How can I create my own graphic effect in WPF?

Question

I have an Image object in my application that a user can drag and drop. The object displays a partially transparent image, so through it you can see the background background (which in itself is a bitmap image).

I want to add a graphic effect for this object. Suppose I already have an algorithm for this effect - this is not a problem. The problem is how to get this algorithm in WPF.

So, I tried to see how DropShadowEffect works, but the implementation displayed in Reflector is empty. I also tried to see which methods from the abstract Effect and ShaderEffect I should override, and there seems to be something ShaderEffect to the actual effect.

So how do I create my own effect?

Answer 1

The best and fastest way is to use pixel shaders (supported since WPF 3.5 SP1, I think). This will require some shader language ( HLSL ) :-)

Here's a tutorial: How to: Create custom pixel shader effects for WPF

codeplex library : Windows Presentation Foundation pixel shader effects library

.NET 4 article (including the Sliverlight support that has it): SilverShader - Introduction to Silverlight and WPF Pixel Shaders

Answer 2

A very cool Shazzam tool (and resource), it helps you create effects and contains a good tutorial.