Is it possible to draw line thickness in a fragment shader?

Quite a lot is possible with fragment shaders. Just look what some guys are doing. I'm far away from that level myself but this code can give you an idea:

#define resolution vec2(500.0, 500.0)
#define Thickness 0.003

float drawLine(vec2 p1, vec2 p2) {
  vec2 uv = gl_FragCoord.xy / resolution.xy;

  float a = abs(distance(p1, uv));
  float b = abs(distance(p2, uv));
  float c = abs(distance(p1, p2));

  if ( a >= c || b >=  c ) return 0.0;

  float p = (a + b + c) * 0.5;

  // median to (p1, p2) vector
  float h = 2 / c * sqrt( p * ( p - a) * ( p - b) * ( p - c));

  return mix(1.0, 0.0, smoothstep(0.5 * Thickness, 1.5 * Thickness, h));
}

void main()
{
  gl_FragColor = vec4(
      max(
        max(
          drawLine(vec2(0.1, 0.1), vec2(0.1, 0.9)),
          drawLine(vec2(0.1, 0.9), vec2(0.7, 0.5))),
        drawLine(vec2(0.1, 0.1), vec2(0.7, 0.5))));
}

enter image description here

Another alternative is to check with texture2D for the color of nearby pixel - that way you can make you image glow or thicken (e.g. if any of the adjustment pixels are white - make current pixel white, if next to nearby pixel is white - make current pixel grey).


Here's my approach. Let p1 and p2 be the two points defining the line, and let point be the point whose distance to the line you wish to measure. Point is most likely gl_FragCoord.xy / resolution;

Here's the function.

float distanceToLine(vec2 p1, vec2 p2, vec2 point) {
    float a = p1.y-p2.y;
    float b = p2.x-p1.x;
    return abs(a*point.x+b*point.y+p1.x*p2.y-p2.x*p1.y) / sqrt(a*a+b*b);
}

Then use that in your mix and smoothstep functions.

Also check out this answer: https://stackoverflow.com/a/9246451/911207


No, it is not possible in the fragment shader using only GL_LINES. This is because GL restricts you to draw only on the geometry you submit to the rasterizer, so you need to use geometry that encompasses the jagged original line plus any smoothing vertices. E.g., you can use a geometry shader to expand your line to a quad around the ideal line (or, actually two triangles) which can pose as a thick line.

In general, if you generate bigger geometry (including a full screen quad), you can use the fragment shader to draw smooth lines.

Here's a nice discussion on that subject (with code samples).