Immersive Technologies Skillnet has teamed up with Escape Studios UK to bring you workshops in Unreal Engine or as they call it – the most powerful real-time 3D creation platform!
Escape Studios UK are currently one of only two Unreal Engine Authorised Training Centres in both the Republic of Ireland and the UK. They have teamed up with Immersive Technologies Skillnet to bring you Unreal Engine workshops for beginner, intermediate and advanced users.
Whether you are using Unreal Engine for Game Development, Virtual Production, Real Time Rendering for animations or medical applications or using it for construction and engineering BIM integration applications, there is no doubt it is growing in popularity.
Workshops in March 2021 are as follows:
- Fundamentals: Cohort #4/15th & 16th March and Cohort #5/22nd & 23rd
(2 x 3hrs, 7.00pm – 10.00pm) - Realtime Rendering: 17th/18th March
(2 x 3hrs, 7.00pm -10.00pm) - Lighting: 20th
(1 x 6 hrs, 9.30am – 5pm) - Materials: 24th & 25th
(2 x hrs, 7.00pm – 10.00pm) - Blueprints: 27th
(6hrs, 9.30am – 5.00pm) - Niagara: 29th & 30th
(2 x hrs, 7.00pm – 10.00pm)
You can apply for any of the workshops here. If your application is successful we will send you payment information (or invoice if paying for multiple workshops/participants) in a separate email.
Or join our Unreal Engine Community here to get first refusal on upcoming Unreal Engine workshops.
IMPORTANT: Immersive Technologies Skillnet offers subsidised workshops & events for Irish based Enterprise, SMEs and Sole Traders only. If you operate outside of the Republic of Ireland you do not qualify.
There is a 7 day cancellation policy in place. Fees cannot be refunded if places are cancelled inside of the 7 day period prior to the commencement date (but can be transferred to another participant up to 24hrs in advance of commencement date).
Below you will find information on the subsidised Unreal Engine workshops offered via Immersive Technologies Skillnet to Irish based large Enterprise, SMEs and Sole Traders. All courses are delivered in English. You will need access to a computer to join the online classes.
You will need to have downloaded and installed Parsec and Zoom either on the same computer or on another device before the lesson begins. Parsec allows you remote access to assets & Unreal Engine on Escape Studio workstations. This option works well for people who don’t have a powerful enough computer to run Unreal Engine – but be aware! It uses a lot of bandwidth.
Downloading Unreal Engine and assets to your local drive is:
- preferable
- More fluid
- not reliant on a super stable internet connection beyond using zoom
- but it takes time…so it is advisable to prep the day before.
While you can do either (remote or local), working from your local computer is a better experience. However, having Parsec in place for back up in a remote learning situation is best practice.
You will also need a microphone and speakers/headphones in order to participate in the Zoom virtual classroom and a stable Internet connection to support both the Zoom meeting and the Parsec remote workstation connection if you are using it.
We recommend using a separate mouse and European/UK Keyboard Layout. A second monitor would be helpful but not necessary.
- Fundamentals of Unreal Engine
- Realtime Rendering For Animation
- Introduction to Lighting
- Introduction to Materials
- Introduction to Blueprints
- Introduction to Niagara
Fundamentals of Unreal Engine
Venue: Online
Duration: 6 hrs
Cost: €160 (normally €230)
Course Profile:
Training is delivered by Escape Studios tutors, using approved content and materials from Unreal Engine. Places are limited to deliver high quality training. They are allocated on a first come, first served basis for those who meet the entry criteria.
What’s covered…
- How to Install Unreal Engine
- The Epic Games Launcher
- Documentation and training resources
- Explore the Unreal Interface, windows and user environment
- Viewports
- Transformations, units and measurements in Unreal Engine
- Navigation and Basic Usage of the editors
- FBX Interoperability
- Mesh triangle counts
- Clean mesh construction
- Collisions
- LODs – Level of Detail
- LightMap UVs
- Static vs Skeletal Meshes
- Naming Conventions
- Unreal Engine PBR workflow
- Textures guidelines
- MipMapping
- Texture Packing
- Material Editor
- Creation of basic Materials
- Applying Materials to Meshes
- Static vs RealTime Lighting
- LightMass
- Light Types
- Controlling light
- Properties
- Light Mobility
- Lightmaps
Trainer Profile: Christian Avigni
Christian is one of the Games Tutors at Escape Studios. He has been teaching new creative talent for the past 6 years, working worldwide at places including Alpha Channel and the University of Hertfordshire. Christian has a wealth of experience, creating game assets for the next generation consoles such as the racing game ‘Formula Fusion’, and writing numerous published books about Unreal Engine including; UDK Basics, Level Design and Documentation and UDK Games scenarios integration.
