In this tutorial, we will create a hologram shader in Unreal Engine 5.6. The shader will feature a series of animated bands that simulate the appearance of a hologram, complete with a glowing edge and a customizable texture.
Step 1: Create a New Material
1. You will need a plain white texture and a Perlin noise texture (can be found in the content starter pack or imported).
*NOTE: You can find the starter pack content by going to Add > Add Feature or Content Pack > Content > Starter Content
2. If you want to add a texture such as the Earth or Jupiter, you will also need the appropriate texture.
3. Right-click in the Content Browser and choose Material.
4. Name the material M_Hologram.
Step 2: Set Material to Translucent
1. Double-click the material to open it in the Material Editor.
2. In the Details Panel, change the Blend Mode to Translucent.
Step 3: Create the Bands
1. To create three bands that move vertically, right-click in the material graph and search for World Position.
2. Hold down the S-key and left-click to add a Scalar Parameter node and name it Spacing1.
3. Set the Default Value of Spacing1 to 10 (you can adjust this later).
4. Drag out the Z of the World Position node and add a divide node.
5. Connect the Spacing1 scalar.
6. Drag out from the Divide node and add a Component Mask.
7. In the Detail Panel, choose only the Blue Channel to make the bands move vertically.
8. Drag out from the Component Mask and add a Panner node. Set the Y Speed to 2.
9. Drag out from the Panner node and add a Generated Band node. Set its input to Input Coordinates.
*NOTE: You can disconnect the Width by holding down the ALT key and left-clicking.
10. Create a Scalar Parameter by holding down the S-key and left-clicking. Rename this parameter to LineWidth1 and set the default value to 0.7.
11. Connect the second Scalar node to the Width input of the Generated Band.
12. Connect the Generated Band to the Base Color to see your first set of bands.
13. BONUS TIP: If you select your nodes and use the Q-key, you can quickly align the nodes.
14. Select all the nodes from the first band (Ctrl + C to copy, Ctrl + V to paste) and adjust the following parameters:
Change the Parameter name to LineWidth2.
Set the Default Value to 0.5
Select the Panner node and set the Speed Y to 4.
Change the Spacing Parameter’s name to Spacing2.
Change the Default Value to 20.
15. Select all the nodes from the second band (Ctrl + C to copy, Ctrl + V to paste) and adjust the following parameters:
Change the Parameter name to LineWidth3.
Change the Spacing Parameter’s name to Spacing3.
Change the Default Value to 1.
Step 4: Create a Fresnel Effect (Glow on Edges)
1. Right-click and search for Fresnel Function.
2. Create a Scalar Parameter called GlowPower and hook it up to the Power input. Set its default value to 5.
3. Hold down the T-key to add a Texture node.
4. In the Details Panel select the Perlin Noise for the Texture.
5. Add a Panner node and connect it to the UVs input of the Texture Sample.
6. Hold down the 3-key to add a Constant 3 Vector.
7. Connect the Constant 3 Vector to the Speed input of the Panner node.
8. Right-click and convert this to a parameter named EdgeGlowSpeed.
9. Twirl open the Default Value section in the Details Panel and set the Green channel to 0.05.
Step 5: Final Adjustments
1. Drag out from the Fresnel Function and add a Multiply node.
2. Connect the Texture Sample to the Multiply node.
3. Drag out from the Multiply node and add a second Multiply node.
4. Hold down the S-key and left-click to add a Scalar Parameter.
5. Rename it to GlowSize and set the Default Value to 30.
6. Connect the Scalar Parameter to the second Multiply node.
7. Drag out from the second Generated Band and add a Multiply node.
8. Connect the third Generated Band to the new Multiply node.
9. Drag out from the first Generated Band and add an Add node.
10. Connect the new Multiply node to the Add node.
11. Drag out from the Add node and add a Blender Overlay node.
12. Hold down the ALT key and left click to disconnect the two nodes and then connect the Add node to the Blender (V3) input.
13. Drag out from the Blender Overlay and add a Multiply node.
14. Connect the Multiply node from the Fresnel Function to this new Multiply node.
15. Drag out from the new Multiply node and add an Add node.
16. Connect the Base (V3) from the Blender Overlay to the A-input and the Multiply node to the B-input.
17. Connect the Add node to the Emissive Color input.
18. Hold down the S-key and add a new Scalar Parameter.
19. Rename the Scalar Parameter to Opacity.
20. Connect the Scalar Parameter to the Opacity input and change the Default Value to 0.5.
21. Hold down the 3-key to add a Constant 3 Vector.
22. Change the color to whatever color you want for the hologram.
23. Hold down the T-key to add a Texture Sample.
24. Right-click on the Texture Sample and convert it to a Parameter named Texture.
25. Drag out from the UVs and add a Panner node.
26. Hold down the 3-key to add a Constant 3 Vector and connect the Constant 3 Vector to the Speed input of the Panner node.
27. In the Details Panel, twirl open the Constant section and change the Red Constant to 0.05.
28. Right-click on the Constant 3 Vector and convert it to a Parameter – renaming it to TextureSpeed.
29. Drag out from the Constant 3 Vector and add a Multiply node.
30. Change the Texture to your White texture (which can also be accessed from the Starter Pack).
31. Connect the Texture to the Multiply node.
32. Connect the Multiply node to the Base (V3) of the Blend Overlay.
33. Apply and Save the Material.
Step 7: Convert to Material Instance
1. Right-click on the material and select Create Material Instance. Name it MI_Hologram.
2. Drag-and-drop the Material Instance onto your mesh.
3.. Double-click the instance to open its properties.
4. You can now adjust any of the parameters you have set up.
5. If you have an external texture you want to use – this is where you will add it.
6. Save the Material.
Conclusion
You’ve now created a customizable hologram shader in Unreal Engine 5.6. You can tweak various parameters in the Material Instance to adjust the appearance of your hologram. You can modify the color, speed, opacity, and texture to suit your needs. With this shader, you can create glowing, animated holograms in your projects.