# cloudiful-bevy-outline
Small reusable Bevy outline helper crate for geometry-shell outlines.
## What it provides
- `GpmoOutlinePlugin`: initializes default outline assets
- `GpmoOutlinePlugin::with_default_style(...)`: installs a custom default
outline style
- `OutlineStyle`: configurable color, emissive strength, and shell scale
- `OutlineAssets`: default cached material/style resource
- `OutlineShell`: marker component for spawned outline meshes
- `create_outline_material(...)`: build a custom outline material from an
`OutlineStyle`
- `outline_shell_transform(...)`: build the transform used for shell scaling
- `spawn_outline_mesh(...)`: attach an outline mesh with a custom material/style
- `spawn_default_outline_mesh(...)`: attach an outline mesh using the plugin's default style
## What it does not provide
- screen-space outlines
- stencil-based outline passes
- automatic mesh duplication for arbitrary scenes
This crate intentionally stays simple: it supports the common "draw a slightly enlarged backface-only shell" outline technique.
## Usage
Add the plugin:
```rust,no_run
use bevy::prelude::*;
use cloudiful_bevy_outline::GpmoOutlinePlugin;
App::new().add_plugins((DefaultPlugins, GpmoOutlinePlugin::default()));
```
Spawn an outline child with the default material/style resource:
```rust
use bevy::prelude::*;
use cloudiful_bevy_outline::{OutlineAssets, spawn_default_outline_mesh};
fn attach_outline(
parent: &mut ChildSpawnerCommands,
outline_assets: &OutlineAssets,
mesh: Handle<Mesh>,
) {
spawn_default_outline_mesh(parent, outline_assets, mesh, Visibility::Hidden);
}
```
Then toggle the outline child's `Visibility`.
The full runnable example lives at [`examples/basic.rs`](./examples/basic.rs).
## Default Style Flow
`GpmoOutlinePlugin` creates one default material at startup and stores it in
`OutlineAssets`.
- use `OutlineAssets` when many outline shells can share one default look
- use `GpmoOutlinePlugin::with_default_style(...)` when the whole app should
start with a different default style
- use `create_outline_material(...)` when one outline needs its own material
- use `outline_shell_transform(...)` when you need the shell scale without
spawning through the helper
Custom style example:
```rust,no_run
use bevy::prelude::*;
use cloudiful_bevy_outline::{GpmoOutlinePlugin, OutlineStyle};
App::new().add_plugins(GpmoOutlinePlugin::with_default_style(OutlineStyle {
color: Color::srgb(1.0, 0.6, 0.2),
emissive_strength: 3.0,
scale: Vec3::splat(1.12),
}));
```
## Technique
This crate uses a geometry-shell outline:
1. draw the normal mesh
2. draw a second mesh with front-face culling
3. scale that second mesh slightly larger
4. only the outside silhouette remains visible