MK Glow - Bloom, Lens Flare & Glare Post-Processing Shader

About MK Glow - Bloom, Lens Flare & Glare Post-Processing Shader – Unity VFX & Shader Pack

Unity Bloom and Post-Processing Shader

MK Glow - Bloom, Lens Flare & Glare Post-Processing Shader is a full-screen image effect solution that extends beyond default camera effects to generate emission-driven highlights, procedural optical artifacts, and surface scattering. Operating as a screen-space effect driven by scene luminance and object emission rather than per-mesh components, the system supplies dedicated emissive shaders for UI elements and 2D sprites, accompanied by unified editor inspection tools and debug views across all major render pipelines.

Optical Effects and Rendering Architecture

Built as a hand-written shader implementation using command buffers and Multiple Render Targets (MRT) where applicable, the processing chain incorporates anti-flicker filtering alongside automatic resolution scaling to ensure consistent scattering dimensions. Visual output can be customized through two distinct operational workflows and several specialized modules:

• Dual Workflow System: Offers a Natural mode that generates emission-driven light scattering without hard thresholds or color cutoffs, alongside a Threshold mode that functions as a greyscale luminance filter for precise cutoffs on high-contrast visuals.
• Bloom and Glare: Delivers high-precision bloom with gamma-based intensity and anamorphic ratio scaling, complemented by a glare engine capable of producing up to four directional light streaks with customizable scattering, shape controls, and orientation offsets.
• Procedural Lens Flares: Generates multi-element flares featuring chromatic aberration, halo sizing, texture-based color ramps, and customizable ghost generation with individual count, dispersal, and fade parameters.
• Lens Surface Texturing: Integrates independent texture slots for lens dirt and diffraction effects with individual blending and intensity sliders.

Use Cases

• Stylizing neon cityscapes, cyberpunk interfaces, and holographic displays using hard threshold cutoffs and multi-directional glare streaks.
• Simulating cinematic camera optics through procedural anamorphic flare ghosts, chromatic aberration, and illuminated lens dirt textures.
• Adding subtle, threshold-free glow to magical elements, particles, and emissive materials in both 2D sprite environments and 3D scenes.

FAQ

How does the shader integrate with different pipeline architectures?

In the Built-in Render Pipeline, it operates as a camera component via the legacy image effects pipeline or within Post Processing Stack V2. In the Universal Render Pipeline, it functions via the integrated Post Processing API or as a standalone Scriptable Renderer Feature, while also providing Render Graph support and High Definition Render Pipeline volume integration.

What XR rendering modes are supported for VR projects?

The post-processing framework natively supports Multi Pass, Single Pass Stereo, and Single Pass Stereo Instanced rendering methods.

Is full source code included with the package?

Yes. Full source-code access is provided alongside an Install Wizard, presets, and example scenes.

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