Unreal Engine 5 - Learn Environment Art for 3D Video Games from Udemy

What's inside

Learning objectives

Planning your projects professionally
Planning and creating modular building kits
Planning and creating trim sheets
Creating a clean project structure using 3ds max and unreal engine 5
Understanding and following the texel density guidelines
Integrating assets by increments in ue5
Creating basic and advanced shaders in ue5
Using weighted normals

Adding props for set dressing a scenne in ue5
Sculpting a custom terrain using ue5 landscape tool
Using the foliage tool to create an organic composition to complement your exterior environments
Environment lighting / post-process / composition for a final render
Creating high quality renders using the movie render queues
Creating a professional breakdown document for your portfolio
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Planning your projects professionally
Planning and creating modular building kits
Planning and creating trim sheets
Creating a clean project structure using 3ds max and unreal engine 5
Understanding and following the texel density guidelines
Integrating assets by increments in ue5
Creating basic and advanced shaders in ue5
Using weighted normals
Adding props for set dressing a scenne in ue5
Sculpting a custom terrain using ue5 landscape tool
Using the foliage tool to create an organic composition to complement your exterior environments
Environment lighting / post-process / composition for a final render
Creating high quality renders using the movie render queues
Creating a professional breakdown document for your portfolio
Show more
Show less

Syllabus

Introduction

Get to know the instructor and the main goal of the course

Overview of all the topics we will be covering over the course. Softwares used and alternatives.

Understand what matters to employers on Portfolios. How to research and gather references for Portfolio projects.

Using Pure Ref to organize our references.

Using Photoshop to plan our Modular Building Kit.

Using Photoshop to plan our Modular Building Kit continued.

Creating our Modular Building Kit in 3Ds Max. Modelling the Wall_Corner_01 Asset.

Creating our Modular Building Kit in 3Ds Max. Modelling the Wall_Window_01 Asset.

Creating our Modular Building Kit in 3Ds Max. Modelling the Wall_Window_01 Asset continued.

Creating our Modular Building Kit in 3Ds Max. Modelling the Wall_Door_01 Asset.

Creating our Modular Building Kit in 3Ds Max. Modelling the Roof_01 and Roof_Corner_01 Assets.

Creating our Modular Building Kit in 3Ds Max. Modelling the Roof_Top_Corner_01, Roof_Top_01, Tiles_Corner_01 Assets.

There was actually no ways of uploading the UE5 file, so I have uploaded all the external files for the Materials and Props as you will need them. Creation of the UE5 Project and Blockout import and assembly.

Creation of the UE5 Project and Blockout import and assembly continued. Setting up our camera for taking screenshots for our Breakdown.

Planning our Trim Sheets in Photoshop

Planning our Trim Sheets in Photoshop continued.

Creating our Trim Sheets in Substance Painter.

Creating our Trim Sheets in Substance Painter continued.

Creating our Trim Sheets in Substance Painter continued, establishing our Texel Density and Assets Unwrapping.

Establishing our Texel Density and Assets Unwrapping.

Assets Unwrapping.

Improving the Door.

Setting up our Assets for Tessellation in UE5

Setting up our Assets for Tessellation in UE5 continued.

Setting up our Assets for Tessellation in UE5 continued. Improving the Roof.

Improving the Trim Sheets. Creating the Chimney_01 Asset.

Improving the Roof and the Window.

Improving the Roof to its' final version.

Improving the Roof to its' final version continued.

Using Decals to add uniqueness to our Modular Assets.

Creating the Corner_Stones_01 Asset.

Creating our Base Glass Shader using a custom Mask created in Substance Painter.

Creating our Base Glass Shader using a custom Mask created in Substance Painter continued.

You will find the necessary Textures in the zipped folder named Additional_Materials. Setting up the shaders to use Vertex Painting.

Setting up the shaders to use Vertex Painting continued.

Fixing a few things on our Roof Assets.

Using Decals to add uniqueness to our Modular Assets continued.

Creating a basic Landscape using UE5 Sculpting tools and creating a basic Landscape Material for painting

The Grass Foliage type Assets can be obtained from the City Park pack on Fab (UE Marketplace). Migrating Foliage Assets and painting Foliage Assets using UE5 Foliage Tools.

Migrating Foliage Assets and painting Foliage Assets using UE5 Foliage Tools continued.

The Textures for the Material of the road can be found in the Additional_Materials zipped folder.

Setting up our Height-Blending Shader for the Road_01 Asset and setting up Vertex painting.

Setting up our Height-Blending Shader for the Road_01 Asset and setting up Vertex paintingcontinued.

