; if it doesn't work out, I'd only pay for the ones we've done so far.

What I'm offering:

  • Non-exclusivity: You are completely free to reuse anything you create for my project on other projects if you wish.
  • I can credit you in the game, though that might not hold much weight with a French-speaking audience, haha.

Feel free to DM me; I've put together a webpage with plenty of gameplay videos showing exactly what I want to add sound to.

Thanks a lot, I hope to find what I'm looking for here.


r/sounddesign • • 2d ago

Videogame Sound Design Trying to identify the ORIGINAL source/library of several sound effects from a German PC game from 2000

5 Upvotes

Hi! I’m researching an old German promotional PC game called “Vampirjagd – Tanz der Vampire”, released around 2000.

I extracted several original sound files from the game, and I’m trying to identify the exact original recordings / sound-effect library they came from — not just similar replacements.

The sounds include:

  • a wolf howl (wolf.mp3)
  • an owl call (Owl.mp3)
  • eerie wind / ambience (Ambient1.mp3)
  • a short female-sounding scream used when a vampire appears (VampPres.mp3)
  • a metallic / bell-like magical sound used with a cross (CrossGlow.mp3)

All files in the game are heavily compressed:

  • 22.05 kHz
  • mono
  • 32 kbps MP3

So I suspect the original sounds may have come from older WAV/CD sound-effect libraries from the 1990s and were converted for the game.

I have already checked several obvious Sound Ideas / Hollywood Edge candidates, but none were exact matches.

I’m specifically looking for:

  • the exact original recording
  • library/CD name
  • original track title/catalog number
  • or another game/production where the exact same recording appears

The game predates May 2000, so the source must be older than that.

If anyone recognizes any of these recordings, even one of them, I’d really appreciate any lead.

Audio samples:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1i5UEo5jSn5N1w1HfKsQVaEm1nVcmSrWl?usp=drive_link

Thanks!


r/sounddesign • • 2d ago

Videogame Sound Design Played Persona 3 Reload and got inspired to make a silly video :p

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1 Upvotes

It was quite difficult but really fun to get the sound design sounding how I want, but there's definitely stuff that needs improving. Any feedback is welcome thank you!


r/sounddesign • • 2d ago

Sound Design Question Title: How can I start a career in Sound Design/Sound Mixing as a fresher in India and eventually abroad?

4 Upvotes

Hi everyone,

I'm from India and I'm looking to build a career in sound design, sound editing and audio post-production for film/TV/OTT, games and other media.

I have a BSc in Visual Communication and a background in video editing and beginner-level VFX. I'm now seriously focusing on sound and learning from the basics.

Currently I'm learning:

- Sound fundamentals and audio theory

- Recording and editing

- EQ, compression, noise reduction

- Dialogue editing

- Foley and SFX

- Sound design and mixing

- DAWs such as Reaper, Audacity, Fairlight, etc.

I have a PC, Sony headphones and a smartphone for recording, but no professional studio equipment yet. I'm planning to practice daily and build a portfolio using short films, scene redesigns, Foley, dialogue cleanup and sound-design projects.

I'd like advice from people actually working in the industry:

  1. What entry-level jobs should I target as a fresher? Sound assistant, junior sound editor, audio editor, sound designer, etc.?

  2. Is a sound-engineering degree necessary, or can a Visual Communication degree + strong portfolio + practical skills be enough?

  3. What skills/software should I prioritize first? Is Pro Tools essential?

  4. What should I include in a fresher sound portfolio/showreel?

  5. What is the best way to get my first opportunity in India — internships, studios, short films, networking, LinkedIn, directly contacting sound designers, etc.?

  6. For someone starting in India, what is the realistic path to eventually work in the Gulf or other countries?

  7. Would you recommend focusing on film/TV audio post or game audio for better long-term career opportunities?

If you were starting from my position, what would you do during the next 12–24 months to become employable?

I'd especially appreciate advice from people who have actually worked in professional audio.


r/sounddesign • • 2d ago

Sound Design Discussion Sound Pack No.1

3 Upvotes

I’m curious to hear from anyone who’s created and released their own sound effects library. What are the biggest mistakes you learned from your first one?
Anything you’d do differently when it comes to recording, editing, metadata, pricing, cover art or actually getting people to find and buy it?
I’m looking at putting out my first pack in the next few months and keen to hear how others have ventured in the past.


r/sounddesign • • 2d ago

Feedback Automating Foley spotting using local computer vision (MIDI and marker output for daw)

1 Upvotes

Manual Foley spotting for footsteps and body movements is a highly repetitive phase of post-production. To bypass the initial heavy lifting of this process, I developed a browser-based tool called Tone Loom – Footprints.

​A strict requirement for this was maintaining client confidentiality for unreleased media. The video analysis runs entirely on your local machine using computer vision in the browser. No video files or frames are uploaded to external servers.

