Math Essentials for Tech Art in Unreal Engine from Udemy

What's inside

Learning objectives

Learn practical mathematics for games: dot product, linear interpolation, 2d rotation and more
See each function in two environments: material (shader) nodes & blueprint visual scripting

Implement crucial techniques for graphics development: directional mask by normal, advanced interpolation, value range compression, time-based noise
Everyday examples: procedural snow layer, ghost material, rgb desaturation, flickering lightbulb, sin for uv rotation

Learn practical mathematics for games: dot product, linear interpolation, 2d rotation and more
See each function in two environments: material (shader) nodes & blueprint visual scripting
Implement crucial techniques for graphics development: directional mask by normal, advanced interpolation, value range compression, time-based noise
Everyday examples: procedural snow layer, ghost material, rgb desaturation, flickering lightbulb, sin for uv rotation

Syllabus

Learn how to use dot product in Unreal materials. Create a ghost effect, procedural snow layer, fake directional lighting and a silhouette glow.

Timestamps:

00:46 Silhouette glow
01:36 Math & values
03:37 Ghost transparency
07:44 Fake diffuse lighting
10:23 Procedural snow
12:52 Desaturation
15:32 Oversaturation

Learn how to mix values, blend textures and interpolate object transforms with Lerp.

Timestamps:

00:25 Math & values
02:43 Clamping to [0, 1]
03:40 Color mixing
04:41 Texture blending in materials
06:37 Better transition with HeightLerp
09:04 Lerp in Blueprint. Instancing
11:26 Mapping a For loop index to [0, 1] range
12:16 Location & rotation lerp
14:03 Landscape tiling fix
17:57 Camera depth with RemapValueRange

Use sine for a pulsing material, wave masks and a flickering light with emissive glow. Then jump to advanced examples, like 2D rotation and performance.

Use sine for a pulsing material, wave masks and a flickering light with emissive glow. Learn how to animate material and light color over time - in sync with Blueprint.

Timestamps:

00:25 Examples overview
01:07 Math & values
02:25 Nodes
03:10 Pulsing animated glow
04:00 Wave pattern in material
05:14 Blueprint: location displacement

Use sine for a flickering light in Blueprint, with animated material and synchronized light color. Rotate UV maps or any 2D vectors with sine and cosine. Learn about performance cost of sin/cos nodes - quarter-rate on RDNA architecture. Are they worth replacing with smoothstep (Hermite) approximation?

Timestamps:

00:22 Lamp: Time in materials and BP
02:12 Lamp: Noise equation
05:43 Math Expression node
07:31 Rotating texture UV in materials
09:50 Performance of sine & cosine on GPU
11:55 Approximating cos using smoothstep

Topics covered include vector math introduction, planar UV mapping for seamless texturing, UV animation (river flow).

This bonus video will teach you vector math basics, using texture coordinates (UVs) as the practical application.

What does it mean that vector operations in games are done per component
How to use addition to move UVs
How to use multiplication to scale UVs
Animate texture coordinates, like a flowing river
Seamlessly project a texture by doing automatic UV mapping

Activities

Be better prepared before your course. Deepen your understanding during and after it. Supplement your coursework and achieve mastery of the topics covered in Math Essentials for Tech Art in Unreal Engine with these activities:

Review Vector Math Fundamentals

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Reinforce your understanding of vector math, which is crucial for manipulating objects and textures in Unreal Engine.

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Review basic vector operations (addition, subtraction, scalar multiplication).
Practice vector normalization and dot product calculations.
Work through examples of vector transformations (translation, rotation, scaling).

Read 'Essential Mathematics for Games and Interactive Applications'

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Deepen your understanding of the mathematical principles behind the techniques taught in the course.

View Essential Mathematics for Games and Interactive... on Amazon

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Read the chapters on linear algebra and trigonometry.
Work through the examples and exercises in the book.
Relate the concepts to the material nodes and blueprints covered in the course.

Implement Dot Product Examples

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Solidify your understanding of the dot product by implementing the examples discussed in the course.

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Recreate the ghost effect using the dot product in Unreal Engine.
Implement the procedural snow layer using the dot product.
Experiment with different dot product applications for directional masking.

Four other activities

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Follow Advanced Material Tutorials

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Expand your knowledge by following advanced tutorials on material creation in Unreal Engine.

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Search for tutorials on advanced material techniques (e.g., tessellation, post-processing).
Follow the tutorials and implement the techniques in Unreal Engine.
Adapt the techniques to your own projects and materials.

Create a Procedural Material Showcase

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Apply the learned techniques to create a showcase of procedural materials in Unreal Engine.

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Design a set of procedural materials using the techniques from the course.
Implement the materials in Unreal Engine using material nodes and blueprints.
Create a video showcasing the materials and explaining the techniques used.

Read 'Real-Time Rendering'

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Gain a deeper understanding of the rendering pipeline and how materials are processed in real-time.

View Real-Time Rendering, Fourth Edition on Amazon

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Read the chapters on shading and texturing.
Focus on the sections related to material properties and lighting models.
Relate the concepts to the material nodes used in Unreal Engine.

Create a Material Function Library

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Develop a library of reusable material functions to streamline your material creation workflow.

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Identify common material patterns and create corresponding material functions.
Document the material functions and their usage.
Share the material function library with other students or the community.

Career center

Learners who complete Math Essentials for Tech Art in Unreal Engine will develop knowledge and skills that may be useful to these careers:

Technical Artist

A Technical Artist bridges the gap between artists and programmers, optimizing art assets and developing tools and workflows. This course, focusing on math essentials for tech art in Unreal Engine, directly helps a Technical Artist by providing practical solutions for material nodes and procedural generation. The course's examples, such as creating ghost effects, procedural snow layers, and animated materials with sine waves, offer immediately applicable techniques. Tech artists will appreciate the course's concise tutorials and real-world use cases.

