This Pixelated Water Shader Looks Weirdly Fascinating
I want to swim there.
Tanner, or Taaaaanner1 on Twitter/X, is a 3D Artist and Game Developer who specializes in environment design and 3D characters and props. He shared a pixelated water shader that is very eye-catching but, at the same time, slightly disorienting to look at.
In the replies, the artist explained that he created it with Unreal Engine 5.7, using almost exclusively baked lighting and an older caustics generator by Cathal McNally, and that three textures are moving, but only two are highly visible. It also has normal refraction and light absorption.
He has been updating the shader since he posted it, such as making the planes move slower, which I think results in a more watery look:
Then he added foam:
In the replies, he also mentioned that this is for a retro-style FPS that he's working on.
He shared another video with very similar dynamics, but the water looks red, giving a more unsettling vibe:
Check out other impressive water projects that we have featured in the past, like AshenOneArt's realistic water shader, Critsium's interactive water created in Godot, or Glum_Glaw's fake flowing water animation.
Follow Tanner on Twitter/X to learn more about his project. Subscribe to our Newsletter, join our 80 Level Talent platform, Discord, and follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn, Telegram, and Instagram, where we share breakdowns, the latest news, awesome artworks, and more.
Are you a fan of what we do here at 80 Level? Then make sure to set us as a Preferred Source on Google to see more of our content in your feed.
