Surface Type¶
This is the first option you should check -- it is the most important setting!
Similar to the URP Lit shader's Surface Type, the NiloToon_Character shader has a Surface Type at the top of the material.
SurfaceType modifies the default value of the following properties:
- _SrcBlend (Source Factor)
- _DstBlend (Destination Factor)
- _ZWrite (Write to depth buffer?)
- _RenderOutline (Toggle of Classic Outline group)
- _AlphaClip (Toggle of Alpha Clipping group)
- Render Queue
We recommend selecting the correct Surface Type for the material before editing other properties.
Opaque/Outline¶
The default Surface Type when creating a new material -- opaque with Classic Outline. The majority of materials will use this type.
Usage examples:
- Any fully opaque hair/body/skin/face/cloth material that needs outline and does not require semi-transparency
| Property | Default Value |
|---|---|
| _SrcBlend | One (1) |
| _DstBlend | Zero (0) |
| _ZWrite | On (1) |
| _RenderOutline | On (1) |
| _AlphaClip | Off (0) |
| Render Queue | 2000 |
Opaque¶
Same as Opaque/Outline, but without outline. Suitable for fully opaque materials that do not need outline.
Usage examples:
- Eyes, eyebrows, mouth, teeth, nails, thin hair, thin cloth
| Property | Default Value |
|---|---|
| _SrcBlend | One (1) |
| _DstBlend | Zero (0) |
| _ZWrite | On (1) |
| _RenderOutline | Off (0) |
| _AlphaClip | Off (0) |
| Render Queue | 2000 |
Opaque(Alpha)/Outline¶
Same as Opaque/Outline, but uses semi-transparent alpha blending. Suitable for opaque materials with slight semi-transparent alpha blending.
Usage examples:
- Semi-transparent front hair, semi-transparent cloth with mainly high alpha values (visually close to Opaque/Outline) that should cast shadow maps
| Property | Default Value |
|---|---|
| _SrcBlend | Source Alpha (5) |
| _DstBlend | One minus Source Alpha (10) |
| _ZWrite | On (1) |
| _RenderOutline | On (1) |
| _AlphaClip | Off (0) |
| Render Queue | 2499 |
Transparent¶
The classic Unity transparent type without ZWrite and outline. This is what most users understand as "Transparent." Suitable for transparent materials that do not need outline and do not cast shadow maps.
Usage examples:
- Semi-transparent glass material for eyeglasses, emojis, face expressions, VFX, makeup on face hair shadow mesh, semi-transparent eye parts
| Property | Default Value |
|---|---|
| _SrcBlend | Source Alpha (5) |
| _DstBlend | One minus Source Alpha (10) |
| _ZWrite | Off (0) |
| _RenderOutline | Off (0) |
| _AlphaClip | Off (0) |
| Render Queue | 3000 |
Caution
This material will not write to the Depth Texture due to Render Queue > 2499, so effects that rely on depth will not work (e.g., Depth of Field, Decal, SSAO).
Transparent(ZWrite)/Outline¶
Similar to the classic Unity Transparent, but with ZWrite and outline.
Usage examples:
- Semi-transparent plastic outer jacket/cloth with mainly very low alpha values that should not cast shadow maps
| Property | Default Value |
|---|---|
| _SrcBlend | Source Alpha (5) |
| _DstBlend | One minus Source Alpha (10) |
| _ZWrite | On (1) |
| _RenderOutline | On (1) |
| _AlphaClip | On (1) |
| Render Queue | 3000 |
Caution
This material will not write to the Depth Texture due to Render Queue > 2499, so effects that rely on depth will not work (e.g., Depth of Field, Decal, SSAO).
Outline and Alpha Clip Variants¶
There are many other Surface Type options, most of which are expanded variants related to Outline (on/off) and AlphaClip (on/off).
- If you need to display Classic Outline, select the one with the /Outline suffix. Otherwise, select the one with the /No Outline suffix.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| _ZWrite | On (1) |
| _RenderOutline | On (1) |
- If you need to apply Alpha Clipping (Alpha CutOut), select the one with the (CutOut) suffix. Otherwise, select the one without the (CutOut) suffix.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| _AlphaClip | On (1) |
Render Queue Reset¶
Caution
Changing the SurfaceType will reset the Render Queue to the default value of the selected SurfaceType. If you need a specific Render Queue, make sure to set it again after changing the SurfaceType!
Config File¶
If you need to inspect the detailed settings of each SurfaceType, you can search for and open NiloToonCharacter_SurfaceType_LWGUI_ShaderPropertyPreset in your project.
