Outline Settings

Outlines are one of the most important elements that affect the impression of cel-animated images. You can control the outline thickness numerically, and refine it in more detail using an Outline Width Map. Outline color can be set directly or blended with the character's base colors.


Drag the slider to compare the images.

UTS provides two methods to generate outlines:

  1. Extrude polygons along the mesh normals.
  2. Scale the mesh uniformly to create an outline.

Settings:

Outline Mode

Specifies how the inverted-outline objects spawn.

Outline Mode Description
Normal Direction Stretches polygons in the normal direction.
Position Scaling Applies a scale value to the mesh.

Outline Width

Specifies the width of the outline. This value depends on the scale when importing the model to Unity.

Outline Color

Specifies the color of the outline.

Blend Base Color to Outline

Blends Base Color into the outline color.


Drag the slider to compare the images.

Outline Width Map

Outline Width Map as grayscale texture: Texture(linear).

UTS provides a detailed control solution for outline thickness using a texture map. Let's take a look at an example.

The UV map that contains all the parts of the model, and a square grayscale texture as the Outline Width Map. Most of the Outline Width Map uses a uniform light gray, while the face, legs, and hands are in a darker gray.
Left: a Base Map example. Right: an Outline Width Map example.

With the above maps applied, regions that are white in the Outline Width Map produce thicker outlines. This is especially noticeable around the character's eyes and face.


Drag the slider to compare the images.

Offset Outline with Camera Z-axis

Offsets the outline in the depth (Z) direction of the camera. UTS outline is implemented by either extending polygons in the normal direction or applying a scale value. Sometimes, offsetting the position of the generated polygons in the Z (depth) direction can improve their appearance.


Drag the slider to compare the images.

Camera Distance for Outline Width

Farthest Distance to vanish

Specifies the furthest distance where the outline width changes with the distance between the camera and the object. The outline will be zero at this distance.

Nearest Distance to draw with Outline Width

Specifies the closest distance where the outline width changes with the distance between the camera and the object. At this distance, the outline will be the maximum width set by Outline_Width.

Outline Color Map

Apply a texture as the outline color map.

Baked Normal Map

Normal maps with vertex normals baked in from other models can be loaded as an addition when setting up normal inversion outlines.