Anime Style / Cel Shader for UE5

01

Visual Target

Anime Cel Bands Character First

Goal: create a clean anime shading baseline where the character reads clearly from the camera, with stable light/shadow bands, controlled highlight color, and a silhouette that does not depend on realistic PBR behavior.

This image is the style anchor: simple banding, readable face planes, restrained specular, and a dark silhouette that still separates from the background.

02

Approach Choice

Material-based cel shader

Best when the character needs per-asset control: skin can use a face shadow map, hair can use flow highlights, and eyes can keep their own highlight hierarchy.

More control per material.
Better for hero characters.
Requires consistent authoring across assets.

Post-process cel shader

Best when the whole scene needs a quick stylized pass. It is fast to apply, but fog, specular, reflections, sky, and GI can create artifacts.

Fast global lookdev.
Good for prototypes and environment-wide style.
Less precise for faces and character-specific rules.

Production choice: use material-based logic for hero characters, then use post-process only as a scene-level support layer if needed.

03

Graph Order

Normal or authored mask Main light direction Dot product Band threshold Color remap Spec / rim / outline

1. Build the lighting signal

Start with a dot product between the surface normal and the main light direction, or use authored masks for areas that need more stable anime control.

2. Cut the signal into readable bands

Use threshold and softness controls to split the signal into lit, mid, and shadow zones. The band should be easy to preview in grayscale.

3. Remap bands to art-directed color

Do not rely on physically correct darkening only. Anime shadows often need hue control, especially on skin and face planes.

4. Add specular, rim, and outline as separate layers

Keep these layers optional. They should support silhouette and focal point, not fight the primary light/shadow read.

04

Artist Controls

Band Shadow Threshold / Softness Controls where the shadow begins and whether the transition feels graphic or soft.

Color Lit, Mid, Shadow Tint Lets the look stay art-directed instead of only becoming physically darker.

Spec Spec Size / Strength Keeps highlights intentional and avoids accidental PBR shine on stylized skin.

Silhouette Rim / Outline Width Separates the character from busy backgrounds without changing the base shading.

Face Face Shadow Override Protects expression and nose/cheek planes when normal-based lighting breaks down.

Debug Band Preview Mode Outputs grayscale bands so the shader can be tuned before judging final color.

05

HLSL Sketch

float ndl = saturate(dot(normalize(WorldNormal), normalize(MainLightDir)));
float band = smoothstep(ShadowThreshold, HighlightThreshold, ndl);

float3 baseBand = lerp(ShadowColor, LitColor, band);

float viewFacing = saturate(dot(normalize(ViewDir), normalize(WorldNormal)));
float rim = pow(1.0 - viewFacing, RimPower) * RimIntensity;

float3 finalColor = baseBand + rim * RimColor;
return finalColor;

06

Failure Cases

Shadow bands look noisy

The lighting signal is unstable. Check normals, face masks, indirect light, specular contribution, and whether the band threshold is too sharp.

Face lighting breaks expression

Use an authored face shadow map or face-specific mask. Raw normal lighting often fails on anime faces because the planes are intentionally simplified.

Specular looks too realistic

Reduce or replace PBR-style specular with a stylized highlight mask. The highlight should support the drawing, not reveal surface realism.

Outline or rim becomes heavy

Scale outline/rim by distance, character importance, and background complexity. The silhouette layer should not flatten the entire character.

07

Handoff Notes

Interview angle: this shader is not only about making an anime look. The production value is separating reusable style language from asset-specific controls.

Keep skin, hair, and eyes as child pages so each asset type can add its own controls without changing the base style.
Expose artist-facing parameters in Material Instances, but keep debug previews available in the master graph.
Profile before optimizing, but disable unnecessary realistic lighting behavior if it fights the stylized target.

08