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URP & Post-processing

Add glow, colour grading, darkened screen edges and other screen effects to your game with URP's Volumes.

Post-processing is a photo filter. The camera takes the picture first; then filters (glow, colour, blur) are applied on top. A Volume Profile is a saved filter preset, and a Volume decides where that preset is used: everywhere, or only inside a certain area like a cave.

Words to know

Word	Meaning
URP	Universal Render Pipeline: the system that draws your game. New "Universal 3D" projects use it by default.
Volume	A component that says "use these effects here".
Volume Profile	An asset holding the effect settings.
Override	One effect added to a profile, such as Bloom or Vignette.

1. Your first effect (no code)

Select your Main Camera. Under Rendering, tick Post Processing.
GameObject > Volume > Global Volume. In its Inspector click New next to Profile.
Click Add Override > Post-processing > Color Adjustments.
Tick the small box next to Saturation and drag it to -100. The game turns black and white.

Nothing happened? Each setting has its own tick box on the left. The effect only applies to settings you've ticked.

Volumes don't draw anything themselves. They only choose which filters the camera uses.

Popular effects

Effect	What it does	Tip
Bloom	Bright things glow	Pair with an Emission colour on a material. It's only a glow effect; it doesn't light up nearby objects.
Color Adjustments	Brightness, contrast, saturation, colour tint	Great for mood: cold blue caves, warm sunsets.
Tonemapping	Makes very bright and dark areas look natural	Try ACES or Neutral.
Vignette	Darkens the screen edges	Good for "taking damage" flashes.
Depth of Field	Blurs things out of focus	Can be expensive; avoid blurring things the player needs to see.
Motion Blur	Blurs fast movement	Some players get motion sick. Offer an option to turn it off.

2. Effects in one area only

GameObject > Volume > Box Volume. This makes a Volume set to Local, with a Box Collider.
Tick Is Trigger on the collider (so the player doesn't bump into it) and size it to cover your cave.
Give it a profile with a cold blue tint and set Blend Distance to 3 for a smooth fade.
Set its Priority higher than the global Volume so it wins while the camera is inside.

No script needed. URP checks where the camera is (not the player) and blends automatically.

3. Changing effects from code

Example: flash a red vignette when the player takes damage. Add a Vignette override to your Volume's profile first, then attach this to the Volume.

using UnityEngine;
using UnityEngine.Rendering;
using UnityEngine.Rendering.Universal;

[RequireComponent(typeof(Volume))]
public class DamageFlash : MonoBehaviour
{
    private Vignette vignette;
    private float strength;

    void Start()
    {
        // .profile (not .sharedProfile) gives this Volume its own copy,
        // so we don't permanently change the asset in the Project window
        GetComponent<Volume>().profile.TryGet(out vignette);
        vignette.intensity.overrideState = true;
    }

    public void Flash() => strength = 0.5f; // call this when hit

    void Update()
    {
        strength = Mathf.MoveTowards(strength, 0f, Time.deltaTime);
        vignette.intensity.value = strength;
    }
}

If an effect doesn't show up

Work down this list:

Is Post Processing ticked on the camera?
Is the setting's own tick box on in the profile?
Is the Volume's Weight above 0?
Does the camera's Volume Mask include the Volume's layer?
Is another Volume with higher priority overriding it?

Good to know

Pink materials mean the shader doesn't work in URP. Use Window > Rendering > Render Pipeline Converter to upgrade old materials.
Screen Space - Overlay UI is drawn after the effects, so your menus won't be blurred or tinted.
Old tutorials mention the Post Processing Stack v2 package. URP doesn't use it; the effects are built in.
Full-screen effects cost more at higher resolutions. Test on your slowest target device.

Common Mistakes

Forgetting to tick Post Processing on the camera.
Editing sharedProfile in Play mode, which permanently changes your asset.
Expecting Bloom to light up the room. Use a real Light for that.
Stacking many heavy effects on mobile.