Sign-In
Cart
Advanced Shader Development in Unity and HLSL: A Complete Shader Workflows for URP, HDRP, and Cross-Platform Games
Paperback
Series: Graphics Programming for Beginners, Experts, Artists and More
Publisher: Independently Published
Published: Jul 28 2025
Pages: 278
Weight: 1.43
Height: 0.58 Width: 8.50 Depth: 11.00
Language: English
Have you ever stared at a jaw-dropping visual effect in a AAA game and thought, How did they make that?
Or maybe you've opened Unity's Shader Graph or written a few lines of HLSL, only to feel lost, overwhelmed, or worse-stuck copying tutorials that don't explain why things work.
What if you could break through the fog of confusion and finally master the art and science of shader development?
Not just to copy effects, but to design your own-from scratch-for any platform, any pipeline, and any creative vision?
Welcome to Advanced Shader Development in Unity and HLSL: A Complete Shader Workflow for URP, HDRP, and Cross-Platform Games by Ethan G. McCarthy-a book designed not just to teach you shaders, but to make you think like a shader artist.
This isn't a paint-by-numbers guide. This is a full-scale exploration of how shaders really work-across Unity's Scriptable Render Pipelines (URP and HDRP), in HLSL, and with Shader Graph-so you can build robust, beautiful, and performant effects across PC, console, mobile, and XR.
So, ask yourself...Do you actually understand how light interacts with a surface-or are you still relying on prebuilt materials?
Can you design a toon shader that responds to shadows and rim lighting-or do you tweak sliders until something looks right?
Do your shaders scale across platforms-or break the moment you shift from URP to HDRP?
Can your effects hold up at 120 FPS on a phone, or are you unknowingly pushing the GPU over the edge?
Have you ever written a surface shader in HLSL and wondered-what just happened?
If you've ever felt like shaders are a black box of math, magic, and obscure syntax, you're not alone. But here's the truth: you don't need a PhD in graphics programming to master them. You just need the right map-and a guide who speaks your language.
Inside this book, you'll learn how to:
Understand the rendering pipeline and where your shader fits within it.
Design interactive visual effects that respond to physics, audio, player input, and time.
Build stylized, photorealistic, and cinematic shaders using real-world game examples.
Write efficient HLSL code for both URP and HDRP that scales across devices.
Use Shader Graph like a pro, avoiding common traps and performance bottlenecks.
Integrate shaders into your workflows with particle systems, terrain, UI, and post-processing.
Transition confidently from the Built-In pipeline to URP or HDRP-without rewriting everything from scratch.
Benchmark, profile, and optimize your shaders so they look amazing and run smoothly.
And this isn't just about technical details. You'll dive deep into design principles, artist-programmer collaboration, and real-world case studies from successful games and studios.
Whether you're a technical artist, indie developer, shader hobbyist, or a student aiming to break into the game industry-this book will challenge you, empower you, and transform the way you think about visual effects.
So here's the real question:
Are you ready to stop relying on other people's shaders and start building your own, fully custom, fully optimized, cross-platform visual magic?
Because if you are-this is the book you've been waiting for.
Also from
McCarthy, Ethan G.
Modern Arduino Programming: Learn to Build and Program Interactive Projects with Ease
McCarthy, Ethan G.
Paperback
The Complete Guide to POWER BI Charts and Dashboards: Master Classic, Advanced, and Risky Visuals with Confidence
McCarthy, Ethan G.
Paperback
Hands-On Stm32 Projects: A Complete Guide to Multi-Tasking Embedded Applications Implementing UART, SPI, I2C, USB, and CAN Interfaces
McCarthy, Ethan G.
Paperback
Advanced Metal Programming: Harnessing Apple's Low-Level GPU Framework for Modern Application Development
McCarthy, Ethan G.
Paperback
Building Web Applications with Blazor: A Step-by-Step Guide for Beginners and Experienced Developers
McCarthy, Ethan G.
Paperback
Modern Dita Mastery: A Complete Guide to Authoring, Managing, and Publishing Structured Content
McCarthy, Ethan G.
