How to make beautiful explosions

I had really big problems to show the destruction of the enemies nicely...

In the beginning there is the detonation This should be quick and bright. It's a sudden spread. Lasts only a few milliseconds, but initiates the explosion and is important for making the explosion's power visible.

Then there are the particles that fly away. These spread out from the center and should make it clear that something has been destroyed. With small objects it is enough to let a few sparks fly. For larger objects, the "debris" are real 3D models.

Finally, the cloud of smoke is bright at first and a little reddish or orange at best. In the course of the explosion, this color should change into a dark (with a light background) or gray smoke and, best of all, let the smoke fade out slowly via Alpha.

The interplay of these effects and the right chronological sequence should ultimately result in an explosion that is beautiful to look at and also "tactile". If this happens without sound, the explosion is a success. The sound gives it the final kick, but I'm not that far yet :)