Welcome to TVPaint Community forums !

Yes, it's that time of year again.

I have 2 problems with the particles FX.
1. How do I get a sharp outlined particle? I made an AnimBrush of a snow flake, then saved it to disk because from the manual I understood that loading a brush is the only way to get a sharp outline on a particle. It worked - but only once, and I didn't manage to get that again.
2. Which combination of settings creates that soft left-to-right-and-back of snow? I thought it was a combination of offset (in the source settings) and rotation (Current -> Spin), but that doesn't work.

And there seems to be no example presets in my installation of TVP.

I find it is better to save your particle as a separate project rather than a brush. The Particle Generator will always remember that project and look for it the next time you use it. You won't lose your hard edged particle.

As for a good snow effect, check out the multi-layered snow effect in the trailer for my TVPaint Particle Magic training video and content pack. One technique I use is to have some of the particles first shoot up before being caught by gravity and coming back down. This gives a a better soft motion.

If you want to get deep into particles, now might be a good time to pick up the training video since it is on sale from now until December 25th!