A method for generating a texture shader is described. A user interface for editing the texture shader is displayed. The texture shader has a plurality of parameters that affect rendering characteristics of the texture shader. Displaying includes displaying a widget for at least one parameter of the plurality of parameters, and applying the texture shader to an input image using current values of the plurality of parameters to generate a preview of the texture shader. A user input that changes a value of a parameter of the at least one parameter is received via at least one widget. The texture shader is applied to the input image using the changed value of the parameter to generate the preview of the texture shader. The preview of the texture shader applied to the input image is displayed.