Participant Profile:
Beginner: It is advised that participants have some 3D experience but not necessary
Realtime Rendering For Animation
Venue: Online
Duration: 6 Hrs
Cost: €160 (normally €230)
Course Profile:
In this workshop, you will learn the basics for working with Unreal Engine’s cinematic creation tool, Sequencer and how to produce an animated short.
What’s covered…
- Sequencer Window Overview
- Navigating Sequencer
- Cinematic Viewports
- Working with Tracks
- Master Sequences (Edits and Fades)
- How Cameras Work
- Using Camera Rig Set-Ups (Rail Rig/Crane Rig)
- Shots and Takes
- Play Rate (“Time-Warping”)
- Animation Curves and Transitions
- Basic Animation Importing/Exporting
- Skeletal Animation vs Geometry Cache
- Rendering Out Cinematics
- Blending Animations and Properties
- Post Processing for ‘Film Look’ Colour Grade in Engine
- Creating Sequences with Dynamic Transforms
- Using Spawnable Objects
- Recording to Sequencer
Trainer Profile: Michael Davies
Michael is the Programme Leader for Animation at Escape Studios. He has worked in VFX for over 10 years and as a freelance artist has pretty much worked in every department, in one way or another. Michael has worked for leading studios including Double Negative, ILM, The Mill and Prime Focus, and has worked on freelance projects with clients such as Unicef, Wired, 3D2D Studios and many more. He brings his experience of working on VFX blockbuster films such as ‘Batman vs Superman’, ‘Doctor Strange’ and ‘Thor Ragnarok’ to Escape Studios. Michael’s main area of expertise is based on work as a Character TD, involving a deep knowledge in modelling, texturing, rigging, and CFX but he has also worked as a Generalist and Supervisor. He has been helping to develop future creative talent by sharing his skills since 2014 and is also an accredited trainer for Maya at Autodesk. In 2020, Michael also became an Authorised Trainer for Unreal Engine.
Participant Profile:
Beginner To Intermediate: It is advised that participants have some 3D experience. A basic knowledge of Unreal Engine is also advisable to get the most from the class but not a pre-requisite.
Lighting In Unreal Engine
Venue: Online
Duration: 6 Hrs
Cost: €160 (normally €230)
Course Profile:
This course will include all you need to know to start lighting effectively in Unreal Engine. The first half 3hrs will focus on the fundamentals – learning how to manipulate and shape your lighting to achieve a desired look or mood. The second 3hrs will be more advanced using a large scene with raytracing enabled to create a realistic/ cinematic environment. RTX Graphics cards are used for this workshop.
What’s covered…
- Light Mobility (Static vs RealTime)
- Lightmass (Lightmap control and baking)
- Lighting Types
- Controlling light properties
- HDR lighting and backdrop
- Reflections
- IES Profiles
- Light Functions
- View modes and optimisation
- Sun positioning and sky
- Exposure control
- Fog and Volumetric lighting
- Lightmap settings in depth
- Raytracing
- Post processing effects
Trainer Profile: Philip Meredith
Philip is a Games Art Tutor at Escape Studios with over 10 years’ experience working in video games and computer graphics.
He worked with some of the most successful games studios in the UK including EA, Jagex, Rebellion and Climax, and has released thirteen video games including, Harry Potter: Deathly Hallows, Silent Hill: Shattered Memories, Runescape, Overlord and released his own game for iOS called Dead on Sight.
Participant Profile:
Beginner To Intermediate: It is advised that participants have some 3D experience but not necessary. A basic knowledge of Unreal Engine is also advisable to get the most from the class but not a pre-requisite.
Introduction To Materials
Venue: Online
Duration: 6 Hrs
Cost: €160 (normally €230)
Course Profile:
In this course you will be introduced to project file hierarchy. You will then complete a scene with animated materials. You’ll also get a taste of some of the more advanced nodes to create our VFX materials.
