Unity 2021 Shaders and Effects Cookbook

Overcome the challenges and complexities involved in creating your own shaders with high-level realism using practical solutions, best practices, and the latest features of Unity 2021

Key Features

• Discover practical recipes for mastering post-processing effects and advanced shading techniques
• Learn the secrets of creating AAA quality shaders without writing long algorithms
• Create visually stunning effects for your games using Unity's VFX Graph

Book Description

Shaders enable you to create powerful visuals for your game projects. However, creating shaders for your games can be notoriously challenging with various factors such as complex mathematics standing in the way of attaining the level of realism you crave for your shaders.

The Unity 2021 Shaders and Effects Cookbook helps you overcome that with a recipe-based approach to creating shaders using Unity. This fourth edition is updated and enhanced using Unity 2021 features and tools covering Unity's new way of creating particle effects with the VFX Graph. You'll learn how to use VFX Graph for advanced shader development. The book also features updated recipes for using Shader Graph to create 2D and 3D elements. You'll cover everything you need to know about vectors, how they can be used to construct lighting, and how to use textures to create complex effects without the heavy math. You'll also understand how to use the visual-based Shader Graph for creating shaders without any code.

By the end of this Unity book, you'll have developed a set of shaders that you can use in your Unity 3D games and be able to accomplish new effects and address the performance needs of your Unity game development projects. So, let's get started!

What you will learn

• Use physically based rendering to fit the aesthetic of your game
• Create spectacular effects for your games by testing the limits of what shaders can do
• Explore advanced shader techniques for your games with AAA quality
• Use Shader Graph to create 2D and 3D elements for your games without writing code
• Master the math and algorithms behind the commonly used lighting models
• Get to grips with the Post-Processing Stack to tweak the appearance of your game

Who this book is for

This book is for game developers who want to start creating their first shaders in Unity 2021 and take their game to a whole new level by adding professional post-processing effects. The book assumes intermediate-level knowledge of Unity.

Table of Contents

1. Post Processing Stack
2. Creating Your First Shader
3. Working with Surface Shaders
4. Working with Texture Mapping
5. Understanding Lighting Models
6. Physically Based Rendering
7. Vertex Functions
8. Fragment Shaders and Grab Passes
9. Mobile Shader Adjustment
10. Screen Effects with Unity Render Textures
11. Gameplay and Screen Effects
12. Advanced Shading Techniques
13. Shader Graph - 2D
14. Shader Graph - 3D