Which brush/tool should I use for this kind of particle effect

Help and Feedback Art Design Support
#1

Hi there, I’d like to create a swirl particle similar to the one at the bottom of this page: Particle Emitters

Here is the particle image in question: swirl

Anyway, I was hoping someone here would have a tip for what kind of brush/tool to use to get a swirl with this kind of transparency/smoothness. I have access to Procreate, Illustrator, Photoshop, any other Adobe CC program, GIMP, paint.net, etc.

Thanks very much and have a great day