Working on Composition by moving trees around and Set Dressing by adding Props.

Set Dressing by adding Props.

Improving our Height-Blending Shader.

Working on the Lighting.

Working on the Lighting continued.

Setting up the final render using the Movie Render Queue.

Setting up the final render using the Movie Render Queue continued.

Creating the Project Breakdown using Photoshop along with all our screenshots.

Creating our Project on Artstation and Publishing it.

Conclusion. How to push our Project further. What is next?

Last minute fixes before publishing our Project.

Traffic lights

Read about what's good

what should give you pause

and possible dealbreakers

Covers the complete workflow of environment creation, which is helpful for artists looking to understand the entire pipeline from conception to final integration

Focuses on planning and creating modular building kits and trim sheets, which are essential skills for efficient level design in game development

Teaches how to create a professional breakdown document for portfolios, which is useful for artists looking to showcase their work effectively to potential employers

Requires downloading Unreal Engine 5, a DCC package (3Ds Max, Maya, or Blender), 2D editing software, and Substance Painter, which may require additional costs and setup for some learners

Uses Unreal Engine 5, which is a modern and industry-standard game engine, making the skills learned highly relevant for current game development practices

Explores topics such as weighted normals, vertex painting, and decals, which are techniques that can add unique visual elements to modular assets

Reviews summary

Unreal engine 5 environment art mastery

According to learners, this course provides a strong foundation and a professional workflow for creating environment art in Unreal Engine 5. Students praise the focus on modular building kits and trim sheets, which are crucial industry techniques. Many found it very helpful for building their portfolio and understanding what employers look for. While the course covers a wide range of topics from planning to final render, some mention that staying updated with Unreal Engine 5 changes or having prior knowledge of the required software (like 3Ds Max) can be helpful.

Need 3D modeling and texture tools.

"Be aware you will need access to 3Ds Max (or equivalent), Substance Painter, and Photoshop."

"The course focuses heavily on the workflow, assuming you have the required software available."

"Requires specific paid software like Substance Painter, which wasn't immediately clear to me."

Helps create strong portfolio pieces.

"Creating the breakdown document at the end was super valuable for my portfolio."

"This course project is perfect to showcase my skills to potential employers."

"I now have a complete environment piece ready for my Artstation."

Detailed look at key techniques.

"The sections on modular building and trim sheets were incredibly thorough and practical."

"Learning to plan and execute trim sheets from scratch was a highlight."

"Understanding the modular approach completely changed how I think about level design."

Learn professional game art pipeline.

"This course is great for learning the workflow needed for professional environment art."

"I feel confident now about the steps taken in a real game development pipeline."

"It really lays out the standard practices for modular kits and trim sheets, which is exactly what I needed."

"The course provides a solid understanding of industry standards..."

May be fast for absolute novices.

"While it says no prior knowledge is required, some basic familiarity with UE5 or 3D concepts helps a lot as the pace can be quick."

"As a complete beginner, I sometimes felt a bit lost and had to pause frequently."

"Might be better suited for those with a little prior experience in 3D or game engines."

Content may need adaptation for updates.

"Some parts needed slight adjustments because of updates to Unreal Engine 5 since the course was made."

"Keep in mind that UE5 is constantly evolving, so expect minor differences from the videos."

"Encountered a few small issues due to changes in UE5's interface/features, but nothing major."

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 Unreal Engine 5 - Learn Environment Art for 3D Video Games with these activities:

Review Texel Density Fundamentals

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Reinforce your understanding of texel density, a crucial concept for achieving consistent visual quality in game environments.

Browse courses on UV Mapping

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Read articles and watch videos explaining texel density.
Practice calculating texel density for different assets.
Experiment with different texel densities in a simple scene.

Read 'The Art of Environment Design'

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Gain a broader understanding of environment design principles to enhance your level design skills in Unreal Engine 5.

View Putting Knowledge to Work on Amazon

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Read the book, focusing on chapters related to composition and lighting.
Take notes on key concepts and techniques.
Reflect on how these concepts can be applied to your Unreal Engine 5 projects.

Create a Small Modular Kit

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Solidify your understanding of modular building kits by creating a small, self-contained kit with a specific theme.

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Choose a theme for your modular kit (e.g., sci-fi, medieval).
Plan the individual modules and their dimensions.
Model the modules in your chosen DCC software.
Import the modules into Unreal Engine 5 and assemble them into a small scene.

Four other activities

Expand to see all activities and additional details

Show all seven activities

Document Your Workflow

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Improve your understanding and retention by documenting your environment art workflow in Unreal Engine 5.

