Coated retarders based on liquid crystal materials are typically aligned by brushing or photo-alignment. Recently, we have managed to combine the aligning and retarder function into a single material. Alignment of the new volume photo-alignable retarder (VPR-) material is induced in the bulk upon exposure to linearly polarized light. The new alignment mechanism opens up a new dimension for the design of optical retarders, especially when combined with conventional surface alignment, which allows to induce complex tilt and twist profiles.