Create cinematic lens flares in URP without texture-heavy workflows. Icarus gives you procedural rays, ghosts, dirt, blur, distortion, occlusion, performance caching, and runtime control in one tool.Icarus Procedural Lens Flares gives you complete artistic control over lens flares in Unity URP.Build realistic suns, cinematic anamorphic streaks, sci-fi optics, magical glows, portal effects, headlights, and stylised starbursts using layered procedural shaders instead of large texture libraries.Stack editable flare elements, including cores, rays, halos, rings, streaks, ghosts, crescents, cat eyes, polygons, smudges, and custom image layers, and control exactly how they render, animate, distort, blur, fade, and react to the world.Whether you need a quick sun flare or a complex optical setup, Icarus provides an artist-friendly workflow with deep runtime control and performance-focused rendering.Key FeaturesURP Renderer Feature integrationDirectional sun flares and world-space flare sourcesLayer-based flare profile workflowFully procedural flare generation with optional image layersCore, Halo, Ring, Ray, Streak, Ghost, and Custom Image layersMultiple ghost styles, including Disc, Crescent, Cat Eye, Polygon, and SmudgeAdvanced ray generation with spike, fan, taper, chaos, and stylised modesHDR colour controls, gradients, hue shifting, chromatic spread, and spectral effectsPer-layer blend modes and render behaviourDepth, raycast, pixel, and edit-mode occlusionRuntime fade smoothing and atmospheric attenuationLens distortion, optical blur, bloom-reactive dirt, and lens imperfections Static atlas caching and hybrid caching systemsVolume-based flare overridesRuntime API and UnityEvent integrationDemo scene, example profiles, and quick-start documentationDesigned For ArtistsGetting started is simple:Add the Icarus Renderer Feature.Add an Icarus Flare Source to a light or scene object.Assign a flare profile.Shape the look from a single profile inspector.Included profiles provide starting points for:Realistic sunsCinematic lens flaresStylised starsPrism ghostsFantasy magic lightsMinimal flare setupsDeep Layer SystemEvery flare is built from an ordered stack of layers.Each layer can define:Position and scaleAspect ratioRotation behaviourColour modelBlend modeBlur settingsDistortion routingOcclusion responseCache behaviourLocal blur and distortionRuntime animationMix subtle optical realism with dramatic stylised effects without leaving the editor.Powerful Colour SystemIcarus includes a flexible colour pipeline designed for both realistic optics and artistic flare design.Features include:HDR tintingSecondary coloursRandom colour variationHue shiftingSpectral rainbow effectsThree-colour gradientsRadial, linear, angular, and axis-based colour mappingChromatic spread for halos, rings, ghosts, streaks, dirt, and image layersHSV and OKLab palette harmonisation toolsCreate anything from subtle photographic flares to bold stylised rainbow optics.Performance FocusedIcarus includes multiple optimisation systems:Static source atlas cachingHybrid cache modeShared blur buffersSplit flare and lens blur buffersRealtime downsamplingReduced SetPass usage modePer-layer cache indicatorsSelective occlusion systemsOptional screen FX modesScale from lightweight gameplay flares to complex cinematic optical stacks.Runtime ControlDesigned for dynamic games and simulations.Adjust at runtime:Global intensityColour multipliersAtmospheric densityLayer scalingProfile switchingDay, sunset, and night presetsPerfect for:Day/night cyclesWeather systemsSeasonal transitionsGameplay eventsCinematic sequencesVolume SupportUse Volume Overrides to control flares based on camera location.Ideal for:InteriorsCavesWeather zonesBiomesCinematic areasAvailable controls:Profile overrideDisable flareIntensity multiplierColour multiplierAtmosphere densityLayer scale blendingLocal volume fade bordersBest ForRealistic sun flaresStylised starburstsSci-fi opticsFantasy lightingCinematic anamorphic flaresPortals and magical effectsHeadlights and bright emissive sourcesDay/night systemsProjects that need art-directable flares without maintaining large texture librariesTechnical ArchitectureIcarusLensFlareRendererFeature – URP rendering integrationIcarusLensFlareSource – Light and world-space flare emittersIcarusLensFlareProfile – Layer stacks, rendering behaviour, and flare configurationBuilt specifically for Unity URP, with a focus on performance, flexibility, and artistic control.Technical ArchitectureIcarusLensFlareRendererFeature – URP rendering integrationIcarusLensFlareSource – Light and world-space flare emittersIcarusLensFlareProfile – Layer stacks, rendering behaviour, and flare configurationAI was used as a development assistant during production to support planning, code iteration, documentation, naming, and workflow refinement.The asset’s design, direction, testing, implementation decisions, and final Unity integration were guided and reviewed by the developer. AI assistance was used to speed up iteration and explore technical approaches, while the final tool, shaders, editor workflow, and feature set were authored, tested, and curated for production use.
