So I did some digging and figured it out. You add a particle emitter file, make it how you want, then add this code to your "override func didMove(to view: SKView)" function. Don't forget to put in your own player (or whatever node you want to attach the particle to), and your own file name in place of "file"! let emitter = SKEmitterNode(fileNamed: "file.sks") emitter?.targetNode = self emitter?.position = CGPoint(x: -70, y: -10) emitter?.particleSize = CGSize(width: 35, height: 35) player.addChild(emitter!) "emitter?.targetNode = self" is what makes the particles stay in the same spot instead of following the node!