Derivative Shaders is one of those hidden Minecraft shaders that most players never hear about, but once you try it, the visuals speak for themselves. It sits perfectly between cinematic quality and smooth performance, making it a great option for mid-range PCs. Even though it’s not available on Modrinth or CurseForge due to past controversies, many players still search for it because of its natural lighting, film-style clouds, and impressive FPS stability.
In this article, I’m simply sharing my experience using Derivative and explaining what makes it unique. This is not an endorsement or official support, just an honest look at a shader pack I personally enjoy testing.
A Perfect Middle-Ground You Shouldn’t Skip
When it comes to Minecraft shaders, the options are endless. Some packs lean into a soft, chilled ambiance with warm lighting and minimal effects, while others go fully realistic with heavy reflections, volumetric lighting, and extremely detailed shadows. But Derivative Shaders sits in a sweet spot between these two extremes, and that balance is exactly why it stands out.
Derivative focuses on cinematic quality rather than pure realism or stylized softness. The shader uses several visual techniques inspired by film-making, including smoother exposure transitions, camera-like depth of field, subtle color grading, and lighting profiles that imitate real-world lenses. The moment you load into a world, you’ll notice the film-quality clouds, a bright blue sky, and lighting that feels clean and natural without over-sharpening or over-saturating the scene. It creates a calm, immersive mood while still giving your game that polished, high-end look players expect from modern shaders.
What makes Derivative especially interesting is the way it handles cinematic tricks. The shader’s Film Profile uses visual cues similar to LUT-style grading, giving scenes a more dramatic contrast curve and a slight atmospheric haze that mimics movie-style rendering. The depth-of-field effect is also more controlled than in many shaders, staying soft and realistic rather than blurring everything aggressively. These small choices make the world look more like a real landscape recorded through a camera instead of a typical game render.
Despite all this cinematic processing, Derivative performs surprisingly well. It delivers visuals that feel more premium than many popular shaders, yet it consistently runs smoother on mid-range hardware. This balance of performance, realism, and film-like atmosphere is rare, and it’s the main reason Derivative has become one of the few shaders worth recommending to players who want beautiful graphics without destroying their FPS.
After testing countless shaders over the years, from lightweight performance-focused packs to ultra-realistic cinematic giants, very few have ever made me stop and seriously reconsider my main setup. But Derivative did. The overall visual direction, especially in its Film Profile, feels so intentionally crafted that it almost blurs the line between Minecraft gameplay and a pre-rendered scene. The moment you switch to the Film Profile, the lighting shifts into a more dramatic tone, the colors settle into a subtle cinematic grade, and the depth-of-field behaves more like an actual camera lens rather than a generic blur effect. It transforms simple landscapes into something that looks directed, not just rendered. That’s why I found myself genuinely thinking, “Should I switch to this as my main shader?” And honestly, once you experience the Film Profile for yourself, you’ll understand exactly why it’s one of the most cinematic shader experiences available in Minecraft right now.
Compatibility
Derivative was published on April 3, 2024 and is compatible with a wide range of Minecraft versions.
Below is the compatibility table:
| Minecraft Version | Compatibility |
|---|---|
| 1.21.10 – 1.21 | Supported |
| 1.20.6 – 1.20 | Supported |
| 1.19.4 – 1.19 | Supported |
| 1.18.2 – 1.18 | Supported |
| 1.17.1 – 1.17 | Supported |
| 1.16.5 – 1.16 | Supported |
| 1.15.2 – 1.15 | Supported |
| 1.14.4 – 1.14 | Supported |
| 1.13.2 – 1.13 | Supported |
| 1.12.2 – 1.12 | Supported |
| 1.11.2 – 1.11 | Supported |
| 1.10.2 – 1.10 | Supported |
| 1.9.4 – 1.9 | Supported |
| 1.8.9 – 1.8 | Supported |
POM and PBR Support – A Major Advantage for Texture Packs
Derivative fully supports PBR (Physically Based Rendering) and POM (Parallax Occlusion Mapping), which is perfect for players who love detailed or 3D texture packs.
It works extremely well with packs like:
These packs rely on labPBR to show material depth, reflections, and 3D surface details, and Derivative handles all of this beautifully.
Why Derivative Isn’t on Modrinth or CurseForge
It’s important to stay transparent.
Derivative, like IterationT, was created by a developer from the Chinese Minecraft community. Both shader packs became popular for their visuals but were also involved in copyright issues. Parts of their code came from other shaders, including SEUS Renewed, without proper permission.
In the shader community, reusing code is common when the license allows it:
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Complementary was based on BSL
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Rethinking Voxels took inspiration from Complementary
However, in Derivative’s case, the permissions weren’t followed, which led to licensing violations.
Because of this, the shader is not available on:
It exists only through a few third-party sources.
My Experience Using Derivative
Derivative has been one of the few shaders that genuinely surprised me in a long time.
Most shaders either go super soft and atmospheric or completely over-the-top with heavy
realism, but Derivative manages to sit perfectly in the middle. It gives you film-quality
clouds, a clean blue sky, and smooth lighting without oversharpening the colors. The game
feels calmer and more natural, yet clearly more polished than your usual starter shaders.
What impressed me even more is how it still performs better than many shaders with the
same features. It’s honestly one of the first shaders in a long time that made me think,
“Should I switch to this as my main?” You can see exactly what I mean in the showcase
video on the left.
I like Derivative mainly because it delivers one of the best visuals-to-FPS ratios I’ve
seen in a mid-range shader. With just a few tweaks inside the settings, I was able to
make it run noticeably smoother — in fact, I managed to push my performance to almost
double while still keeping the same clean visual quality. This shader has a surprising
amount of optimization potential if you know which settings to adjust, and the
improvements can be far more dramatic than you’d expect.
I’ve made a short tutorial showing the exact changes I used to boost my FPS, so if you
want the same results, you can watch the video on the left.
I’ll soon share my custom .txt settings file on YouTube for anyone who wants
the same setup.
Download Derivative Shaders
Derivative isn’t available on official hosting platforms due to past licensing issues, but the file is still accessible through a direct link.
Downloading and using this shader is completely your choice — I’m simply reviewing it and providing the link for players who want to try it.
Direct Download Link (Official File)
How to Install
-
Download the shader
.zipfile -
Open Minecraft with Iris or OptiFine
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Go to Options → Video Settings → Shader Packs
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Click Open Shaderpacks Folder
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Drop the
.zipfile inside (do not extract) -
Select Derivative from the list and enjoy
Disclaimer:
We do not create or modify any of the shader packs or texture packs featured on this website. All credit belongs to their respective creators. Some projects, including Derivative, are not hosted on official mod platforms due to licensing or availability issues. In these cases, we provide a download link solely for user convenience.
Ryxelix does not endorse or promote any specific creators or projects. The decision to download or use any shader is entirely your own. If you find a broken link, please let us know in the comments and we will update it promptly.