Paperback
The Complete C# 14 and .NET 10 Developer's Handbook: From Language Basics to Advanced Frameworks and Cloud Deployment
McCarthy, Ethan G.
Paperback
Also in
Programming
Interactive Theorem Proving and Program Development: Coq'art: The Calculus of Inductive Constructions
Castéran, Pierre
Bertot, Yves
Hardcover
Seven Databases in Seven Weeks: A Guide to Modern Databases and the Nosql Movement
Perkins, Luc
Redmond, Eric
Wilson, Jim
Paperback
The Legend of Zelda(tm) Tears of the Kingdom - The Complete Official Guide: Collector's Edition
Piggyback
Hardcover
Python Crash Course, 3rd Edition: A Hands-On, Project-Based Introduction to Programming
Matthes, Eric
Paperback
Crisis Engineering: Time-Tested Tools for Turning Chaos Into Clarity
Dickerson, Mikey
Nitze, Marina
Weaver, Matthew
Paperback
Vibe Coding: Building Production-Grade Software with Genai, Chat, Agents, and Beyond
Yegge, Steve
Kim, Gene
Paperback
Accelerate: The Science of Lean Software and DevOps: Building and Scaling High Performing Technology Organizations
Kim, Gene
Forsgren Phd, Nicole
Humble, Jez
Paperback
Embedded Systems with ARM Cortex-M Microcontrollers in Assembly Language and C: Fourth Edition
Zhu, Yifeng
Paperback
The Legend of Zelda(tm) Tears of the Kingdom - The Complete Official Guide: Standard Edition
Piggyback
Paperback
I Have an App Idea: The Essential Guide to Building an App Without Tech Skills
Spann, Amanda
Paperback
Fundamentals of Software Architecture: A Modern Engineering Approach
Richards, Mark
Ford, Neal
Paperback
AI Projects with Raspberry Pi: High-Performance Artificial Intelligence for Robotics, Security, Home Automation, and Vision
Hattersley, Lucy
Jepson, Brian
Paperback
The Manager's Path: A Guide for Tech Leaders Navigating Growth and Change
Fournier, Camille
Paperback
Make: Electronics: Learning by Discovery: A Hands-On Primer for the New Electronics Enthusiast
Platt, Charles
Paperback
The Devops Handbook, 2nd Edition: How to Create World-Class Agility, Reliability, & Security in Technology Organizations
Debois, Patrick
Kim, Gene
Humble, Jez
Paperback
Building Applications with AI Agents: Designing and Implementing Multiagent Systems
Albada, Michael
Paperback
The Developer's Guide to AI: A Field Guide for the Working Developer
Thompson, Danny
Orshalick, Jacob
Reghunadh, Jerry M.
Paperback
Cracking the Coding Interview: 189 Programming Questions and Solutions
McDowell, Gayle Laakmann
Paperback
The New AI Cold War: Liberty vs. Tyranny in the Age of Machine Empires
Maginnis, Ltc Robert L.
Paperback
Learning Web Design: A Beginner's Guide to Html, Css, Javascript, and Web Images
Robbins, Jennifer
Paperback
The Staff Engineer's Path: A Guide for Individual Contributors Navigating Growth and Change
Reilly, Tanya
Paperback
Software Architecture: The Hard Parts: Modern Trade-Off Analyses for Distributed Architectures
Sadalage, Pramod
Ford, Neal
Richards, Mark
Paperback
SQL QuickStart Guide: The Simplified Beginner's Guide to Managing, Analyzing, and Manipulating Data With SQL
Shields, Walter
Hardcover
Linux Basics for Hackers, 2nd Edition: Getting Started with Networking, Scripting, and Security in Kali
Occupytheweb
Paperback
The Official Raspberry Pi Handbook 2026: Astounding Projects with Raspberry Pi Computers
Makers of Raspberry Pi Official Magazine, The
Paperback
The Pragmatic Programmer: Your Journey to Mastery, 20th Anniversary Edition
Thomas, David
Hunt, Andrew
Hardcover
Generative AI Design Patterns: Solutions to Common Challenges When Building Genai Agents and Applications
Hapke, Hannes
Lakshmanan, Valliappa
Paperback
Forecasting: Principles and Practice, the Pythonic Way
Hyndman, Rob J.
