Unity 2021 Shaders and Effects Cookbook - Fourth Edition

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

John P. Doran is a passionate and seasoned Technical Game Designer, Software Engineer, and Author who is based in Songdo, South Korea. His passion for game development began at an early age. He later graduated from DigiPen Institute of Technology with a Bachelor of Science in Game Design and a Master of Science in Computer Science from Bradley University. For over a decade, John has gained extensive hands-on expertise in game development working in various roles ranging from game designer to lead UI programmer working in teams consisting of just himself to over 70 people in student, mod, and professional game projects including working at LucasArts on Star Wars: 1313. Additionally, John has worked in game development education teaching in Singapore, South Korea, and the United States. To date, he has authored over 10 books pertaining to game development. John is currently an Instructor at George Mason University Korea. Prior to his present ventures, he was an award-winning videographer.