I am trying to add some visual effects to some entities, meshes, or whatever you want to call them as they are looking pretty dull in my game right now.

What I want to achieve is this: http://youtu.be/zox8935PLw0?t=36s (the "texture" gets disintegrated and then goes back to normal, covering the whole mesh.)

Also I would like to know what is the best way to add effects like the one in the video to my game (for example, thunder effects, shattering, etc.) I know that I can do some things with shaders, but I haven't learned them too well and I am still in a beginner level.

I am using Ogre3D, and GLSL for shaders.

Thanks!

Note: this is a screen-shot of my game, I want to apply the effect in the video to my main character):