Technical Overview
For projects targeting a stylized aesthetic, Flat Kit: Toon Shading and Water Unity 2.1.1 offers the most performant toon-shading model I’ve seen. The asset leverages the SRP Batcher effectively, allowing for hundreds of unique toon-shaded objects with minimal draw calls. The ‘Mesh Processor’ included in the kit is a standout feature, as it generates baked-in smooth normals which are essential for high-quality, object-space outlines that don’t look ‘jagged’ on low-poly models.
Integration Tips
- URP Water Setup: Note that the stylized water shader is URP-exclusive. If you are moving from Built-in to URP, you must add the ‘Flat Kit Water’ script to your camera to handle depth-texture sampling for foam and transparency effects.
- Vertex Color Workflows: The shaders support Polybrush and vertex color blending. Use this for terrain and environment props to add variety without needing extra textures, which is a massive win for mobile memory budgets.
- Shadow Control: Use the ‘Parametric Banding’ feature in the Stylized Surface shader to define hard-edged cel shadows. This works much better than trying to force Unity’s global shadow settings into a toon look.
Best Use Cases
- Stylized Mobile Games: The shaders are highly optimized and support Single Pass Stereo Rendering, making them perfect for mobile AR/VR where performance is the primary constraint.
- Narrative Adventures: The Moebius-esque outline effects and gradient fog allow for a high degree of artistic expression that feels ‘hand-painted’ rather than computer-generated.