# Example Custom Render Texture with Shader Graph

This example demonstrates how to set up a Shader Graph for Custom Render Texture shaders to create a self-healing deformation effect that could be used for snow, sand, etc.

![](images/CustomRenderTexture-Animation.gif)

For this effect, we need a Render Texture that contains the pixels we want to displace. This Render Texture is displayed at the top left corner of the preceding image. It was directly assigned to a camera that renders the objects in red above the UV plane.

1. Create a **Custom Render Texture** Shader Graph as follows:
   - Right-click in the Project window.
   - Select **Create** > **Shader Graph** > **Custom Render Texture** and name your shader.

2. Create a new **Custom Render Texture** as follows: 
    - Select **Create** > **Rendering** > **Custom Render Texture**. 
    - Configure the parameters to match the following image. 
    **Note**: The material in the **Material** field was created.

![](images/CustomRenderTextureInspector.png)

This Shader Graph reads the output of the Camera Render Texture, as well as the Self texture, then adds them and lerps the result so that it tends towards 0 over time. You should end up with something similar to the following:

![](images/CustomRenderTextureShaderGraph.png)

4. Finally you need to assign the **Custom Render Texture** to a material that can deform the geometry (tessellation or pixel displacement).

## New ShaderGraph Nodes for Custom Render Textures

Three new ShaderGraph nodes have been introduced to facilitate working with Custom Render Textures:

1. [Custom Render Texture Self](Custom-Texture-Self)
   - Outputs the double-buffered texture from the previous update.
   - It provides three outputs for different types of textures: 2D, 3D, and Cube textures.

2. [Custom Render Texture Size](Custom-Texture-Size)
   - Outputs the width, height, and volume depth of the current Custom Render Texture.
   - Use this node to determine the size of the texture being worked with.

3. [Custom Render Texture Slice](Custom-Texture-Slice)
   - Outputs the current slice for 2D Texture Arrays or the Cubemap face index being updated.

## Known Limitations

When working with Custom Render Texture shaders, be aware of the following limitations:

* Rendering Order
   - The Custom Render Texture update loop runs before any rendering operations. This means:
      - You cannot access any render pipeline-specific information in the shader, such as depth, normal, or scene color.
      - Despite this, you can rely on the content of the Custom Render Texture being ready for use in the scene when the camera renders.

## Additional resources
- [Custom Render Textures](https://docs.unity3d.com/Manual/class-CustomRenderTexture.html)
- [Custom Render Texture Nodes](Custom-Render-Texture-Nodes.md)