Configure a skybox with a Skybox Shader

Unity provides multiple SkyboxA special type of Material used to represent skies. Usually six-sided. More info
See in Glossary Shaders for you to use. Each ShaderA program that runs on the GPU. More info
See in Glossary uses a different set of properties and generation techniques. Each Shader falls into one of the following two categories:

Note: The High Definition Render Pipeline (HDRP) does not support any of the above Shaders and instead includes multiple sky generation solutions.

Textured

Generates a skybox from one or multiple textures. The source textures represent the view of the background from all directions. The Skybox Shaders in this category are:

• 6 Sided
• Cubemap
• Panoramic

6 Sided Skybox shader

This skybox Shader generates a skybox from six separate Textures. Each texture represents a view of the sky along a particular world axis. To illustrate this, think of the SceneA Scene contains the environments and menus of your game. Think of each unique Scene file as a unique level. In each Scene, you place your environments, obstacles, and decorations, essentially designing and building your game in pieces. More info
See in Glossary as being inside a cube. Each Texture represents one of the interior faces of the cube and all six combine to create a seamless environment.

To create a 6 Sided skybox, you need six individual Textures that, when combined, map to a net layout like:

To generate the best ambient lighting, the Textures should use a high dynamic range (HDR).

Cubemap Skybox shader

This skybox Shader generates a skybox from a single Cubemap Asset. This CubemapA collection of six square textures that can represent the reflections in an environment or the skybox drawn behind your geometry. The six squares form the faces of an imaginary cube that surrounds an object; each face represents the view along the directions of the world axes (up, down, left, right, forward and back). More info
See in Glossary consists of six square Textures and represents the entire view of the sky from every direction.

Panoramic Skybox shader

To generate a skybox, the Panoramic Shader wraps a single Texture spherically around the Scene.

For information on how to create a Material that uses this skybox Shader, as well as details on how to render the skybox in your Scene, see Using skyboxes.

To create a Panoramic skybox, you need a single 2D Texture that uses latitude-longitude (cylindrical) mapping, like so:

To make sure the Texture is 2D:

1. In the Project windowA window that shows the contents of your Assets folder (Project tab) More info
   See in Glossary, select the Texture.
2. In the InspectorA Unity window that displays information about the currently selected GameObject, asset or project settings, allowing you to inspect and edit the values. More info
   See in Glossary, make sure the Texture Shape is set to 2D.

To generate the best ambient lighting, the Texture should use a high dynamic range (HDR).

Procedural Skybox shader

The Procedural skybox Shader does not require any input Textures and instead generates a skybox purely from the properties set in the Material Inspector.

Positioning the sun

If you choose to render a sun disk in your skybox (see Sun in Properties), this Shader uses the rotation of the active Light to position the sun in the skybox. To find the active Light:

1. Open the Lighting window (menu: Window > Rendering > Lighting).
2. Navigate to the Environment tab.
3. The Light assigned to Sun Source is your Scene’s active Light.
4. If there is no Light assigned to Sun Source, assign the Light in your Scene you want to become the active Light to Sun Source.

You can use this behaviour to create a simple day-night cycle. To do this, continuously rotate your main Directional Light around a particular axis.

Additional resources

• Skybox Shader Material Inspector window reference