Create master materials in Unreal Engine
The objective of this course is to teach students how to learn the basics and get accustomed to Node Based shader systems, whether in Unreal Engine or in other Texture Authoring Programs or Engines. They will create materials and textures for video games in Unreal Engine. Students will learn to create materials on a modular basis and learn about various advanced materials used through Video Game productions in the Industry such as Vertex Painting, Foliage Shading, Landscape Material systems and other complex shaders. By the end of the course, students will have knowledge on how to create various types of Master Materials used across many teams in Production like; Props, Environment, Characters, FX and Lighting/Cinematics.
Registration Now Open
Registration Period
Oct 09, 2024 -
Jan 30, 2025
Course Start
Jan 25, 2025
Course Format
Standard
Skills Level
Intermediate
Duration
6 weeks
Q&A
Once a week
Feedback
Individual recordings
Lecture Type
Pre-recorded
Assignment
Due each week. Expect to spend 10-20 hrs/wk viewing lectures, q&a, and time on assignments
PREREQUISITES
Basic knowledge of Unreal Engine; Basic Knowledge of Texture Authoring Process, Basics of Modeling and UVing. course pre-reqs include: Advanced Substance for Environment Art
MATERIALS
Unreal Engine, Substance Designer/Painter or any other Program to create textures
The more you know, the better.
Week #1
Introduction and Overview of Textures and UE4 Material Editor
We will go over the basics of PBR textures used in UE4 & UE5, Texture Packing and overview of the Unreal Engine Material Shader System. Also go over changes within UE5. (Add additional lesson on Texture Sampler Presets)
Week #2
Master Materials & Material Functions & Math
We will breakdown Master Materials, Instances and the overall benefit in production of using the feature. We will also work on creating parameters and basics of Math in regards to shader systems and art. (Also go over uses of Math nodes). Finally we will go over the Modular workflow of Master Materials and how we can organize better with Material Functions.
Week #3
Complex Materials and Details Maps
In this lesson we will go over more complex uses of Math such as; Time, Sine and Cosine as well as Panner and Rotator. We will also go over other special materials used in games, media, & flipbook animations. Things such as Transparent/Glass, Fresnel, SSS, Clearcoat and Velvet, moss, and Post Process Materials and HDRi sky materials
Week #4
Advanced Materials Shaders I (Landscapes, Vertex Painting, Tri-Planar & Position Maps)
We will go over Landscape Materials and how we create layer blending, we also will go over other Complex Materials used by Environment and Prop teams such as Vertex Painting, Weight Painting, Position based effects and other blending techniques. Add lesson WPO World Position Offset (Moving Flag, Grass, Icicles)
Week #5
Advanced Materials Shaders II (Parallax, Tesselation & Decals)
This lesson will go over more complex and expensive shaders such as Parallax, Tesselation and Decals (Deferred & Mesh Decals). Breakdown differences in UE4 & UE5, Go over new uses of Displacement in UE5 and Interior Mapping.
Week #6
Advanced Material Shaders III (Foliage, Mesh Distance Fields, Virtual Textures)
Finally we will go over Foliage and other features currently in Unreal Engine such as Mesh Distance Fields and Virtual textures and how both can be used practically, but also Pros and Cons overall. Make Water Lesson separate as it seems too complex for Non Environment Artists. Go over Substrate materials
STUDENT GALLERY
Real heroes don't wear capes, they teach
LECTURES BY
Hugh Trombley
Course Start: Jan 25, 2025
Hugh is currently working as a Material Artist at Playstation Studios Visual Arts, a Sony Playstation team dedicated to developing and supporting First Party studios across the Playstation Studio network. He has worked on numerous environments on various AAA productions and projects for over 7-years. He's worked on titles such as Naughty Dog's The Last of Us Part 1,Infinity Ward's Call of Duty Infinite Warfare and three VR titles for Sanzaru Games; Marvel: Powers United and Asgard's Wrath and Asgard's Wrath II. His work has been featured on the 80.lv homepage & Polycount
Instructor's Gallery
PRICING SCHEDULE
Even though our courses are the most affordable for the quality of education, these finance options allow you to focus on your goals instead of the barriers that keep you from reaching them.
3x Payments
$199.67
2x Payments
$299.50
Full payment
$599
Winter TERM REGISTRATION
Now Open
Oct 09, 2024 -
Jan 27, 2025
COURSE BEGINS on Jan 25, 2025
What makes this learning experience unique?
PERSONALIZED FEEDBACK
Receive personalized feedback on all assignments from the industry’s top professionals.
LIFETIME ACCESS
Enjoy lifetime access to the spectrum of course content, including lectures, live Q&As, and feedback sessions.
CERTIFICATION
Show off your Certification of Completion when you turn in 80% of course assignments.
FLEXIBLE LEARNING
Learn anywhere, anytime, and at your own pace with flexible, online course scheduling.
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