Normal Maps, Tangent Space & IBL • Shaders for Game Devs [Part 3]

In this final lecture we dive into normal maps, tangent space, height maps and image-based lighting

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00:00:00 - Intro
00:01:17 - Recap
00:10:34 - Multi-light support (assignment 2)
00:14:48 - .cginc include files
00:21:18 - Multiple passes
00:24:20 - Macros
00:25:15 - Unity's lighting macros
00:47:05 - Questions
00:49:45 - Garden of the sea example
00:54:39 - Color/Albedo texture
01:00:10 - Normal maps & tangent space
01:27:51 - Questions
01:44:00 - Normal map intensity
01:46:43 - Height/Displacement maps
01:58:18 - Vertex shader texture sampling
02:01:29 - Vertex offset & mesh normal caveats
02:07:29 - Questions
02:24:47 - The importance of ambient light
02:26:18 - Basic ambient light
02:29:35 - Image-based lighting (IBL)
02:33:50 - Skybox shader
02:36:46 - Rectilinear skybox sampling
02:42:00 - Diffuse IBL
02:52:02 - Specular IBL
03:10:23 - Outro

✫ Video Production by Higher Vision:

[SchartzRehan]

I discovered this Shaders for Game devs series in 2025. I don't work in Unity. I work in Unreal. The information packed in these videos is so very important regardless of the platform. You are a terrific teacher. Thank you very much Freya for putting it out here on youtube.

[JebediahFeed]

I’ve been googling for weeks trying to find all this information and now I’ve learned so much in just 3 hours!
I cannot express how happy I am now! Thank you Freya!

[KitMacAllister]

Great video series! I'm really learning a lot. Thanks for putting all of these up for free!

[TetriarchCZ]

I know it has been 3 years since making of this video, but I found this now and despite the fact that I don't use Unity and rather learn OpenGL and write stuff on my own as much as my skills allow, this has helped me a freaking lot! Thank you Freya! :))

[pbdpbd]

The best video series in the internet about shader coding. You got me into this stuff and i'm will be sticking with it for a long time!

[davidkokoski]

Seriously, discovering this and you as an instructor/youtuber/person has revitalized my game developer pursuit process. XD Coming from someone who by all popular accounts and influences should technically not be pursuing this career at this point in my life, this means more than I can express in a youtube comment. Thank you so much.

[manupressplay]

I really thank you for these explanations. Online you can find scattered information here and there, but I haven't found anyone who allowed me to join the dots one by one. These are really great lessons. I can't wait for the next one.

[tojynick]

Many people said this already, but thank you. This series has so much good stuff! One of the best (if not the best) series about shaders on YouTube. Thanks again 💖

[BlackMattk]

If you'd made this series 10 years ago I might still have my hair. This is exceptional!

[Phroggster]

You just helped get me through comprehending an issue I was having today in a pixel shader, and I thank you sincerely for that. You clearly comprehend shader pipelines better than I ever did even back when I was interacting with them daily, and you cut right through the decade or two's cognitive oxidation that has built up since.

[harmoniac.design]

This is amazing. Came here for a whole different issue, but now I have been watching for an hour....and will come back! :D

[TheArien]

The formula you highlighted to calculate the bitangent saved me from such a headache thank you!

[unveil]

This is the only "Not boring" video about shading!! Thanks Freya!!

[Cloudwastken]

Idk who you are but i watched you while sleeping apparently

[netux]

9:02 and thus, Freya introduces the issue I spent some time trying to solve while doing Lesson 2's assignment 😂

[bigmistqke]

well, these were 9 hours very well spent. tied up a lot of loose ends of information i found in bits and pieces over the years. p.ex i knew what a normal map was used for, and that it supposedly contained the 3-axis lighting information inside its rgb, but seeing it implemented in the shader made me understand what normal maps actually are. or these refracted specular highlights, such a beautifully simple implementation. from something obscure and unreachable to simple and elegant. thanks a lot freya.

[RA-egtw]

I remember self teaching this in my first year of uni. Not sure why I gave up on game dev but after 2 and a half years, I've been catching up on it. This helped me speed through.

[peteruelimaa]

Amazing tutorial, thank you! I now finally _understand_ how all this works! What would be amazing would be a follow up course that shows how to do all this with Unity's built in functionality!

[MrMeowmurs]

Great video series, I revisit these often when I get stumped on my shader coding and need to refresh myself on a concept. Thanks!

[David-guhv]

Thanks Freya! You said something that was key to me fixing my bug. I didn't know that normal maps had a 'w' component for flipped UVs!