New free sound effects: ice cracking, smashing, icy water and more

It’s finally here in the UK, winter has arrived and with it comes our annual season of numb feet, colds and (hopefully) snow, not that we get much where we are. So with out so much of a hesitation, I packed up my recording equipment, put on 12 pairs of socks, gloves, a hat etc and off i went to the local forest. The aim, to record icy footsteps, ice cracks (they have massive puddles there) and whatever else I could find.

True to form, this forest didn’t disappoint. The usual deep puddles were there and as anticipated, frozen over. This gave me the opportunity to record several sound effects from ice cracks (various pressures, leading to breaks), ice shard movements and smashes and icy water footsteps, movements and splashes.

In fact there were so many opportunities to record, I spent almost the entire morning recording just these ice sounds. The beauty of a forest like this is it offers a wide area to record and each with its own options. The deeper in, the more ice there was without the opportunity to melt due to the thick tree cover. Then hitting the outer area, those previously frozen puddles now sat with only a very thin melting layer of ice giving me plenty more recordings.

I finished off the day with some footstep recording on pathways and gravel before heading home to thaw out before editing! I hope you enjoy these free ice and footstep sound effects!