Why does my URP decal land on terrain but skip my character?

By default URP's Decal feature uses DBuffer or Screen Space techniques. Screen Space supports skinned meshes only if Skinned Mesh is enabled in the Decal Renderer Feature settings; DBuffer requires GBuffer (deferred) and a forward-renderer skinned mesh won't be hit.

Which technique should I pick?

For skinned characters, Screen Space + Surface Data: Albedo. It's cheaper than DBuffer and works with both forward and deferred. Quality is lower than DBuffer but acceptable for blood splats, scars, decals on moving characters.

Decal still missing after enabling Skinned Mesh?

Verify the SkinnedMeshRenderer's bounds; URP culls before projecting. Increase Update When Offscreen or set custom Local Bounds covering the projector volume. Also check the projector's max draw distance.

Fix: URP Decal Projector Skips Skinned Meshes

Quick answer: URP Renderer asset → Decal Renderer Feature → Technique = Screen Space → enable Skinned Mesh. Verify SkinnedMeshRenderer bounds enclose the projector.

Decal lands cleanly on the ground. Walks onto your character. Disappears. URP’s Decal Renderer Feature opts skinned meshes out unless you toggle the box.

The Symptom

DecalProjector volume crosses both terrain and a character. Static surfaces accept the decal; the SkinnedMeshRenderer doesn’t.

The Fix

Open the URP Renderer (Forward or Deferred). Locate Decal Renderer Feature in the Renderer Features list. Set:

Decal Renderer Feature
  Technique:        Screen Space
  Surface Data:     Albedo (or Albedo + Normal)
  Skinned Mesh:     true   // the missing toggle
  Use GBuffer:      false  // for forward; true for deferred

Save. Decals now project on skinned characters.

Bounds Gotcha

Skinned mesh culling uses pre-skinning bounds. If your animation extends limbs outside the imported bounds, decals (and shadows) won’t apply at the extremes. Either enable Update When Offscreen on the SkinnedMeshRenderer or set explicit local bounds.

Verifying

Place a decal projector covering both ground and character. Both should now show the decal. Frame Debugger: Decal pass should include skinned mesh draw calls.

“Screen Space + Skinned Mesh on. Bounds correct. Decal lands.”

Related Issues

For Shader Graph include path, see custom function. For shader keyword stripping, see keyword stripping.

Skinned mesh box. Bounds enclose. Decal sticks.