See salaries and explore the career path for Technical Artist

Material Artist

A Material Artist specializes in creating realistic and visually appealing materials for 3D models and environments. For a Material Artist, learning math essentials can unlock advanced material creation techniques. This course directly addresses this need by offering practical solutions for material nodes in Unreal Engine. From procedural snow layers to animated textures using sine and cosine, the course provides a Material Artist with the tools to create stunning and dynamic materials. The course gives material artists the ability to create advanced shaders.

See salaries and explore the career path for Material Artist

Shader Developer

A Shader Developer writes code that controls how objects are rendered in a game engine. This course provides a solid base for a Shader Developer, particularly with its focus on material nodes and practical math applications within Unreal Engine. Understanding dot products for effects like directional masks and using sine waves for animation are crucial skills for creating custom shaders. Because the course covers the performance implications of different math functions, it may be useful to a Shader Developer.

See salaries and explore the career path for Shader Developer

Visual Effects Artist

A Visual Effects Artist creates stunning visual effects that add realism and excitement to games. This course provides a Visual Effects Artist with essential mathematical tools and techniques applicable to creating compelling effects in Unreal Engine. The course's coverage of topics such as dot products for ghost effects and sine waves for flickering lights directly translates into practical skills for crafting visual effects. Visual Effects Artists interested in expanding their skills in procedural effects might consider this course.

See salaries and explore the career path for Visual Effects Artist

Procedural Content Generator

A Procedural Content Generator develops algorithms and systems to automatically generate game content, such as levels, textures, and models. This course, with its emphasis on procedural generation techniques in Unreal Engine, provides a Procedural Content Generator with practical tools and knowledge. Topics like using sine and cosine for animation and creating procedural snow layers offer immediate applications for content generation. Procedural Content Generators can use the course to expand their skill set.

See salaries and explore the career path for Procedural Content Generator

Unreal Engine Developer

An Unreal Engine Developer builds games and interactive experiences using the Unreal Engine. This course's focus on math essentials and practical applications within Unreal Engine makes it a helpful resource for an Unreal Engine Developer. The course's coverage of material nodes, Blueprints, and techniques like UV manipulation directly supports the development process. Developers can leverage the course to gain a deeper understanding of the underlying mathematical concepts that drive visual effects and material creation.

See salaries and explore the career path for Unreal Engine Developer

Game Programmer

A Game Programmer writes code to bring game mechanics and features to life. While a Game Programmer may not directly work with visual effects, understanding the math behind them can improve their ability to collaborate with artists and optimize game performance. This course, focusing on math essentials for tech art, helps a Game Programmer understand how mathematical concepts are applied in visual contexts, particularly within Unreal Engine. By being able to better communicate with tech artists, the Game Programmer will function more effectively.

See salaries and explore the career path for Game Programmer

Texture Artist

A Texture Artist creates detailed and realistic textures for 3D models and environments. This course may be helpful for a Texture Artist seeking to expand their skillset with procedural techniques. The course's coverage of material nodes and UV manipulation within Unreal Engine provides tools for creating more dynamic and interesting textures. The course's example of procedural snow textures may be useful to the texture artist. A Texture Artist could use this course to create these kinds of textures.

See salaries and explore the career path for Texture Artist

Lighting Artist

A Lighting Artist is responsible for creating the lighting in a game environment. This course may be useful for a Lighting Artist because it covers several techniques directly related to lighting effects in Unreal Engine. The course includes practical examples such as creating flickering lights with emissive glow and fake directional lighting. The course may help a Lighting Artist use math to create visually interesting scenes.

See salaries and explore the career path for Lighting Artist

Level Designer

A Level Designer creates the environments and layouts for video games. Level Designers may find the course helpful to create procedural environment elements without having to rely on other team members. This course discusses creating procedural snow. This has a close connection with level design. Also, much work uses the Unreal engine, which is the focus of this course. The material can help Level Designers be more facile in their work.

See salaries and explore the career path for Level Designer

Animator

An Animator brings characters and objects to life through movement. This course may be useful for an Animator who wants to understand the mathematical principles behind motion and visual effects. While not directly focused on character animation, the course's coverage of sine waves for animation and UV manipulation can inform the creation of procedural animations and effects. The course may help Animators to improve their artistry.

See salaries and explore the career path for Animator

Software Engineer

A Software Engineer designs and develops software applications. A software engineer might be tasked with writing code that generates art. This course may give the Software Engineer the skillset required to conduct that task. Because of a lack of art skills, it may be difficult to communicate with the artists on the team.

See salaries and explore the career path for Software Engineer

Data Scientist

A Data Scientist analyzes and interprets complex data to solve problems and improve decision-making. A data scientist might be tasked with developing procedural generation for art assets. While this is not the primary focus of data science, this course might provide helpful data scientists with useful insight.

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Help Desk Analyst

A Help Desk Analyst provides technical support and assistance to computer users. This course provides fundamental knowledge about a variety of engines. As visual effects become more present in apps, a Help Desk Analyst may have occasion to help colleagues use these more effectively. This may be useful for a Help Desk Analyst.

See salaries and explore the career path for Help Desk Analyst

Market Research Analyst

A Market Research Analyst studies market conditions to examine potential sales of a product or service. Understanding the underlying technology may help a Market Research Analyst better understand the product cycle. By studying this course, a candidate might be able to more effectively perform the duties of a market research analyst.

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Math Essentials for Tech Art in Unreal Engine

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