Set 3D GameObjects to interact with Sprite masks

To allow a 3D GameObjectThe fundamental object in Unity scenes, which can represent characters, props, scenery, cameras, waypoints, and more. A GameObject’s functionality is defined by the Components attached to it. More info
See in Glossary to interact with SpriteA 2D graphic objects. If you are used to working in 3D, Sprites are essentially just standard textures but there are special techniques for combining and managing sprite textures for efficiency and convenience during development. More info
See in Glossary masks, set the Mask Interaction property of the meshThe main graphics primitive of Unity. Meshes make up a large part of your 3D worlds. Unity supports triangulated or Quadrangulated polygon meshes. Nurbs, Nurms, Subdiv surfaces must be converted to polygons. More info
See in Glossary renderer.

Prerequisites

Your project must be a 2D URP Project for the Mesh Renderer component to show the additional 2D > Mask Interaction property setting.

Enable Sprite mask interaction

To enable Sprite mask interaction in a Mesh RendererA mesh component that takes the geometry from the Mesh Filter and renders it at the position defined by the object’s Transform component. More info
See in Glossary or Skinned Mesh Renderer component of a 3D GameObject, follow these steps:

Select the 3D GameObject.
In the Inspector window, in the Mesh Renderer or Skinned Mesh Renderer component, go to the 2D > Mask Interaction section.
Select either Visible Inside Mask or Visible Outside Mask to have the mesh renderer interact with a Sprite mask. Refer to the following table for the effect of each option.

Mask Interaction dropdown

Option	Description
None	Renders without interacting with Sprite masks.
Visible Inside Mask	Renders only the parts of the mesh that overlap the Sprite mask.
Visible Outside Mask	Renders only the parts of the mesh that don’t overlap the Sprite mask.

Examples

The following are examples of the visual effect that each option has when Unity renders the meshes with Sprite masks.

This shows two 3D cubes - one red and the other blue - are rendered on top one another when you select None and there is no sprite mask interaction. The Sprite mask is displayed as an orange circle outline.

This shows the result of selecting Visible Inside Mask. Only the area of the blue cube that overlaps the Sprite mask is rendered and visible.

This shows the result of selecting Visible Outside Mask. Only the part of the blue cube that doesn’t overlap the Sprite mask is rendered and visible. A bit of the red cube is visible through blue cube where it isn’t rendered.

Additional resources

Sprite masksA texture which defines which areas of an underlying image to reveal or hide. More info
See in Glossary
Sprite mask reference

Render 3D GameObjects in 2D scenes

Sort 3D GameObjects with 2D sprites