---
title: "Effects — Visual Assets"
description: "Shader, particle, and overlay asset catalog"
type: design
status: active
---

# Effects — Visual Assets

Shaders, particles, and overlays — the visual-effects layer distinct from
models/textures/artwork/icons. Includes both 3D-scene shaders (toon,
recolor-mask, outline) and 2D `CanvasLayer` overlays (fog, cognitive-delay
cues).

## Generation Approach

Hand-authored GDShader files, proven in the 3dpipeline and quaternius-
aesthetic spikes (`toon.gdshader`, `toon_masked.gdshader`,
`outline.gdshader`, `toon_garment.gdshader` — see
`docs/architecture/character-asset-organization.md` Sections 2 and 11 for
the shader family already in production use under
`client/assets/characters/shaders/`). New effects (particles, screen-space
overlays) are authored per-need; there is no generation pipeline analogous to
`/glb-gen`/`/sprite-gen` for this category.

## Assets

| ID | Filename | Status | Type | Notes | Sprint/Ticket |
|----|----------|--------|------|-------|---------------|

This table intentionally excludes the character shader family already
tracked and documented in `character-asset-organization.md` (`toon.gdshader`,
`toon_masked.gdshader`, `outline.gdshader`, `toon_garment.gdshader`) — that
doc is their canonical home. This file catalogs effects/particles/overlays
that don't already have a home elsewhere; none exist yet (T-1050 initial
creation).

## Cross-References

- `docs/architecture/character-asset-organization.md` — character shader family (canonical home, not duplicated here)
- [D-244](../../../governance/decisions/architecture.md#d-244-asset-rendering--3d-objects-in-world-2d-limited-to-textures--flat-artwork)