Athanasopoulos, George
Paperback
Observability Engineering: Achieving Production Excellence
Fong-Jones, Liz
Miranda, George
Majors, Charity
Paperback
Head First Design Patterns: Building Extensible and Maintainable Object-Oriented Software
Robson, Elisabeth
Freeman, Eric
Paperback
Frictionless: 7 Steps to Remove Barriers, Unlock Value, and Outpace Your Competition in the AI Era
Forsgren, Nicole
Noda, Abi
Paperback
The Return on AI: From Promise to Profit in the Age of Intelligent Business
Mittal, Ashwin
Sawhney, Mohanbir
Paperback
Arduino Programming for Beginners: A Comprehensive Beginner's Guide to Learn the Realms of Arduino Programming from A-Z
Protosmith, Ada
Paperback
Building AI-Powered Products: The Essential Guide to AI and Genai Product Management
Nika, Marily
Paperback
Concrete Mathematics: A Foundation for Computer Science
Patashnik, Oren
Knuth, Donald
Graham, Ronald
Hardcover
Grokking Algorithms, Second Edition: An Illustrated Guide for Programmers and Other Curious People
Bhargava, Aditya Y.
Paperback
Debugging: The 9 Indispensable Rules for Finding Even the Most Elusive Software and Hardware Problems
Agans, David J.
Paperback
Learning Generative AI Tools for Excel: Speed Up Your Everyday Tasks with Microsoft Excel, Copilot, Chatgpt, and Beyond
Duca, Angelica Lo
Paperback
Learning Domain-Driven Design: Aligning Software Architecture and Business Strategy
Khononov, Vlad
Paperback
Computer Science from Scratch: Building Interpreters, Art, Emulators and ML in Python
Kopec, David
Paperback
The Software Architect Elevator: Redefining the Architect's Role in the Digital Enterprise
Hohpe, Gregor
Paperback
Python Programming for Young Coders: A Hands-On, Project-Based Introduction to Coding for Beginners, Kids, and Teens
Pandey, Anand
Paperback
Learning Php, MySQL & JavaScript: A Step-By-Step Guide to Creating Dynamic Websites
Nixon, Robin
Paperback
Software Engineering at Google: Lessons Learned from Programming Over Time
Manshreck, Tom
Wright, Hyrum
Winters, Titus
Paperback
Living a Jewish Life, Revised and Updated: Jewish Traditions, Customs, and Values for Today's Families
Cooper, Howard
Diamant, Anita
Paperback
Pro C# 10 with .Net 6: Foundational Principles and Practices in Programming
Troelsen, Andrew
Japikse, Phil
Paperback
Prompt Engineering for Llms: The Art and Science of Building Large Language Model-Based Applications
Ziegler, Albert
Berryman, John
Paperback
Articulating Design Decisions: Communicate with Stakeholders, Keep Your Sanity, and Deliver the Best User Experience
Greever, Tom
Paperback
Adobe Photoshop, 2nd Edition: A Complete Course and Compendium of Features
Laskevitch, Stephen
Paperback
Kubernetes in Action, Second Edition: Deploying and Managing Containers and Cloud-Native Applications
Luksa, Marko
Conner, Kevin
Paperback
Spies, Lies, and Algorithms: The History and Future of American Intelligence
Zegart, Amy B.
Paperback
Site Reliability Engineering: How Google Runs Production Systems
Murphy, Niall Richard
Jones, Chris
Beyer, Betsy
Paperback
Ruined by Design: How Designers Destroyed the World, and What We Can Do to Fix It
Monteiro, Mike
Paperback
Electronic Music and Sound Design - Theory and Practice with Max 9 - Volume 1 (Fifth Edition)
Maurizio, Giri
Cipriani, Alessandro
Paperback
Designing AI Interfaces: Design Principles for Creative and Autonomous AI
Macfadyen, Louise
Paperback