Personal VFX – Fireworks In Winter

Daytime version – not the original intent, but shows off detail better due to heavy compression in the dark scenes, as well as how the effect holds up in a different lighting scenario

All pyro elements were created in Embergen
Some misc elements were created in Illugen and Substance Designer
Environment by Epic Games

Potentially better quality versions on Youtube:

Daytime

Nighttime

Bits of knowledge/ tricks from working on this:

It’s foolish to try to do all ‘spark’ elements as individual sparks – textures encode so much information you’d otherwise spend hours emulating with particle behavior and overcomplicated shader logic.
Animating things that happen really quickly becomes much easier if you work in frames rather than seconds. For Niagara I created a simple dynamic input script that divides the particle or system age by 60 and used that as the index for my curves.
Sorting particles/ renderers in the right order is integral for the feeling of depth. Give it some thought early.
It is possible to use the original sprite renderer SubUV functionality (therefore preserving the option for sprite cutouts, reducing overdraw) for flipbooks AND motion vectors. Requires creating your own motion vector flipbook material function, however.
Six point lighting for lighting smoke sprites is cool, but the end goal is to have a good looking effect, not good looking individual elements. Be wary of testing the look of your smoke and dust in isolation.