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Choose a specific task or process from the course.
Record a video or write a blog post explaining the steps involved.
Share your documentation with other students for feedback.

Lighting Challenges

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Sharpen your lighting skills by completing a series of lighting challenges in Unreal Engine 5.

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Find or create a simple scene in Unreal Engine 5.
Set a specific lighting goal (e.g., create a moody atmosphere, simulate a specific time of day).
Experiment with different lighting techniques and settings to achieve your goal.
Document your process and results.

Read 'Mastering Unreal Engine 5'

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Deepen your understanding of Unreal Engine 5's advanced features for creating photorealistic environments.

View Putting Knowledge to Work on Amazon

Show steps

Read the book, focusing on chapters related to Nanite and Lumen.
Experiment with these features in your own projects.
Compare your results to the examples in the book.

Portfolio Breakdown Document

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Practice creating a professional breakdown document for your portfolio, showcasing your skills and understanding of the environment art pipeline.

Show steps

Choose a project you completed during the course.
Gather screenshots and videos of your work in progress.
Write a detailed description of your process, highlighting your technical skills and artistic decisions.
Organize your materials into a clear and concise document.

Career center

Learners who complete Unreal Engine 5 - Learn Environment Art for 3D Video Games will develop knowledge and skills that may be useful to these careers:

Level Designer

A Level Designer crafts engaging and functional spaces within video games. This role is about more than just aesthetics; it's about flow, challenge, and storytelling through the environment. You'll use tools like Unreal Engine 5 to bring these spaces to life. The course focuses on planning projects professionally, 3D modeling tips, creating modular building kits, creating clean project structures, integrating assets in Unreal Engine 5, and creating high-quality renders. All these skills are essential for a Level Designer to succeed. A Level Designer should take this course to build a strong foundation in environment creation using Unreal Engine 5.

See salaries and explore the career path for Level Designer

Environment Artist

The Environment Artist is responsible for creating the visual elements of a game's world. This encompasses everything from terrain and foliage to buildings and props. An environment artist must have a solid understanding of 3D modeling, texturing, and lighting, as well as a keen eye for detail and composition. This course teaches modular building kits and trim sheets for video games, which are critical skills for game development. The course focuses on planning projects professionally, sculpting a custom terrain using the Unreal Engine 5 landscape tool, and using the Foliage tool to create organic compositions to complement your exterior environments. Aspiring environment artists will find this course invaluable.

See salaries and explore the career path for Environment Artist

Technical Artist

Technical Artists bridge the gap between artists and programmers, ensuring that art assets are performant and integrate seamlessly into a game engine. The Technical Artist streamlines workflows and troubleshoots technical issues. This often involves creating shaders, optimizing assets, and developing tools to improve the art pipeline. The course covers topics such as understanding and following the Texel Density guidelines, integrating assets by increments in Unreal Engine 5, creating basic and advanced shaders in UE5, and using Weighted Normals. The technical artist will find particular value in learning to optimize assets and work with shaders in Unreal Engine 5.

See salaries and explore the career path for Technical Artist

Shader Developer

The Shader Developer is responsible for creating the visual effects and materials that bring a game's world to life. This includes writing code to define how light interacts with surfaces, creating realistic textures, and implementing special effects. This course is very beneficial and focuses on creating basic and advanced shaders in UE5. In addition, it covers topics such as understanding and following the Texel Density guidelines, integrating assets by increments in UE5, and using Weighted Normals. For a Shader Developer, this course provides essential skills in shader creation and optimization within Unreal Engine 5.

See salaries and explore the career path for Shader Developer

3D Modeler

3D Modelers create the digital assets that populate a game's world, including characters, props, and environments. The 3D Modeler sculpts, textures, and optimizes these assets for use in a game engine. The course focuses on 3D modeling tips, planning and creating modular building kits, and creating a clean project structure using 3Ds Max and Unreal Engine 5. It also covers topics such as understanding and following the Texel Density guidelines, integrating assets by increments in UE5, and using Weighted Normals. A 3D modeler should take this course to build a strong foundation in environment creation using Unreal Engine 5.

See salaries and explore the career path for 3D Modeler

World Builder

The World Builder is in charge of crafting the overall environment and atmosphere of a video game. The World Builder weaves together all the individual assets that comprise the game's world, including terrain, buildings, and props, into a cohesive and immersive experience. This course focuses on topics such as planning your projects professionally, sculpting a custom terrain using UE5 Landscape Tool, using the Foliage tool to create an organic composition to complement your exterior environments, adding props for set dressing a scene in UE5, and environment lighting and post processing. This course will help any World Builder create immersive game environments as well as help them get inside the mind of employers.

