EA Toon Shader Ultimate for XPS (Patreon)

Early Access – The shader will be released on July 29, 2026, for everyone to enjoy!

Hello dear supporters and followers,

I’m thrilled to present the most advanced Toon Shader ever created for XPS. 🎉 It offers countless possibilities and configurations. You can adjust it in real time using the four user parameters and playing with the Light Intensity and Shadow Depth, or edit the .fx file directly with a text editor for further posibilities such as setting different toon shadow colors on each mesh. The file has been designed to make customization easy and convenient, with all settings grouped in one place and clear // comments explaining what each value does.

I’m truly happy to finally deliver a shader that feels complete to me. This will be my last outline shader for XPS—the end of the line. Inside the compressed file, you’ll find detailed instructions to guide you through setup and customization. Happy rendering!

I want to sincerely thank all of you for your support—without it, this shader probably wouldn’t exist.

Special thanks to my friend WOLFBLADE111, who has used the shader in his awesome renders and supported me by giving credit. Thank you, my friend! 🙌

Here the instructions (Also included in the compressed file)

Toon Shader Ultimate V21 - User Guide

For XNA Posing Studio (XPS) 11.8.9

🚀 1. Installation & Ussage

Extract the compressed file and put the "1 Toon Shader Ultimate.fx" inside the "shader" folder in XPS. (You can rename the .fx to whatever you want, just leave the .fx at the end)

Open XPS and in the Control Windows go to the Shader Tab and choose the "User Written Shader" submenú Go to File > Load Shader and choose the 1 Toon Shader Ultimate.

🎮 2. Real-Time Controls (XPS Interface)

You do not need to edit the code to adjust the basic look. Use the standard XPS windows:

User Shader Parameters (UserParameter1 ~ UserParameter4): To access these options, press the J key in the XPS window where models are loaded (not the control window). A new window will appear showing 4 user parameters, each with a slider that can be adjusted in real time.

UserParameter 1 (Outline Thickness): Controls the width of the black outline. 0.0 = No outline, 0.3 = Thin / Game-style, 1.0 = Thick.

UserParameter 2 (Specular Intensity): Controls the strength of the gloss/highlights on the model. 0.0 = Matte, 1.0 = Maximum metallic shine.

UserParameter 3 (Toon Shadow Area): Defines the size of the shadow region. 0.0 = Shadows cover a large area, 1.0 = Shadows are minimized or absent.

UserParameter 4 (Shadow Edge Softness): Controls the transition between light and shadow. 0.0 = Sharp, hard-edged Toon style, 1.0 = Blurred, soft gradient.

Lighting Parameters (Light 1, Light 2, Light 3):

Light 1 (Main Toon Light): Controls the primary illumination and shadow direction.

Light 2 (Secondary Toon + Shadow Tint): Acts as a secondary, independent Toon light source. Additionally, its color will subtly tint the shadows cast by Light 1, adding warmth or environmental hues to the dark areas.

Light 3 (Rim Light): Provides a backlight/rim light effect based on your camera angle. Useful for separating the character from dark backgrounds.

🛠️ 3. Advanced Configuration (Editing the Code)

If you want to customize the default shadow colors or disable outlines for specific parts of the model (Render Groups), open the .fx file with a text editor (like Notepad).

A. Changing the Global Shadow Color:

Look for the // --- SHADOW COLOR PRESETS --- section near the top of the file. We have included several commented presets.

To activate a preset, simply replace the line "static const float3 _GlobalDefaultShadowColor = float3(0.22, 0.12, 0.105); // Fallback shadow for unlisted RGs." or just replace the "float3(0.22, 0.12, 0.105)

Example: To use a deep night shadow, copy the line without the // at the beggining "static const float3 GlobalDefaultShadowColor = float3(0.05, 0.02, 0.02); and replace the line static const float3 GlobalDefaultShadowColor = float3(0.22, 0.12, 0.105); // Fallback shadow for unlisted RGs. The mst important section to replace is the "float3(0.05, 0.02, 0.02)" part which gives the color.

B. Per-Render Group Controls (Outlines & Custom Shadows):

The shader includes a comprehensive list of Render Groups (RG 00 to 49).

Outlines: For any RG, you can turn the outline on/off by changing the boolean value:

static const bool RG01Outline = true; -> change true to false to hide the outline on that group.

Per-Group Shadow Colors: By default, all groups use the Global Shadow Color. If you want a specific mesh (like Skin) to have a warmer, pinker shadow color:

Set RGXXUseCustomShadow = true; (change false to true).

Change the RGXXShadowColor values. Example: static const float3 RG05ShadowColor = float3(0.75, 0.45, 0.50);.

💡 4. Quick Tips

Save your settings: Remember to save the .fx file in Notepad after making changes and reload it in XPS (File > Load Shader) to see the updates.

No shadows needed? Set the Shadow Depth slider of Light 1 to 0.0 in the XPS Lighting panel to completely remove the Toon shadow.