> Rendering, Shaders, VFX



“It’s a visual world and people respond to visuals.”

– J. Sacco

With this key area of my portfolio, I bring Best Practices and Optimization techniques.

Rendering, Shaders, VFX

ShaderGraph and VFXGraph tools to create stunning visual effects and materials for your games. With these you can visually construct your own graphics shaders and particle effects. Both tools use Unity’s App API For Nodebase Graphs allowing for seamless integration and shared node-based workflows, making development more efficient and visually appealing.

🔔Update: ShaderGraph & VFX Graph For Unity 6

The latest release of Unity 6 brings key features to first-party support.

In Unity 6 , rendering in both URP & HDRP see significant performance enhancements that speed up production across platforms. Depending on your content, the improvements described here can reduce CPU workload by 30–50% while providing smoother, faster rendering across various platforms.

Shader Graph

Shader Graph is a tool that enables you to build shaders visually. Instead of writing code, you create and connect nodes in a graph framework.

Shader Graph gives instant feedback that reflects your changes, and it’s simple enough for users who are new to shader creation.

Unity supports powerful combinations including VertexShaders (e.g. the shape of things) and FragmentShaders (e.g. the color of things).

Features

  • Create custom shaders
  • Preview changes ‘live’ in editor
  • Create custom nodes
  • Create Subgraphs
  • Create events
  • C# API / Timeline API

Visual Effect Graph

The Visual Effect Graph enables you to author visual effects using Node-based visual logic. You can use it for simple effects as well as very complex simulations.

Unity stores Visual Effect Graphs in Visual Effect Assets that you can use on the Visual Effect Component. You can use a Visual Effect Asset multiple times in your Scene.

Features

  • Create particle systems
  • Preview changes ‘live’ in editor
  • Add static meshes
  • Add shaders
  • Create Subgraphs
  • Create events
  • C# API / Timeline API

Post Processing

The Universal Render Pipeline (URP) includes its own implementation of post-processing, so you do not need to install any other package.

Unity post-processing uses the Volume system on your Camera to manipulate the full-screen pixels.

Features

  • Bloom
  • Channel Mixed
  • Chromatic Aberration
  • Color Adjustments
  • Color Curves
  • Lens Distortion
  • Lift Gamma Gain
  • Motion Blur
  • Panini Projection
  • More

Render Graph

The render graph system sits on top of URP or HDRP. It allows you to author a custom pipeline in a maintainable and modular way.

You use the RenderGraph API to create a render graph.

using UnityEngine.Rendering.RenderGraphModule;

public class MyRenderPipeline : RenderPipeline
{
    RenderGraph m_RenderGraph;

    void InitializeRenderGraph()
    {
        m_RenderGraph = new RenderGraph(“MyRenderGraph”);
    }

    void CleanupRenderGraph()
    {
        m_RenderGraph.Cleanup();
          m_RenderGraph = null;
    }
}

A render graph is a high-level representation of the custom SRP’s render passes, which explicitly states how the render passes use resources.

Features

  • Async Compute Support
  • Automatic Resource Culling
  • Custom Render Pass Support
  • Dependency Graph Visualization
  • Enhanced Debugging Tools
  • Explicit Pass Management
  • Integration with URP & HDRP
  • Memory Management Optimization
  • Optimized Resource Allocation
  • More

Project Template: Shader Graph & VFX Graph

I offer a suite of free project templates to get started rapidly.

Features

  • Shader Graph
  • VFX Graph
  • Post-Processing
  • Best Practices

GitHub Repo


Rendering Articles

Medium Article

Topics

  • Rendering basics
  • Comparing pipelines
  • Optimizing graphics
  • Creating ShaderGraphs
  • Custom VFXGraphs
  • Procedural VFX
  • Combining Unity graphics subsystems for best results

Rendering Presentation

Unity’s rendering tools offer unparalleled control over visual quality and performance, making it easy to create stunning graphics for any project. By mastering these tools, developers can unlock powerful techniques for building immersive, visually cohesive experiences that elevate their games to the next level.


What’s Next?

This area of my expertise is particularly exciting!

I love to learn & to make an impact with my teams and projects.

Contact me regarding new opportunities that align with my skills and experience.