Journey Sand Shader: Ripples

This is the sixth part of the online series dedicated to Journey Sand Shader.

In this final post, we will recreate the typical sand ripples that appear due to the dune-wind interaction.

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Journey Sand Shader: Glitter Reflection

This is the fifth part of the online series dedicated to Journey Sand Shader.

In this fifth post, we will recreate the shimmering reflections that are typically seen on sand dunes.

Shortly after the publication of this series, Julian Oberbeck and Paul Nadalack made their own attempt at recreating a Journey-inspired scene in Unity. You can see in the thread below how they have improved the glitter reflection to have more temporal coherence. You can read more about their implementation on IndieBurg’s article Mip Map Folding.

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Journey Sand Shader: Specular Reflection

This is the fourth part of the online series dedicated to Journey Sand Shader.

In this fourth post, we will focus on the specular reflections that make the dunes look like an ocean of sand.

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Journey Sand Shader: Sand Normal

This is the third part of the online series dedicated to Journey Sand Shader.

In this third post, we will focus on the normal mapping that will turn smooth 3D models into sandy dunes.

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Journey Sand Shader: Diffuse Colour

This is the second part of the online series dedicated to Journey Sand Shader.

In this second post we will focus on the lighting model used in the game, and how to recreate it in Unity.

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A Journey Into Journey’s Sand Shader

This is the first part of the online series inspired by the sand rendering of Journey. Join me in this journey into the secrets that made Journey’s sand shader so iconic.

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