Is Skin? / Is Face?¶
This is an important setting!
Skin and face materials require special care to look good. The following groups in the material are useful for this purpose:
- Is Skin?
- Is Face?
Settings and Effect¶
Find all skin materials (e.g., face, mouth, body, hand, leg), turn on Is Skin?, and turn it off for non-skin materials. If a material mixes skin and non-skin parts, use Is Skin? > Mask to mask the appropriate areas.
Enabling Is Skin will:
-
Make the material's Shadow Color use an overridden reddish skin shadow color from the Shadow Color group (the default shadow color may not look good for skin without the Is Skin group enabled)
Note
To edit the skin color for materials with Is Skin enabled, use Shadow Color > Skin and Face Override.
Find all face materials (e.g., face, mouth, eye, and eyebrow), turn on Is Face?, and turn it off for non-face materials. If a material mixes face and non-face parts, use Is Face? > Mask to mask the appropriate areas.
Enabling Is Face will:
- Edit the face's shading normal in the shader (the shading normal becomes flat/round, defined by the NiloToonPerCharacterRenderController script's fix face normal slider)
- Override to use values from the Lighting Style (face) group instead of the standard Lighting Style group
- Make the material's Shadow Color use an overridden reddish skin shadow color from the Shadow Color group
Caution
- Do not enable Is Skin? for non-skin materials
- Do not enable Is Face? for non-face materials
ShadowColor Skin/Face¶
After marking the Skin and Face areas in the material, you can control the skin and face shadow color in the following section:
Shadow Color > Skin and Face Override
If you are not satisfied with the current skin/face shadow color:
- Pick a suitable Color Preset (Red/Orange/Purple and their variants). This defines the shadow color's Hue and Saturation.
- Control Brightness / Custom Tint for both skin and face. It is acceptable to lower the Brightness to 0.8-1 to make the shadow color darker, especially for male characters or characters with a more realistic style.
Debug Skin/Face Area¶
You can debug the character's Skin and Face areas using NiloToon's debug window. Click: Window > NiloToonURP > Debug Window.
- Select Is Face or Is Skin in the Shading Debug dropdown
- Enable the Enable Shading Debug? toggle
You can then debug the skin and face areas as grayscale values, where marked areas are shown as white and unmarked areas as black.
Neck Shadow Split¶
This is an advanced topic. You can skip it if this is not a problem with your model.
Standard Solution¶
Both Is Skin? and Is Face? have a Mask Map feature that lets you mask out areas that should not be considered as Is Skin? or Is Face? using an extra texture.
A common problem is that the face material (IsFace enabled) and body material (IsFace disabled) split around the neck, causing shadow to appear separated around the neck (a visible line at the neck area).
The image above shows the shadow split problem at the neck.
The image above shows the current Is Face debug view. You can see that the bottom part of the head is considered as Is Face, but the neck is not.
A common solution is to use an extra mask map to make the bottom part of the head not considered as Is Face.
The above texture is the face BaseMap. Artists usually paint shadow color at the bottom part of the head.
The above texture is the extra Is Face Mask Map, where the shadow color area / bottom part of the head from the BaseMap is converted to black and the rest to white, so the bottom part of the head is no longer considered as Is Face. Adding a slight blur makes the transition smoother.
After assigning the above Is Face Mask Map, you should see better shadow rendering results. Rotate the Directional Light to ensure everything looks correct under all lighting conditions.
Occlusion Map¶
In extreme light angles and neck rotations, the shadow map on the neck may look unstable or appear as a sharp cut. In this case, you can add a soft-gradient Occlusion Map to force part of the neck into shadow, easily hiding the problematic area.
The image above shows the result before adding an Occlusion Map. A sharp shadow split is visible due to the shape of the 3D model geometry.
The image above shows the result after adding an Occlusion Map. Lighting from all directions looks great, and the shadow blends perfectly with the shadow map.
The image above shows the newly painted Occlusion Map.
Easy Solution¶
The face mask and Occlusion Map from the standard solution require manual painting or tools like Photoshop or Clip Studio Paint, which may be too difficult for non-artists.
The easy solution takes the opposite approach from the Standard Solution. It hides the shadow split line by making the entire neck material also Is Face. This works well only when cloth or accessories like a collar cover the lower part of the neck. Use the neck material's Is Face mask to ensure the shadow split line appears only under the cloth or accessory, where it is invisible.
In the image above, the easy solution is applied: both the neck and the head have Is Face enabled, and the shadow split line is hidden under the white cloth.
Shadow Color Sync¶
If all face and skin materials need the same shadow color, use the same shadow color settings for all face materials and skin materials.
