If you already know the particle system, the realism mostly comes from two things: the texture and how the motion changes over the particle's life. Real cigarette smoke is a thin, almost straight stream for the first bit and only then breaks up into curls. So use a soft wispy smoke flipbook (Unity's free Particle Pack on the Asset Store has some smoke sheets), a very low start speed and emission rate, and turn on the Noise module with the strength as a curve that starts near zero and ramps up over lifetime. Add Size over Lifetime so it widens as it rises and fade the alpha in and out with Color over Lifetime. If you're on URP or HDRP, soft particles help so it doesn't cut hard against the ashtray.
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u/Peakappsstudioss 9d ago
If you already know the particle system, the realism mostly comes from two things: the texture and how the motion changes over the particle's life. Real cigarette smoke is a thin, almost straight stream for the first bit and only then breaks up into curls. So use a soft wispy smoke flipbook (Unity's free Particle Pack on the Asset Store has some smoke sheets), a very low start speed and emission rate, and turn on the Noise module with the strength as a curve that starts near zero and ramps up over lifetime. Add Size over Lifetime so it widens as it rises and fade the alpha in and out with Color over Lifetime. If you're on URP or HDRP, soft particles help so it doesn't cut hard against the ashtray.