Particle Emitters

Particles are the basic visual elements of any effect and are spawned by emitters. The following properties of emitters and particles can be adjusted in the property panel to create the desired effect.

General

Property
Description
LifetimeTime period during which the emitter is active and spawns particles. After the time expires, the emitter stops producing particles. If Repeat is activated, the emitter starts again after the specified duration. This is useful for emitters that should repeat their behavior after a certain amount of time.
TypeIn what kind of area particles are spawned (Point, Line, Circle, Rectangle or Path).
WidthThe horizontal extent of the emitter area.
HeightThe vertical extent of the emitter area.
OrientationThe orientation of the emitter area in degrees.
Particle DistributionWhere particles are spawned inside the emitter area.
Uniform: Particles are spawned uniformly inside the emitter area.
Centered: Particles are created mostly around the center and less at the boundary.
Near Boundary: More particles spawn near the shape boundary and less in the center.
On Boundary: Particles are created only on the shape boundary.
Particle LifespanLifespan of particles produced by the emitter. You can also specify a variation for this parameter, so that individual particles have different lifespans.
Number of ParticlesHow many particles are created by the emitter. If the spawn mode is set to Continuous, the emitter continuously spawns the given amount of particles per second. If the mode is set to Burst, the emitter instantiates all particles immediately after being created. A third option Spawn on Death is available in case the emitter is a sub-emitter. Using this option, particles are spawned only when particles of the parent emitter die.
DirectionThe direction in which particles move when spawned, in degrees. The default mode is Fixed, causing particles to shoot off in a common direction. If you select Outwards, particles move away from the emitter. If you select Inwards, particles move towards the emitter's center.
SpreadHow much the direction varies. A spread of 0° means that particles only move in the specified direction, while 360° leads to particles shooting off in all directions.

Visual

Property
Description
MaterialDefines what material particles use for rendering. The default material applies a texture to the particle, blending it with the given particle color. If you want to customize the appearance of particles beyond switching textures and changing colors, open the shader graph editor by clicking Shader Graph.... The parameters of shader can be accessed quickly with .
RendererWhich renderer is used for drawing the particles.
The Sprite Renderer draws each particle as a separate sprite.
The Trail Renderer generates continuous trails along the path of particles with the same parent particle.
Blend ModeHow the particles are blended together and composed with other objects in the effect.
LayerLayer the particles are drawn on. Particles on upper layers occlude those on lower layers.
ColorThe color of each particle over its lifetime, displayed as a color gradient. Double-click or right-click the color bar to add another color. Double-clicking a color mark lets you choose its color, right-clicking removes it. To change the position of color marks, drag them using the mouse. To create particles with more random colors use the variance parameters for hue, saturation and value.
Initial OpacityThe initial opacity of each particle.
OpacityOpacity of each particle over its lifetime as a fraction of its initial opacity.
Initial Particle SizeThe initial size of each particle.
Particle SizeThe size of each particle over its lifetime as a fraction of its initial size.
Particle WidthThe width of each particle over its lifetime as a fraction of its size.
Particle HeightThe height of each particle over its lifetime as a fraction of its size.

Motion

Property
Description
PositionThe position of the emitter. This option allows you to specify a motion path the emitter traverses during its lifetime. It is shown in the effect preview if the property is selected.
Particle PositionMotion path for particles, which all particles of the emitter follow. You can specify how much particles are influenced by the path with the Influence parameter varying from 0% (particles do not follow the path) to 100% (particles follow the path exactly).
If Attached to Emitter is selected, the position of particles is tied directly to the position of their emitter.
Initial VelocityHow fast each particle is initially after being spawned by the emitter.
AccelerationLinear acceleration applied to each particle over its lifetime. Positive values speed up particles, while negative values slow them down.
Radial AccelerationAcceleration of each particle towards the emitter over its lifetime. If you select negative values here, particles are repelled from the emitter.
DampingDamping applied to each particle over its lifetime. Lower values result in more damping.
Initial RotationThe initial rotation of each particle in degrees.
RotationHow particles rotate over time from their initial rotation. There are four possible modes:
Angle: Set rotation angle of each particle over its lifetime.
Angular Velocity: Set angular velocity of each particle over its lifetime.
Align With Direction: Rotate each particle according to its direction vector. This is useful if you want particles to align with their movement.
Align With Path: If particles move on a motion path, align each particle's rotation with the path.
PivotThe center of rotation, relative to the particle's center.

Physics

Property
Description
Particle WeightHow strongly particles are affected by force fields.
Particle BounceHow much particles bounce back from colliders.
Particle FrictionHow resistant particles are to sliding down colliders.