Femtosecond laser ablation is used to generate nanoparticle aerosols and colloids from solid targets of various materials (Ti, Ag, Au, Co, etc.) in air and water ambience. We determine the influence of different laser parameters (pulse energy, pulse overlap) and properties of media (air, airbrush, water) on the rate of production and size distribution of the laser-generated nanoparticles. It is shown that the pulse overlap and laser fluence are the parameters determining the nanoparticle size. At optimum conditions the nanoparticle productivity can be increased by 150–300\%. The generation of multimaterial nanoparticle dispersions is demonstrated. Being free of toxic impurities, the laser-produced nanoparticles may be promising for biomedical applications.