Particle systems are digital tools that generate thousands of tiny elements (like virtual confetti, raindrops, or light beams) that move according to programmed rules.
In immersive art installations, these systems transform static spaces into dynamic environments where countless small objects flow, swirl, and react to visitor movements. Artists use particle effects to create responsive experiences, and make installations feel alive rather than pre-programmed.
Unreal Engine 5 (UE5) is an essential tool in immersive media and interactive technology and UE5’s new Niagara system in particular is a real game-changer for immersive art installations. Artists can now manipulate complex particle behaviours with unprecedented detail while maintaining smooth performance and visual appeal.
In this article, we’ll take you through what particle systems are, why they transform immersive art, creating an Unreal particle system, and real-world digital art installation examples.
What are Particle Systems?
Particle systems are like digital magic tricks – they’re chunks of code that generate and control thousands of tiny elements all at once.
At their most basic, particle systems are a group of points in space whose movement and velocity is governed by simple rules. The particle system is a simple physics simulation, where each particle might have mass and drag applied to it, along with forces like gravity or wind (all of which will greatly impact its movement).
Over the years, particle systems have been used to simulate a variety of natural phenomena, including clouds, smoke, and snow.
Particle Systems in Unreal Engine Art
In Unreal Engine, the powerful Niagara and Cascade particle systems are what you’ll use to create particle systems (there is also Unity’s particle system, which is better suited for 2D particle effects).
Niagara is a node-based system, which makes it easy to start working with particle systems right away. Not only that, but it offers a wide variety of powerful tools for building complex behaviour, which can range from the simplest of particle systems to complex fluids, smoke, fire, rain, explosions, and more.
After adding a particle emitter (or multiple emitters if you like), you can edit the spawn rate (in the details panel), and from there add modules, distributions, curves using the curve editor, and much more.
As you’d expect, performance is top notch. And because it’s one of the core components of Unreal Engine, integration with interactivity is a given — there are a ton of options for users to engage, interact, and control particle behavior!
Particle Systems in Immersive Installations
In immersive installations, these particles become the raw material for crafting otherworldly experiences – reactive rain that follows visitors through rooms, breath-responsive light clouds that billow around viewers, or floor projections that scatter like startled creatures when approached.
The reason these experiences hook people so deeply is hardwired into our brains – humans are naturally drawn to movement, especially movement that responds to us. When an installation’s spawning particles react to your presence in real-time, it triggers a primal “this thing is alive” response that static art simply can’t match.
The Visual Impact of Particle Effects
The flowing movement of particles in immersive installations can trigger emotional responses – from the meditative calm of slowly drifting light notes, to the heart-pounding excitement of explosive particle bursts that react to your movements.
What makes these effects so powerful is that they’re not pre-rendered videos – they’re systems calculating thousands of positions in real-time, creating that uncanny feeling that the digital realm is somehow crossing over into our physical world.
Creative Possibilities with Particle Systems
Particle systems open up multiple creative avenues for installation artists. For example, interactive installations can track visitor movements through cameras or sensors, causing particles to flee from approaching hands or gather around stationary viewers.
Ambient applications use subtle, ever-changing particle movements to transform static spaces into living environments, like digital cherry blossoms that slowly drift through a room, creating a meditative atmosphere without demanding attention.
There is also narrative-driven approaches that use particle behaviour to tell stories. Imagine particles that gradually form recognizable shapes or text before dissolving and reforming into new meanings as viewers move through an installation.
Artistic visual effects with particles can also compliment other media such as audio reactive visuals.
Examples for Beginners
For beginners wanting to experiment, I recommend you start small, here are some examples:
- Create a simple particle system that responds to microphone input, transforming voice or music into visual patterns
- Design a tabletop installation where a webcam tracks objects moved across a surface, generating particle reactions
- Project subtle particle effects onto house plants, creating hybrid organic-digital organisms that respond to touch or proximity – for this you would need a way to receive input from the plant (a way to actually make it “interactive”). For example, this could be done with an Arduino and capacitive touch sensors, which could then output the data to your computer running UE5
Examples of Particle Systems in Art Installations
TeamLab Borderless: Universe of Water Particles on a Rock where People Gather
You’ve probably heard of Borderless; it’s teamLab’s digital art museum in Tokyo with multiple immersive installations.
One of the exhibits “Universe of Water Particles on a Rock where People Gather” is an interactive art installation that simulates a responsive waterfall through an advanced system using particles. Digital water particles flow around a virtual rock formation, dynamically reacting to visitors’ movements and touch as they interact with the installation.
Refik Anadol’s “Machine Hallucinations”
Refik Anadol’s “Machine Hallucinations” merges AI with immersive art through sophisticated particle systems. These installations process massive datasets through machine learning algorithms, visualizing the results as flowing, transforming particles of light or digital matter.
The particles (representing elements like city architecture or natural patterns) move with both mathematical precision and dreamlike fluidity, creating constantly evolving visual landscapes.
Rafael Lozano-Hemmer’s “Thermal Drift”
“Thermal Drift” is an interactive installation that demonstrates how heat radiates from the human body. It captures participants’ body heat using a thermal camera and transforms this data into a visual display. Through a particle system visualization, the artwork reveals the typically invisible exchange of heat between our bodies and the surrounding space.
Getting Started with Niagara in UE5
If you’re interested in learning Unreal Engine 5 Niagara for particle systems, we’ve got a comprehensive essentials course taught by Dylan Roscover that is designed to help you take your first steps in UE5:
Unreal Engine 5 Essentials for Immersive Artists
In the 8-hour video workshop, we cover everything from installation and setup, working with the UE5 interface, importing assets, building blueprints, creating and changing levels dynamically, making your own custom materials, building high-end Niagara particle systems, packaging your projects, working with audio, and more!
I’ve seen folks with zero coding experience create jaw-dropping reactive installations after just a few days of learning and exploration.
Remember, every mind-blowing particle installation starts with someone dragging sliders around and thinking “what happens if I connect this value to that input?” Your artistic intuition is your greatest asset here, UE5 simply amplifies what you already understand about visual composition, movement, and emotional response.
Wrap Up
Particle systems fundamentally transform what’s possible in installation art and visual effects. While traditional installations exist in a fixed state, particle-driven works continue evolving with every visitor interaction, creating unique experiences that never repeat exactly the same way twice.
If you’re an artist who’s been hesitant to explore this space, consider this your permission to dive in without fear in TouchDesigner and Unreal Engine! Don’t be afraid to press play on one of our many free tutorials to get started. The technical barriers have never been lower, and the creative potential has never been higher for dynamic art installations.
