Shadow Acne and Peter Panning in Unity
Striped shadows or shadows detached from objects
Also known as: Unity shadow acne · Unity peter panning · Unity shadow artifacts · Unity striped shadows · Unity shadow bias · Unity shadows floating
Quick answer
Shadow acne is a pattern of stripes or speckles on lit surfaces, and peter panning is a shadow that floats away from its object. Both come from the shadow bias. In Unity, adjust Depth Bias and Normal Bias on the light, or in the URP pipeline asset under Shadows: raise the bias a little to remove acne, and lower it if shadows detach.
How to fix it
Change the values in small steps and judge them on the surfaces that look worst, usually walls and ground at a low sun angle. Normal Bias often fixes acne with less detaching than Depth Bias. Check the shadow distance and cascade settings too, because stretched, low-resolution shadows look like artifacts. Thin geometry makes bias harder, so give walls and floors real thickness.
