Shadersand

Shadersand is a term used in computer graphics to describe a material and rendering approach that merges shader-based shading with granular sand simulation to reproduce realistic sand surfaces and interactions in digital environments.

The term emerged in graphics development communities to address the need for plausible sand visuals that can run in real time or near-real time, combining traditional physically based rendering with particle- or voxel-based sand representations.

Implementation typically uses a multi-layered model. A base PBR shader provides color, roughness, and reflectance for grains. A sand grain layer or particle system supplies density, distribution, and microgeometry details. Compute shaders or GPU-based instancing simulate grain motion under gravity, wind, and contact with objects, while a collision system handles interactions with terrain and props. Light transport is approximated with microfacet BRDFs, with density maps and heightfields producing dunes and ripple textures. Some approaches use sand-specific displacement maps to simulate surface perturbations without full particle updates.

Shadersand techniques are applied in video games, films, and architectural visualizations where realistic sand behavior and close-up detail are desirable but computationally constrained.

Challenges include performance trade-offs, memory usage, and maintaining stability across varying scales and wind conditions. The lack of a single standard means implementations vary by engine and author.

See also: shaders, granular materials, physically based rendering, compute shaders, particle systems.