I am working on an indie game and me and my team are in pre production. I am starting to put together a test build for testing the game mechanics. I have a question regarding particles, How do you make particles like the following: -Smoke: From like rocket powered boots moving on the back of the boots pushing the player forward. -Dust: When the player brakes a bike for example. -Spray: When the player sprays a graffiti spray can -Sparks: when the player grinds on a rail.
Are you interested in how to create particular effects, or how to make particles in general? Unity's particle system is very straigtforward to use and rather powerful. The process of adding a particle system is described and explained pretty thoroughly on page 22 of the 3D Platformer tutorial, found here.
As for making those particular effects, experimentation is key really. The image used for the particle is the main thing. You can also try combining particle effects; such as slow-dust sprites with small spark sprites. Looking at other games is also a good way to get ideas for the effect you're after.