Rift Fur Shader

Rift Fur Shader is a real-time shader built specifically for furry avatars in VRChat. It uses modern physically based rendering (PBR) techniques to create realistic, flexible fur materials that adapt well to different textures, lighting conditions, and worlds.

The focus is consistent quality without excessive manual tweaking.

Core Rendering System

Physically Based Lighting

• GGX (Trowbridge–Reitz) specular model
• Fresnel-Schlick reflection for angle-based response
• Smith geometry for realistic shadowing
• Energy-conserving diffuse/specular balance

Fur-Specific Shading

• Triple-layer anisotropic specular highlights
• • Primary highlight with adjustable shift
  • Secondary offset highlight for depth
  • Tertiary micro highlight for fine detail
• Tangent-space anisotropy aligned to surface detail
• Adjustable fur direction and density

Texture Support & Processing

Supported Texture Maps (12)

1. Albedo
2. Normal Map (critical for quality)
3. Height Map
4. Detail Color
5. Detail Normal
6. Roughness
7. Metallic
8. Ambient Occlusion
9. Translucency Mask
10. Subsurface Scattering
11. Wetness
12. Emission

Automatic Texture Analysis

• Normal map detail analysis for adaptive roughness and specular
• Albedo brightness detection to scale SSS naturally
• Procedural noise for subtle variation
• Intelligent blending for consistent results

Works well with both hand-painted and PBR texture sets.

Lighting & Surface Effects

Subsurface Scattering (SSS)

• Directional light transmission through fur
• Albedo-based intensity scaling
• Adjustable thickness for perceived density
• Warm default tone for natural fur response

Translucency

• Mask-based per-area control
• Independent from SSS
• Ideal for ears, paws, and thin areas

Rim / Fresnel Lighting

• View-angle-based edge lighting
• World light–aware masking
• Enhances silhouettes without overpowering

Sheen

• Soft fabric-like surface effect
• Independent color and intensity

World Lighting Adaptation

Designed to remain readable across different VRChat worlds.

• World light response control (0.5–2.0)
• Ambient shadow lift for dark environments
• Indirect light boost for bounced lighting

Quality Modes

• Ultimate – Maximum quality
• Cinematic – Balanced
• High Performance – Reduced cost

Additional Effects

Parallax Occlusion Mapping

• Height-based surface depth illusion
• View-direction dependent
• No extra geometry required

Wetness System

• Mask-based wetness control
• Roughness reduction when wet
• Adjustable intensity

Emission & Bloom

• Fully independent emission channel
• Optional bloom scaling
• Unaffected by lighting

Detail Layer System

• Stacked normal maps
• Adjustable influence
• Micro color variation

Technical Specs

Shader Details

• Shader Model: 4.0
• LOD: 600
• Rendering: Forward
• Shadows: Real-time
• Custom lighting model

Performance (PC VR)

• Ultimate: ~2–3 ms
• Cinematic: ~1–2 ms
• High Performance: ~0.8–1.5 ms

VRAM Usage

• 4K (full): ~40–60 MB
• 2K (full): ~15–25 MB
• 2K (essential): ~8–12 MB
• 1K (minimal): ~4–6 MB

VRChat Compatibility

• PC VR (full quality)
• Dynamic world lighting
• Real-time shadows
• Avatar constraints
• Dynamic Bones

Texture Format Notes

• Albedo: sRGB
• Normal Maps: Linear (important)
• Height / Roughness / Metallic / AO: Linear
• Emission: Any
• Detail: sRGB (color), Linear (normal)

Material Controls

Fur

• Fur Length
• Fur Density
• Fur Direction

Surface

• Color Tint
• Detail Strength
• Normal Strength
• Parallax Depth
• Roughness / Metallic scale
• AO intensity

Lighting

• SSS intensity & thickness
• Translucency strength
• Sheen intensity
• Rim light intensity

Specular

• Specular intensity
• Primary / Secondary / Tertiary shift

World Lighting

• World light response
• Ambient shadow lift
• Indirect light boost

Effects

• Emission brightness
• Bloom intensity
• Wetness amount

Setup Guide

Minimum Setup

1. Assign Albedo
2. Assign Normal Map
3. Apply material

Recommended

• Albedo: 2K–4K
• Normal Map: 2K–4K (very important)
• Detail textures for best results
• Optional roughness, AO, and height maps

World Adjustments

• World Light Response: 0.8–1.2
• Adjust Ambient Shadow Lift per world
• Increase emission in dark environments

Notes & Testing

• Tested in bright, dark, and custom-lit VRChat worlds
• Compatible with stylized and realistic textures
• Scales well with avatar complexity
• Optimized texture sampling and mipmapping

Video

Summary

Rift Fur Shader is a flexible, production-ready fur shader built for real VRChat use. It combines physically based lighting, fur-specific shading, automatic texture analysis, and world-aware controls to deliver consistent results across a wide range of avatars and environments.

Production-ready • Texture-adaptive • World-aware • Performance-focused