The Camera – Post-Processing

Post-processing involves applying filters and effects to the game image before it’s rendered on screen (similar to filters that can be added to photos). In this section of the tutorial, you’ll explore how post-processing works in Unity and then apply it to your own game.

Generally, post-processing effects are grouped together and used on different areas of the game world. This means that when the camera is in a particular area, its designated set of processes are applied to the image.

Imagine that you are in a dark room and then step through a door outside into bright daylight. Your eyes will take a while to adjust and everything will seem much brighter than it usually does when you exit the room. In Unity, this could be simulated by having different groups of post processes applied in the room and outside it. The groups of post processes are Assets called Post-processing Profiles. The areas of the game world which have profiles assigned to them are Components called Post Process Volumes.

Sometimes, different cameras have different post-processes. To link a set of processes to a specific camera, a Post Process Layer component is added to the same GameObject as the Camera component. Layers are a way of organising GameObjects by behaviour.

This tutorial includes step-by-step instructions to add specific post-processing effects in Unity Editor. If you’d like to explore these effects in more detail, you can find more information in: