Why does my UI overlay camera erase the world behind it?

The overlay camera's clear flag is wrong. Set Render Type = Overlay (not Base), and the overlay only renders its own contents on top of the base camera's output. Solid Color clear erases the base.

How do I add an overlay to the stack?

Base camera Inspector → Stack → +. Pick the overlay cameras in render order. URP composites Base output then each Overlay's culled output on top.

Should the overlay use Skybox clear?

No. Skybox clear renders the skybox before content, blanking the base layer. For overlay cameras the only valid clear is Depth Only (or Don't Care).

Fix: Unity Camera Stack Overlay Clear Color Wrong

Quick answer: URP camera stack: Base camera renders the world, Overlay cameras render on top. Overlays must have Render Type = Overlay (not Base) and clear Depth Only (not Skybox or Solid Color).

Game has a Base camera for the world and a separate camera for first-person weapon. The weapon camera is set up as Base by mistake, so it clears the framebuffer to its skybox before drawing the weapon. Result: the world disappears.

The Symptom

Overlay layer (weapon, UI 3D, mini-scene) renders correctly but blanks the world behind. Or one camera’s clear color overrides another’s.

The Fix

Step 1: Set Render Type.

WorldCamera (Base):
  Render Type:    Base
  Background Type: Skybox
  Stack:          [WeaponCamera]

WeaponCamera (Overlay):
  Render Type:    Overlay
  Clear:          (auto: depth only)
  Culling Mask:   Weapon layer only

Render Type = Overlay tells URP to skip framebuffer clear for color and only clear depth. The Base camera’s output remains; weapon draws on top.

Step 2: Stack the overlay. On WorldCamera, expand Stack. Click + and pick WeaponCamera. URP renders WorldCamera, then composites WeaponCamera’s output (with shared depth, cleared at start of WeaponCamera).

Step 3: Culling masks. Each camera should cull only the layers it renders. World camera: Default + everything except Weapon. Weapon camera: Weapon only.

Camera Stack Limitations

Volume effects (post-processing) on Base apply to the whole stack. Overlays can’t add their own post stack independently — they share the Base’s. Plan VFX accordingly.

Verifying

Switch the WeaponCamera to Overlay. World should remain visible with the weapon drawn over it. If the world still vanishes, Render Type didn’t change or the camera isn’t in the stack.

“Overlay type. Depth-only clear. Stacked on Base. World plus weapon.”

Related Issues

For Volume effects not applying, see Volume not applying. For Cinemachine blends, see Cinemachine blend.

Overlay type. Stack on Base. World remains.