Developing a Shader Inspired by Vaporwave Art

😺 Join the Newbie Nexus on Discord: https://discord.gg/CkWXnH9utV
👾 Play some of my games: https://newbie-indie-game-dev.itch.io/

I explore shader development while recreating the vibrant Vaporwave aesthetic in a test scene for a game. From glowing terrain to animated water and customizable skies, I share my learnings and the techniques I used to bring these visuals to life—using Unity, Shader Graph, and a bit of math along the way.

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0:00 Vaporwave
0:38 Fragment Shaders
1:01 Part I: The Sun
1:21 The Sun: Gradient
2:18 The Sun: Lines
3:50 The Sun: Result
4:05 Part II: Terrain
4:32 Terrain: Lines
4:52 Terrain: Line Orientation
5:29 Terrain: Line Density
6:24 Terrain: Line Brightness
8:09 Terrain: Highlights
8:35 Terrain: Result
8:52 Part III: The Sky
9:06 The Sky: Star Formations
10:20 The Sky: Stars Brightness
10:58 The Sky: Star Colors
11:22 The Sky: Result
11:45 Bonus: Water
12:08 Vertex Shaders
12:27 Water: Development
12:56 Water: Result
13:12 Post-processing
13:35 Limitations
14:41​ Final Thoughts

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🎬 A few videos that I loved and that inspired this one:

https://youtu.be/jlKNOirh66E?si=QfRlrvY3cgyD6jct
https://youtu.be/f4s1h2YETNY?si=fl7-CGtXsvilL9jq
https://youtu.be/E9-LRRDVmo8?si=AkIYApEbW_FMIDRW
https://youtu.be/gg40RWiaHRY?si=38S_2oeycrl4qRg9

🎬 The main channels I learned from while making this video, featuring tons of related content you might enjoy:

@acegikmo
@Acerola_t

📚 Also, some excellent written resources that complement the content of this video:

Catlike Coding - Custom SRP
https://catlikecoding.com/unity/tutorials/custom-srp/
Daniel Ilett - Tutorial Series
https://danielilett.com/tutorials/
Coster-Graphics - Shader Tutorials
https://timcoster.com/category/tutorials/english/shaders/

🎵 Throughout the video, you've been listening to some great Vaporwave tracks in the background. Be sure to check out the artists: @GODMODEMUSIC, @annannie and @grandaffair1446.

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🎥 Video by:
Flor Niemevz
https://www.behance.net/florenciamn
Nati Mendez
https://www.behance.net/natimendez