Learning Unity Shader (1): Beginner Setup

Goal

• Understand the CPU-to-GPU flow.
• Understand the graphics pipeline.
• Understand what Shaders do.
• Write a basic Vertex / Fragment Shader.

Environment

• Windows 7
• Unity 5.2.4

Video tutorial

Related links

• Google Cloud Briefing
• discussion thread

Postscript

I had the chance to join Unity’s online reading group and share what I had learned about Shaders over the previous few months. I still did not have deep Shader experience at the time, so the focus was introductory: enough structure to help beginners get started.

It was also my first attempt at online teaching. The hardest part was avoiding wrong explanations. I spent a lot of time preparing the flow, checking for mistakes, and rehearsing. Looking back, there was still plenty to improve, but the process made Shader concepts much clearer to me.

Attribution

Please credit ARKAI Studio and link back to this article when quoting or reposting.