Visual Effects
Are we recording?
Review
What is a Vertex Shader?
- Runs on the GPU
- Takes data from the mesh, transforms it in some way and passes the transformed data down the rendering pipeline
- Most often used to transform vertex positions from object space to clip space
Review
What is a Fragment Shader?
- Also runs on the GPU
- Takes interpolated data from the Vertex Shader and from it, shader parameters and some custom logic determines the final color of the fragment (pixel)
Review
What is UV Mapping?
- The process of mapping a 3D object to a 2D image
- Used for applying textures on 3D objects
Visual Effects (VFX) Definition
- Effects added to an existing scene in order to enchance it's visual appeal
- Typically added in post-production
- Typical VFX are:
- Explosions
- Particles
- Color Correction
- Bloom
- Motion Blur
VFX Preview
Source: Noita
Shaders
As we have already seen shaders can be use to make all kinds of effects.
Source: Brackeys 2D Shader Graph
Post-Processing
Post-processing applies effects to a camera’s image buffer before the image appears on screen
Source: Unity Tanks Demo
Post-Processing Profile
The main part of the Post-Processing package. Defines a configurable set of post-processing effects like Bloom and Color Grading.
Bloom
Simulates light extending out of edges of super bright areas
Vignette
Makes the area closer to the corners more tinted in a specific color
Ambient Occlusion
Calculates how exposed is each pixel to ambient light (approximates global illumination)
Motion Blur
Blurs the objects which move
Auto Exposure
Simulates how our eyes adapt to light.
Changes the amount of light recieved so that the
picture is neither too dark nor too bright.
Depth of Field
Blurs things that are not in focus
Chromatic Abberation
Simulates the effect of cheap cameras which can't focus all the colors in the same point
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Color Grading
Changes the colors and luminance of the image. Pretty much like an Instagram filter.
Grain
Film grain gives a vintage effect.
Looks like the film is old and is
damaged/has some particles on it.
Post-Processing Volume
- A component which defines the area/volume in which a post processing profile is active
- Should be on its own Physics layer
- Can be Global
- Can control how the effect is blended
Post-Processing Layer
- Is added to the camera
- Can select which layer Post-Processing is applied to
- Can add Anti-Aliasing
Post-Processing Live Demo
Particle Systems
A technique for visualizing fuzzy objects by rendering many small sprites or meshes
Tweaking Particle Systems
Unitys Particle System offers many parameters for artistic tweeking
- Emission over Time
- Emission Shape
- Velocity Over Lifetime
- Color Over Lifetime
- Rotation Over Lifetime
- ... Many more
Complex Particle Systems
Several particle systems can be stacked on top of each other to create some really nice effects
Particle Systems Live Demo
Extra Resources
Questions?
