Which shader makes a 3D animal model look the best in Unity?

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I have a 3D animal model in the scene and I’m not sure which of the built-in shaders was made to make the model’s mesh look best. The Built-in Shader Guide doesn’t seem to specify the best shaders for animal models either.

Thanks for the ideas! I'm wondering how you get the Kinectimal or My Horse look in Unity, or if that's all done in a modeling program beforehand.

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hey UG ... in a word, it's impossible to do a look "that amazing" in Unity. I know that because I asked a question about it :-) http://answers.unity3d.com/questions/445818/could-kinectimals-surface-look-be-done-in-unity.html

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Got it, thanks! So is Diffuse + Normals + Bumps the best that can be done in Unity without taking a hit on performance?

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got it, I didn't before because I wasn't sure what's the "right" answer. but now the question should be closed. thanks

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that’s not a thing. they’re for different purposes. which utensil is best for eating with?

Diffuse is pretty good. It’s like chopsticks, you can basically eat anything with it. But if you end up with a steak you’re probably gonna need a knife or a normal map.

“Best” is super subjective, but often Diffuse + Normals + Bumps is the most desirable for an everyday object.

Thanks for the analogy--was wondering as Fattie commented, how you might get the look of Kinectimals? Is it Diffuse + Normals + Bumps plus some additional rendering within Unity?

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I agree with Louis -- a very pronounced normal map will go far. What about supplementing it with other effects such as a blur filter, lighting, or skeletal animation on the floppy parts like ears, tails, and dangling fur? So much of a character's "character" comes from animation.

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Kinectimals can be done through an extrusive shader, like I mentioned in his question. To get good framerate they may be using more efficient algorithms than the one I linked to, which as far as I know has not been optimized beyond the 'it works!' phase.

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FWIW UGal .... also experiment with Unity's CLOTH system, you never know it could be relevant. As Tony says, using skinned boned models is central to Unity and 3D. It sounds like you have heaps to learn and experiment with so enjoy. Please "TICK" any one of the helpful answers here as only you can close out the question. The person who gains the most points each month wins a Ferrari so we all really work hard to help people

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Vertex lit are the cheapest and Parralax bumped Specular being on the Heavier side. it really depends on the Animal too. for example you won’t make a furry ragged Moose(bumped Diffuse/ specular if wet maybe) look shiny smooth and wet like a seal(specular).

to create a mediocre “fur” effect by make edge extrusions from the body an texture them as you would with hair, like what Skyrim does with its Bears.

My Horse(Ios) looks like simple defuse shader, heck it may be vertex lit. Kinectimal how ever you either can write a Super-powered shader. or some how get some form of fur tech into unity, or do the bear method magnified I mentioned earlier. Unity just doesn’t have that ability to use fur like that yet. (it may be possible to add it as a plugin somehow, but its certainly out of my league).