Types of Fireworks Effects

Brocade –
A spider like effect in the sky, much like fine lace. The brocade effect is generally a silver tail effect, and is brighter than the willow or tiger tail effect. Most brocade effects use glitter to produce the long brocade tails.

Chrysanthemum –
A flower-like aerial pattern, usually resulting from a cake or mortar.

Comet –
A type of star that leaves a long trail of sparks as it flies through the air.

Crossette –
A type of comet that breaks into multiple comets, usually forming a cross shape.

Pearls –
Bright balls of color that fly through the sky and burn themselves out after reaching maximum height.

Dragon Eggs –
A delayed crackle effect displayed in egg-shaped patterns, as seen at the end of this video clip.

Waterfall –
Glowing embers that fall slowly in the air, creating a willow or waterfall effect.

Flying Fish –
An aerial effect that looks like a swarm of objects squirming though the air. This effect usually lasts only a few seconds. Fish are actually a type of fuse that propels itself through the air, creating a swimming effect.

Palm Tree –
An aerial effect that produces a gold or silver stem as the shell rises into the sky (known as a rising tail), followed by a brocade or willow effect that creates palm fronds. It resembles a gold or silver palm tree in the sky.

Peony –
An aerial effect that looks like a spherical ball of colored lights in the sky. A very common aerial effect on most fireworks displays.

Pistil –
A ball of stars in the center of another ball of stars. Another way to describe this effect is a small peony inside a larger peony.

Rising Tail –
A rising tail is a gold or silver tail effect that is created when a shell is shot into the sky, similar to the trunk of a tree. Commonly used with palm tree shells.

Strobe –
A strobe is a blinking effect. When used in a shell with hundreds of strobe stars, the strobe effect looks like shimmering water in the sky. Strobes can be a variety of colors, including white, green, blue, and orange.

Tourbillion –
Another name for a serpent. A tourbillion is a type of star that spins in the sky and gives off large quantities of gold, silver, or white light. These are generally constructed as a small paper tube with holes on each end that allow it to spin.

Willow –
An aerial effect that looks like a giant gold willow tree in the sky. A true willow effect has delicate golden trails that hang in the sky ten seconds or more.