# Particle effects

> How to choose between Unity's different particle systems, and use them in your project.

A particle system simulates and renders many small images or Meshes, called particles, to produce a visual effect. Each particle in a system represents an individual graphical element in the effect. The system simulates every particle collectively to create the impression of the complete effect.


**The holo table in Unity's Spaceship demo. Made with the Visual Effect Graph.:**
![](/api/media?file=/engine/6000.3/media/images/ParticleSystems-HoloTable.png)

Particle systems are useful when you want to create dynamic objects like fire, smoke, or liquids because it is difficult to depict this kind of object with a Mesh (3D) or Sprite (2D). Meshes and Sprites are better at depicting solid objects such as a house or a car.

This section contains information on:

| **Topic**                                                                                                                                                  | **Description**                                                                             |
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **[Choosing your particle system solution](/engine/6000.3/manual/visual-effects/particle-systems/choosing-your-particle-system.md)**                       | Compare Unity's particle systems: the Built-in Particle System and the Visual Effect Graph. |
| **[Create and view a Particle System](/engine/6000.3/manual/visual-effects/particle-systems/part-sys-usage.md)**                                           | Add a Particle System component to a GameObject and preview it in the Scene view.           |
| **[Vary Particle System properties over time](/engine/6000.3/manual/visual-effects/particle-systems/varying-particle-system-properties-over-time.md)**     | Use constants and curves to animate numeric properties throughout a particle's lifetime.    |
| **[Configuring particles](/engine/6000.3/manual/visual-effects/particle-systems/configuring-particles.md)**                                                | Configure emissions, global properties, movement, appearance, and physics.                  |
| **[Optimize the Particle System with the C# Job System](/engine/6000.3/manual/visual-effects/particle-systems/particle-system-job-system-integration.md)** | Apply custom behaviors across multiple threads using Unity's C# Job System.                 |
| **[Access the Particle System from the Animation system](/engine/6000.3/manual/visual-effects/particle-systems/access-particle-system-from-animation.md)** | Use the Animator component to keyframe particle properties.                                 |
| **[Particle System component reference](/engine/6000.3/manual/visual-effects/particle-systems/class-particle-system.md)**                                  | Reference for the base properties of the Particle System component.                         |
| **[Particle System component module reference](/engine/6000.3/manual/visual-effects/particle-systems/particle-system-modules.md)**                         | Reference for the property modules that define particle behavior and appearance.            |

## Additional resources

* [Decals](/engine/6000.3/manual/visual-effects/decals.md)
* [Lens flares](/engine/6000.3/manual/visual-effects/lens-flares.md)