A free Blender demo file showing off the Raycast shader node introduced in Blender 5.1 — an X-ray skeleton arm that renders in real time in EEVEE. The download includes the file and the full node setup.
Why the Raycast Node Matters
Shaders traditionally only know about the surface being shaded. They cannot ask questions about the rest of the scene — what is behind this point, how far away, what is inside this object.
Raycast changes that. A shader can fire a ray and use what it hits. That unlocks a category of effect which previously required either geometry tricks or a full path tracer.
What the X-Ray Demo Shows
Rendering internal structure through a surface — bones visible through skin — in EEVEE, in real time. Previously that meant transparency stacking, careful render-order management, or moving to Cycles and accepting the render cost.
The demo is a proof of concept, but the technique generalises: subsurface approximations, internal detail, thickness-driven shading, and effects that need to know what lies beyond the surface.
Why Demo Files Are Worth Downloading
A node setup you can open and take apart teaches more than a tutorial video. You can disconnect nodes to see what each contributes, change values and watch the result, and lift the technique into your own work.
For a new feature like Raycast, a working example is often the fastest way to understand what it is actually for — documentation tells you what a node does, a demo shows you why you would want it.
Version Requirement
This needs Blender 5.1 or later, since the Raycast node did not exist before. Opening it in an older version will not work — worth checking before downloading. See our Blender version guide for what is current and whether to upgrade.
Creator: Cartesian_C · Price: Free · Requires: Blender 5.1+
See what else arrived recently in our Blender 5.2 guide, and what is planned for 5.3.