Dissolve Effect
Surface that burns or fades away with a glowing edge
Also known as: Dissolve shader · Burn effect · Dissolve material · Disintegrate effect · Dissolve noise threshold
Definition
A dissolve effect makes an object appear to burn, fade or disintegrate away along a noisy edge, often with a glowing rim. The shader compares a noise texture with a threshold value: pixels where the noise is below the threshold become transparent or are clipped away, and pixels near the threshold get an emissive color that forms the glowing edge. Animating the threshold from 0 to 1 plays the dissolve, and the effect is used for spawns, deaths, teleports and fades.
In production
Use a masked or clipped opacity for crisp edges, and a smooth step around the threshold to make the glowing edge thicker or thinner. Choose the noise to suit the style, such as cloudy, cellular or hand-painted. Drive the threshold from a material parameter or a particle curve, and add particles at the edge for sparks. It works on opaque meshes, and the material is cheap.
