Everyone Should Learn This Basic Shader Graph (Auto Tiling) - Unity Shader Graph Tutorial

Summary

In this tutorial, the creator thanks their Patreon supporters and introduces a beginner-friendly Shader Graph tutorial for Unity. They demonstrate how to create a Shader Graph that automatically tiles textures when objects are scaled, enhancing workflow efficiency. The tutorial covers creating a lit Shader Graph, adding inputs for texture and object scale, and adjusting tiling through a multiplier. It also briefly touches on emission properties for textures. The creator encourages viewers to experiment with Shader Graphs and hints at future content exploring more advanced shader techniques.

Takeaways

• 🎉 The video begins with a shout out to recent Patreon supporters, appreciating their contribution and motivation for content creation.
• 🛠️ The tutorial focuses on creating a Shader Graph in Unity, despite initial hesitation due to the complexity of Shader Graph tutorials.
• 🔧 The goal is to demonstrate a simple yet essential Shader Graph that should ideally be a built-in Unity Shader for tiling textures across surfaces.
• 🌐 It clarifies that Shader Graph can be used with Unity's built-in render pipeline, contrary to a common misconception.
• 📦 The process involves installing Shader Graph through the package manager and starting with a new, lit Shader Graph.
• 🖼️ The tutorial aims to solve the issue of texture scaling and tiling on objects like floors and walls, enhancing visual quality.
• 🛒 An example is given on applying a texture to a plane object in Unity and adjusting its material to handle automatic tiling.
• 🔄 The importance of creating inputs for texture and object scale within the Shader Graph is emphasized for dynamic tiling effects.
• 🎨 The Shader Graph is edited to include a tiling multiplier, allowing users to adjust the scale of the texture tiling.
• ✨ Additional features like emissive textures and emission intensity are demonstrated to add glowing effects to the material.
• 🧱 The tutorial concludes with a comparison of tiling on different object types like floors and walls, noting the need for separate Shader adjustments.

Q & A

What is the main topic of the video?

The main topic of the video is creating a Shader graph in Unity that allows for automatic tiling of textures on objects like floors and walls when they are scaled.

Why does the creator feel that a Shader for tiling should be a built-in Unity feature?

The creator feels that a Shader for tiling should be a built-in Unity feature because it's a common requirement to have textures tile seamlessly when objects are scaled, and it would simplify the process for users.

Can Shader Graph be used with the built-in render pipeline in Unity?

Yes, the creator demonstrates that Shader Graph can be used with the built-in render pipeline in Unity by installing it via the package manager.

What is the purpose of the 'floor tiling' Shader graph shown in the video?

The 'floor tiling' Shader graph is designed to automatically adjust the tiling of a texture based on the scale of the object, specifically for floor planes, ensuring that the texture scales cleanly without manual intervention.

How does the creator propose to handle tiling for walls differently from floors?

The creator suggests creating a separate Shader for walls because the typical scale for tiling on walls (X and Y axes) is different from floors (X and Z axes), and this would allow for more control and realism in texture scaling.

What is the significance of the 'tiling multiplier' input in the Shader graph?

The 'tiling multiplier' input allows users to adjust the size of the texture tiles without altering the Shader code, providing flexibility to scale the texture independently of object size.

How does the Shader graph handle emission to make objects glow?

The Shader graph handles emission by using a separate texture input for emissive textures and multiplying it by an emissive color and intensity value to control the glow effect.

What is the importance of setting default values for inputs like 'tiling multiplier' and 'emissive intensity'?

Setting default values for inputs like 'tiling multiplier' and 'emissive intensity' ensures that the Shader behaves predictably when first applied to an object and helps in maintaining a consistent look across different objects using the same Shader.

Why might the tiling effect look strange on the edges of a wall object?

The tiling effect might look strange on the edges of a wall object because the Shader is designed to work correctly only on the primary face of the wall, and the tiling logic does not account for the different scaling that occurs on side faces.

What is the creator's advice for users who are new to Shader Graph?

The creator advises new users of Shader Graph to start with simple projects like the tiling Shader shown in the video to get comfortable with the process before moving on to more complex Shaders.

How can viewers support the creator and get one-on-one help?

Viewers can support the creator and get one-on-one help by joining the Patreon page mentioned in the video description, where they can link their Discord account for special access.