Toon Cel Shader — the anime-style shader for Minecraft

Toon Cel Shader turns Minecraft into a real cartoon: black outlines around blocks and mobs, flat-shaded lighting (cel-shading), and punchy saturated colors. Unlike realistic shaders (Complementary, BSL, Kappa...), it's not chasing photorealism — it's built for a stylized look, and stays very light on performance.

Why pick this shader?

🎨 Anime/toon style: black outlines + banded shading, no photorealistic blur.
⚡ Very lightweight: runs fine on low-end PCs, integrated graphics included.
🔧 Compatible with both Iris and OptiFine.
🎛️ Fully customizable in-game: shadow band count, saturation, outline strength — no config file editing needed.
🖥️ Great for videos, machinima, and stylized/cottagecore builds.

Compatible with

Iris (Fabric / NeoForge) and OptiFine, Minecraft 1.20+.

Installation

Install Iris or OptiFine.
Drop the .zip file (don't unzip it) into .minecraft/shaderpacks/.
Video Settings > Shaders > select Toon Cel Shader.

FAQ

What is a "toon" or "cel-shading" shader in Minecraft? It's a shader that replaces realistic lighting with flat color bands and black outlines, giving Minecraft a cartoon look instead of simulating physical light.

What's the lightest anime-style shader for Minecraft? Toon Cel Shader is built exactly for that: no global illumination or ray tracing, just a cheap stylized shading pass that barely costs any FPS.

Does this shader work with OptiFine or only Iris? Both — Iris (Fabric/NeoForge) and OptiFine are supported.

Does it run on a laptop or integrated graphics? Yes — that's the whole point: a stylized look that stays playable without a dedicated GPU.

Toon Cel Shader — Anime Style