Unity 5.x Shaders and Effects Cookbook, 2nd Edition

Master the art of Shader programming to bring life to your Unity projects

About This Book

• This book will help you master the technique of physically based shading in Unity 5 to add realism to your game quickly through precise recipes
• From an eminent author, this book offers you the fine technicalities of professional post-processing effects for stunning results
• This book will help you master Shader programming through easy-to-follow examples to create stunning visual effects that can be used in 3D games and high quality graphics.

Who This Book Is For

Unity Effects and Shader Cookbook is written for developers who want to create their first Shaders in Unity 5 or wish to take their game to a whole new level by adding professional post-processing effects. A solid understanding of Unity is required.

What You Will Learn

• Understand physically based rendering to fit the aesthetic of your game
• Enter the world of post-processing effects to make your game look visually stunning
• Add life to your materials, complementing Shader programming with interactive scripts
• Design efficient Shaders for mobile platforms without sacrificing their realism
• Use state-of-the-art techniques such as volumetric explosions and fur shading
• Build your knowledge by understanding how Shader models have evolved and how you can create your own
• Discover what goes into the structure of Shaders and why lighting works the way it does
• Master the math and algorithms behind the most used lighting models

In Detail

Since their introduction to Unity, Shaders have been notoriously difficult to understand and implement in games: complex mathematics have always stood in the way of creating your own Shaders and attaining that level of realism you crave. With Shaders, you can transform your game into a highly polished, refined product with Unity’s post-processing effects.

Unity Shaders and Effects Cookbook is the first of its kind to bring you the secrets of creating Shaders for Unity3D―guiding you through the process of understanding vectors, how lighting is constructed with them, and also how textures are used to create complex effects without the heavy math.

We’ll start with essential lighting and finishing up by creating stunning screen Effects just like those in high quality 3D and mobile games. You’ll discover techniques including normal mapping, image-based lighting, and how to animate your models inside a Shader. We’ll explore the secrets behind some of the most powerful techniques, such as physically based rendering! With Unity Shaders and Effects Cookbook, what seems like a dark art today will be second nature by tomorrow.

Style and approach

The recipes in this book contain step-by-step instructions, complemented by screenshots and code, and real-world examples.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1. Creating Your First Shader
Chapter 2. Surface Shaders and Texture Mapping
Chapter 3. Understanding Lighting Models
Chapter 4. Physically Based Rendering in Unity 5
Chapter 5. Vertex Functions
Chapter 6. Fragment Shaders and Grab Passes
Chapter 7. Mobile Shader Adjustment