See salaries and explore the career path for World Builder

Lighting Artist

The Lighting Artist is responsible for creating the mood and atmosphere of a game scene through the use of lighting. This involves placing lights, adjusting their properties, and creating custom shaders to achieve a desired look. This course may be useful because it will help artists create a final render, create high quality renders using movie render queues, and includes sections on Environment Lighting, Post-Process, and Composition for a final render. Aspiring lighting artists may find this course helpful in creating realistic environments in unreal engine.

See salaries and explore the career path for Lighting Artist

Virtual Reality Environment Designer

Virtual Reality Environment Designers create immersive and interactive environments for virtual reality experiences. It is important for the designer to have a solid understanding of 3D modeling, level design, and user interface design, as well as experience working with VR development tools. This course is a good fit, focusing on planning projects professionally, 3D modeling tips, creating modular building kits, creating clean project structures, integrating assets in Unreal Engine 5, and creating high-quality renders. Someone looking to become a Virtual Reality Environment Designer should take this course to build a strong foundation in environment creation using Unreal Engine 5.

See salaries and explore the career path for Virtual Reality Environment Designer

Game Artist

The Game Artist produces 2D and 3D assets for video games. They develop textures, models, lighting, and special effects. The course focus is on planning the projects professionally, 3D modeling tips, creating clean project structures, integrating assets by increments in Unreal Engine 5, adding props for set dressing a scene in UE5, sculpting a custom terrain with UE5 Landscape Tool, and much more. This course prepares the Game Artist to plan, create, and integrate assets used in video game development, providing a foundation for creating visual content.

See salaries and explore the career path for Game Artist

Texture Artist

Texture Artists create the surface details that bring 3D models to life. They generate textures using software such as Substance Painter and Photoshop. The course focuses on planning and creating trim sheets, understanding and following the Texel Density guidelines, integrating assets by increments in Unreal Engine 5, and using weighted Normals. Aspiring texture artists may find this course useful to develop skills in creating high-quality textures and materials for game environments.

See salaries and explore the career path for Texture Artist

Game Designer

Game Designers conceptualize and design the gameplay mechanics, story, and overall experience of a video game. They may find it helpful to understand the tools and processes used to create game environments. The course focuses on planning projects professionally, understanding the technical aspects of asset creation, and integrating assets in Unreal Engine 5 which may be useful. This course may help gain insights into the technical side of game development and the workflow of artists, and might improve the design of levels and environments.

See salaries and explore the career path for Game Designer

Animator

Animators create the movement and behavior of characters and objects within a game. An understanding of how assets are created and integrated into a game engine can be beneficial. This may be useful for animators who want to collaborate more effectively with environment artists and understand the technical constraints of game environments. The course focuses on integrating assets in Unreal Engine 5 and creating high-quality renders, which might provide insights into the final presentation of animated characters and scenes.

See salaries and explore the career path for Animator

Augmented Reality Designer

Augmented Reality Designers create interactive experiences that overlay digital content onto the real world. While this course focuses on video game environments. The course focuses on planning projects professionally, 3D modeling tips, creating modular building kits, creating clean project structures, and integrating assets in Unreal Engine 5. This course will provide a foundation in 3D modeling and environment creation that might be transferable to augmented reality development.

See salaries and explore the career path for Augmented Reality Designer

User Interface Artist

User Interface Artists design and create the visual elements of a game's user interface. This includes menus, heads-up displays, and other interactive elements. While the course focuses primarily on environment art, understanding the overall aesthetic and technical constraints of a game project can be beneficial. The course focuses on topics such as integrating assets in Unreal Engine 5, creating high quality renders, and creating a professional breakdown document for your portfolio. This course may provide a broader understanding of game development workflows and visual presentation.

See salaries and explore the career path for User Interface Artist

Quality Assurance Tester

Quality Assurance Testers test video games to identify bugs and ensure a high-quality player experience. While this course does not directly focus on testing, an understanding of game development processes and asset creation can be valuable for testers. The course focuses on planning projects professionally, creating modular building kits, integrating assets in Unreal Engine 5, and sculpting a custom terrain using UE5 tools. This course may provide insight into the technical aspects of game development and the potential areas where bugs might occur.

See salaries and explore the career path for Quality Assurance Tester

Unreal Engine 5 - Learn Environment Art for 3D Video Games

What's inside

Learning objectives

Syllabus

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Reviews summary

Unreal engine 5 environment art mastery

Activities

Career center

Featured in The Course Notes

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