Introduction to unit 9

In games, materials and shaders are essential for creating realistic and visually appealing environments and objects. They determine how surfaces interact with light, which gives textures depth. In this unit, you’ll learn how to add custom materials to your 3D environments.

In this tutorial, you’ll get a quick overview of what to expect from this unit about shaders and materials.

Complete the Shaders and Materials project

To learn how to implement shaders and materials in Unity, you'll first work through a new project step-by-step, learning all of the necessary skills along the way. You’ll learn how to use shaders and materials to define how 3D objects look: their color, reflectivity, and physical texture.

You'll also see how these are implemented in a similar 2D game environment.

Add shaders and materials to your own game

After you’ve completed the Shaders and Materials section, you'll have all the skills you need to implement shaders and materials in your 2D or 3D game. At a minimum, you'll add the following elements:

• A custom material
• A repeating pattern material (3D)

By the end of this unit, your game should look something like the examples below:

Now that you have a good understanding of what to expect from this unit, you’re ready to get started. Next, you’ll get started on the Shaders and Materials project to learn how to create and manage materials in your project.