What’s covered…
- Introduction to Unreal’s Material pipeline
- First look at Unreal’s powerful material editor
- Shortcuts
- Navigation
- Introduction to PBR texturing
- Metal/Rough workflow
- General rules
- Creating a Master material with exposed parameters
- Creating a tiling master material to begin texturing our scenes
- Creating a Deferred decals material
- Build a decals material to add unique details and interest to our environment
- Creating translucent materials
- Build a glass material for our screen
- View shader costs
- Masking materials and blending together
- Using Lerp nodes and masks
- Creating animated materials
- Creating animated materials with panners
- Using emissive
- Creating dynamic materials which players can interact with through blueprints
- Quick view into blueprints and create a dynamic blueprint actor
- Creating and using Material functions
Trainer Profile: Juriaan Van Linschoten
Juriaan is a digital artist and also one of our associate tutors. He studied a Digital Arts degree at the University of Kent and then studied a Masters in Game Art with us in 2016. He then worked as a Studio Assistant for 10 months before joining us as an associate tutor for our game art courses. He has worked on a VR project for Hobs 3D which has travelled around Europe to be displayed on Airshows. He also worked on a collaborative project developed alongside Patrick Morgan, Jonothan McFall, Simon Fenton, Phil Meredith and Pol Escale that was hosted in the Victoria and Albert museum in December 2018.
Participant Profile:
Beginner To Intermediate: It is advised that participants have some 3D experience but not necessary. A basic knowledge of Unreal Engine is also advisable to get the most from the class but not a pre-requisite.
Introduction To Blueprints
Venue: Online
Duration: 6 Hrs
Cost: €160 (normally €230)
Course Profile:
In this course, you will learn the basics of the Blueprint viewport and the functionality of Blueprints. In the second part of the day you will have a more hands on approach to get comfortable with the Blueprint Viewport and functionality.
Learning what blueprints are – Theory
- How they are used
- Terminology
- Blueprint types
- Blueprint communication
- Inheritance
Navigating Blueprints
- When are events executed?
- Creating variables + what are they?
- Changing and exposing variables
Creating Blueprints
- Actor class
- Creating parents/child inheritance
Scene Interactions
- Box triggers
- Flow control – turning lights on/off
- Registering player input
- Debugging
Communicating between Blueprints
- Setting up a Blueprint interface
- Understanding the limitations of casting
- Sending information between blueprints
Creating a Door
- Using timelines
- Rotating an object
Driving multiple blueprints with one
- Arrays
- Flow control – for each loop
Basic Artist Access
- Learn how to use the construction script
- Flow control based on choices
- Changing static meshes and light types
Trainer Profile: Tom Harle
Participant Profile:
Beginner To Intermediate: It is advised that participants have some 3D experience. A basic knowledge of Unreal Engine is also advisable to get the most from the class but is not a pre-requisite.
Introduction to Niagara
Venue: Online
Duration 6 Hrs
Cost: €160 (normally €230)
Course Profile:
In this class, you will learn the basics of the Niagara interface and file hierarchy as well as creating your first Sprite based particles.
What’s covered…
- Niagara UI and Emitter/System hierarchy explained
- Breaking down the difference between Spawn and Update
- Building your first Particle Material
- Using Particle Colour to control your Sprites
- Covering the basic modules (Location, Velocity, Colour over Life etc.)
- Building your first Sprite based components
- Adding Randomness with Uniform Distributions
- Adding Randomness with Flipbook Textures
- Adding Mesh Particles and GPU particles to the Effect
- Building the specific Materials required for Mesh and GPU
- Dynamic Parameters and Particle Random
- Converting the Effect from a Looping system to a Burst
- Animating and Triggering the Burst system with Sequencer
- Local vs Global particles
Participant Profile:
Although this module is an introduction to Niagara, some 3D experience is advised.
For further information, please email manager@immersivetechnologiesskillnet.ie
For any technical issues when applying on the website please contact admin@immersivetechnologiesskillnet.ie
- 01.03.2021 Unreal Engine March Workshops
28th February 2021 - 29th March 2021
8:00 am - 10:00 pm
