How to add particle effects to an iOS App that is not a game using iOS 7 SpriteKit Particle?

Question

I need to add a rain particle effect to my app, I have been having a tough time finding ways to actually execute this idea.

I tried following this CALayer approach

Answer 1

Here's approach totally different approach to try. My buddy gave me this cool way to go. Using CAEmitterCell. All in code! Looks like you need a spark.png image.

extension UIView {
    final public func ignite() {
        let emitter = CAEmitterLayer()
        emitter.frame = self.bounds
        emitter.renderMode = kCAEmitterLayerAdditive
        emitter.emitterPosition = self.center
        self.layer.addSublayer(emitter)

        let cell = CAEmitterCell()
        let bundle = Bundle.init(for: UIColor.self)
        let image = UIImage(named: "spark", in: bundle, compatibleWith: traitCollection)

        cell.contents = image?.cgImage
        cell.birthRate = 1500
        cell.lifetime = 5.0
        cell.color = UIColor(red: 1.0, green: 0.5, blue: 0.1, alpha: 1).cgColor
        cell.alphaSpeed = -0.4
        cell.velocity = 50
        cell.velocityRange = 250
        cell.emissionRange = CGFloat.pi * 2.0

        emitter.emitterCells = [cell]
    }
}

Enjoy.