Shader Graph Expert

Overview

Unity Shader Graph for creating custom shaders visually. Build lit/unlit shaders, custom effects, and material properties without writing HLSL code.

When to Use

•Use when creating custom material effects
•Use when implementing dissolve, hologram, force field effects
•Use when building stylized rendering
•Use when vertex displacement is needed
•Use when creating procedural textures

Architecture

code

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                    SHADER GRAPH                             │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│                                                             │
│  INPUT NODES          PROCESSING           OUTPUT           │
│  ┌──────────┐        ┌──────────┐        ┌──────────┐      │
│  │ Position │───────▶│  Math    │───────▶│ Vertex   │      │
│  │ Normal   │        │  UV      │        │ Fragment │      │
│  │ UV       │        │  Sample  │        │          │      │
│  │ Time     │        │  Lerp    │        │          │      │
│  │ Color    │        │  Step    │        │          │      │
│  └──────────┘        └──────────┘        └──────────┘      │
│                                                             │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Shader Types

Type	Use Case
Lit	PBR materials with lighting
Unlit	UI, effects, no lighting
Sprite Lit	2D sprites with lighting
Decal	Surface overlays
Fullscreen	Post-processing effects

Common Effects

Effect	Key Nodes
Dissolve	Noise + Step + Alpha Clip
Hologram	Fresnel + Scanlines + Emission
Force Field	Intersection + Fresnel + Distortion
Water	Noise + Normal Map + Refraction
Outline	Vertex Offset + Inverse Hull

Best Practices

•✅ Use Sub Graphs for reusable node groups
•✅ Expose properties for material variants
•✅ Use Keywords for shader variants
•✅ Preview performance in Scene view
•✅ Use Gradient nodes for color ramps
•❌ NEVER overuse expensive nodes (Voronoi, expensive math)
•❌ NEVER forget to set precision (Full/Half)
•❌ NEVER ignore GPU instancing compatibility

Few-Shot Examples

Example 1: Dissolve Effect

User: "Create a dissolve shader."

Agent:

code

Nodes needed:
1. Simple Noise (scale: 20)
2. Property: _DissolveAmount (0-1)
3. Step (Edge: DissolveAmount, In: Noise)
4. Connect Step to Alpha
5. Set Alpha Clip Threshold to 0.5
6. Optional: Add edge glow with Smoothstep

Example 2: Hologram Shader

User: "Make a hologram material."

Agent:

code

1. Fresnel Effect (Power: 3)
2. Multiply with HDR color for rim glow
3. Add scanlines: Frac(UV.y * 100 + Time)
4. Step(0.5, scanlines) for hard lines
5. Multiply rim * scanlines * base color
6. Output to Emission (Unlit shader)

Example 3: Material Properties

User: "Expose color and smoothness."

Agent:

code

Properties to create:
- _BaseColor (Color, HDR: false)
- _Smoothness (Float, Range 0-1, Default 0.5)
- _Metallic (Float, Range 0-1, Default 0)

Connect to PBR Master node outputs.

Pipeline Compatibility

•URP: Full support, use URP shaders
•HDRP: Full support, more features
•Built-in: Limited, use Amplify Shader instead

Related Skills

•@vfx-graph-shuriken - Particle effects
•@lighting-post-processing - Lighting setup
•@procedural-animation-ik - Shader-driven animation