> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://finite-machine-studio.gitbook.io/vatmachine-documentation/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://finite-machine-studio.gitbook.io/vatmachine-documentation/vat-material.md).

# VAT Material

A normal Unity material cannot play VAT animation by itself. The renderer must use a material with the VATMachine playback shader.

The included shaders are: 

**URP:** `VAT Machine/URP/VAT Playback`

**HDRP:** `VAT Machine/HDRP/VAT Playback`

These shaders read the baked VAT textures and move the mesh vertices during rendering.

* [URP VAT Material](/vatmachine-documentation/vat-material/urp-vat-material.md)
* [HDRP VAT Material](/vatmachine-documentation/vat-material/hdrp-vat-material.md)

### Generated VAT Materials

When [Generate Materials](/vatmachine-documentation/vat-baker.md#generate-materials) is enabled in the VAT Baker, VATMachine automatically creates VAT playback material copies for the generated prefab.

The generated materials are saved inside the Materials\_VAT folder.

### GPU Instancing

Generated VAT materials have GPU instancing enabled.

This helps VAT characters work better in scenes with many repeated animated objects.

VATMachine uses per-renderer playback data so multiple characters can share the same material while still playing different animation frames.

However, GPU instancing still depends on Unity’s normal rendering rules. Different materials, different render settings, lights, shadows, and render features can still affect batching.


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