Chromatic Aberration
The Chromatic Aberration shader simulates the color fringing that occurs when a lens fails to focus all wavelengths to the same point. It splits the image into its red, green, and blue channels and offsets them along a configurable angle.
Parameters
Intensity
| Range | Default | Step |
|---|---|---|
| 0–50 | 5 | 0.1 |
Controls how far the RGB channels are separated in pixels. Higher values produce more dramatic color splitting.
Angle
| Range | Default | Unit |
|---|---|---|
| 0–360 | 0 | Degrees |
The direction of the channel offset. At 0° the red channel shifts right and blue shifts left. Rotate to change the split direction.
Falloff
| Range | Default | Step |
|---|---|---|
| 0–1 | 0 | 0.01 |
Controls how much the effect concentrates at the edges versus the center:
| Value | Behavior |
|---|---|
| 0 | Uniform — same intensity across the entire image |
| 0.5 | Moderate — effect is stronger at edges, reduced at center |
| 1.0 | Maximum — effect only visible near the edges |
Info
Falloff creates a natural lens-like look where the center of the image stays sharp while edges show color fringing.
Keyframing
All three parameters support numeric interpolation:
- Animate intensity from 0 to peak for a glitch-in effect
- Animate angle for a rotating chromatic sweep
- Animate falloff to shift between uniform and edge-focused fringing
Use Cases
- Retro/VHS aesthetic — Low intensity (2–5), no falloff
- Glitch effect — Keyframe intensity with sudden spikes
- Lens simulation — Moderate intensity (5–10) with high falloff (0.7–1.0)
- Psychedelic — High intensity (20+), animate angle over time
Technical Notes
- Single-pass fragment shader
- Samples the texture three times per pixel (once per RGB channel) with offset based on intensity and angle
- Falloff is computed as a radial gradient from the center of the canvas