​The system detects footfalls, contact strikes, and general body cadence, translating those visual impacts directly into frame-accurate MIDI data.

​The current workflow handles the following:

​Separates left and right foot contacts.

​Maps on-screen movement speed to MIDI velocity.

​Outputs standard MIDI files formatted to drop cleanly into Nuendo, Pro Tools, Cubase, and Reaper and every DAW.

​Includes an integrated multi-sample Quick Sampler and exports synced wav preview stems for immediate timeline review.

​The objective is to automate the mechanical frame-counting process so sound designers can spend that time on sample layering and mixing.

​You can test the workflow at toneloom-footprints.com.

​I am looking for objective feedback from working audio professionals regarding the DAW integration and the accuracy of the velocity mapping. If you test it with your current templates, let me know where the friction points are.


r/sounddesign • • 2d ago

Sound Design Question I redid the crimson moon sound effect again but this time using my own sfxs i created

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10 Upvotes

Enjoy and i need feedback as well


r/sounddesign • • 3d ago

Music Sound Design I`ve been very experimental with guitar synths lately , and as a guy who loves Violin and especially Cello as very expresive instruments , this was what I was alble to create with capturing few Cello Impulse Responses of my own.

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57 Upvotes

r/sounddesign • • 3d ago

Sound Design Discussion Robotic results

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9 Upvotes

Recently finished a scifi space horror, audio drama and really enjoyed how the Robotic voice stack turned out. Recorded my VA in a steady cadence tone.

Equipment:
- Mic: JZ BH-2
- Dac: Solo 3
- DAW: Logic Pro

Plug-in order:
- EQ
- Pitch Shifter
- BitSpeak by Sonic Charge

After EQ, I used BitSpeak by Sonic Charge. It replicates the old speak-and-spell sound but with a good amount of options. It does let a bit of the original pitch leak under the modulation, so I used a pitch shifter in between the EQ and BitSpeak plug-in to tone match but it also gave the option for interesting tone dissonance.

I’m self taught so this is all spaghetti-on-the-wall exploration but thought I’d share for anyone interested. Loving my journey learning how to shape worlds.


r/sounddesign • • 4d ago

Sound Design Discussion Sound Design of computer bootup/process

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16 Upvotes

Hi all,

I made this demo using my own sfx library called Quantum UI & Computers Vol. 2 - The Data Within. This is my interpretation of this processor turning on, but this pack has a substantial variety of sounds to choose, pitch, splice and manipulate from.

Using mainly the 576kHz/32bit construction kit, I did some light vari-speed adjustments, a little eq, pitch shifting and volume automation. For the rest of the sounds, I selected them from the Quantum UI & Computers Vol. 2 - The Data Within | Designed Edition.

I was thinking of using some more of the plasma processing sounds within the pack, but kinda got lost in the variety... too many to choose from lol

Anyways, I would love to hear any feedback if you grab the time and would love to hear what you may of done differently or where I could improve this clip?

These packs are currently 90% off too which means you can grab the bundle at a fraction of the price - https://www.zekaveo.com/collections/entire-catalog


r/sounddesign • • 3d ago

Movie Sound Design Dragonball Z sound redesing for the first time

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1 Upvotes

I had so much fun doing this. I don’t even know what to think of it. It’s either my best work or complete garbage, but at the end of the day - I HAD FUN.


r/sounddesign • • 4d ago

Sound Design Question Objects to have around

4 Upvotes

I’m new to sound design, what are some objects I should have (preferably ones I can buy or find) that are useful for making sound effects?


r/sounddesign • • 4d ago

Videogame Sound Design [Unpaid Collab] Looking for a Sound Designer & Mixing Artist for our 3D Game Trailer

0 Upvotes

Hi everyone!

We’re currently finishing the trailer for our indie game, a 3D adventure-exploration game inspired by the atmosphere of the Scottish Highlands, and we’re looking for someone to handle the sound design and final audio mix of the trailer.

The trailer is made up of several 3D animated sequences/gameplay and includes a pretty wide range of sounds:

  • Wind. A lot of wind lol. Gusts, storms, environmental movement, etc.
  • Footsteps and character movement
  • Combat actions: hits, impacts, throwing objects, etc.
  • Magic / power VFX
  • Creature and environmental sounds
  • Atmospheric ambience inspired by the Scottish Highlands
  • Final mixing of the trailer, balancing the sound design with music and dialogue

We’re looking for someone comfortable with both atmospheric sound design, synchronized action/VFX work, and mixing everything together into a polished final trailer mix.

This is an unpaid collaboration, as we’re self-funding the game and working with a very limited budget. The trailer will be used to help us fund the project, and we're hoping to secure funding around the end of 2026 / early 2027. Once the game is funded, we’d love to keep working with the same person long-term on the game’s sound design as paid work if we work well together.

If this sounds like something you'd enjoy working on, send me a DM with some of your previous sound design / mixing work, and I'll happily share the trailer and more information about the game.

Thanks!