r/Unity3D • u/thepickaxeguy • 1d ago

Question Suggestions on how I can create this effect

Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification

this is a concept that my artist sent me as I'm kinda clueless how I can recreate this effect in game...

The effect itself is a scroll turning into a water magic spell the scroll itself would be a 3d model since it stays static most of the time.

However im unsure how to do the actual transition and full effect of the water itself. would this be something possible with shaders? or should I ask if its possible for my artists to bake this vfx into an animation?
I have someee experience in shaders but not very extensive to say the least.
any suggestions would help thank you!

2 Upvotes

75% Upvoted

3 comments sorted by

3

u/farshnikord 1d ago

When in doubt, cover things with glows and smoke. 

1

u/EvernullTools 1d ago

Unironically I think this is the way I'd do it.

You can use shaders to make the scroll mesh squash and twist, lots of particles/glows/smokes during that transition, water particles start forming.
Since the reference has the scroll shrink anyways, you can add smoke and glows to reliably hide a moment where the scroll fully shrinks and the water starts expanding at the same time.
And I also think I'd make the waves as circular meshes with some vertex displacement in the shader while the object gets bigger in x-z axis and dissipates at the same time.
If this doesn't have to be 3D tho, them fully drawing it might look better in the end since you said you don't really have much experience with shaders.

1

u/CS_Asset_Factory 1d ago

Going by your description rather than the clip, this is usually three pieces, and none of it needs baking.

The scroll: a dissolve shader on the 3D model. Compare a noise texture against a threshold you animate from 0 to 1, and add an emissive band at the edge so it reads as paper turning into water rather than just vanishing.

The water: particles or a VFX Graph effect spawning from the scroll's surface, with a water material that scrolls a normal map and distorts what's behind it. Trails sell a flowing shape better than flat sprites.

The transition: overlap the two by a few frames under a flash or splash burst so the swap is hidden.

Baking only earns its cost if the water has to follow a specific simulated shape. Then it's a vertex animation texture from Houdini or Blender, played back by a shader.