Kosuke begins this Unreal Engine workshop by discussing that great art requires more than technical proficiency with software or good assets. By prioritizing and balancing key elements like light and composition, color theory, storytelling, and fine detail, artists can systematically develop professional-quality work.

Duration: 26m 44s

In this lesson, Kosuke runs through some Unreal Engine fundamentals including how to get started, the theory behind the software, and its technical abilities. Highlights include Unreal Engine's native Nanite automatic optimization system and the Lumen’s real-time lighting system, which are just some of the reasons why the software is so powerful. Kosuke covers the basics, like mastering the Epic Games launcher, marketplace downloads, project version compatibility and content management, so artists can easily get started with Unreal Engine.

Duration: 32m 21s

Continuing to look at Unreal Engine fundamentals, Kosuke takes us into a project to go over more basics, including navigation, view port settings, content browser management, and more. Understanding how assets work and are organized in your scene is also covered, so that you can manage the truly massive amount of assets that Unreal Engine can handle. Versioning is also covered, along with how to update and store assets.

Duration: 33m 45s

In this lesson, Kosuke enters the blocking phase, one of the most valuable stages of scene creation, as it establishes the compositional and lighting foundation that the rest of the project will be based on. By locking in those initial elements and working with simple geometry, Kosuke doesn't lose time fussing over unnecessary details. Using the fundamental rules of art composition, and taking advantage of techniques like placing shadow-casting objects, he can effectively stage the primary shot for this scene.

Duration: 31m 33s

In this lesson, Kosuke introduces the artist to the Quixel Megascans library, a massive collection of photorealistic 3D assets that can be used in Unreal Engine for free. Digging though, he collects assets that will fit his vision for the scene, explains some key settings for downloading and laying them out into an asset zoo level for easy access. Next, Kosuke shares his tricks and techniques to achieve photoreal results while maintaining performance.

Duration: 25m 16s

Moving to the inorganic parts of the scene, Kosuke uses Kitbash 3D; another asset library with a focus on elements that can be combined together in an immense number of ways. Using the library's Cargo feature, he imports assets from themed sections of the library directly into his Unreal Engine scene. Through thoughtful design choices, technical understanding of Lumen’s rendering needs and pre-made products, Kosuke demonstrates how to achieve professional results while working with complex, asset-heavy scenes.

Duration: 30m 15s

In this lesson, Kosuke introduces us to basic principles surrounding materials. He teaches that realistic materials are not based on a single uniform value in a parameter, but in creating detailed variations through masking techniques. This can be in the form of texture-based painting, geometry-based application directly in the engine, or polygon-grouping methods per asset, all of which ultimately serve to blend different material properties together for natural results.

Duration: 19m 37s

Picking up from the previous lesson, Kosuke implements his teachings into Unreal Engine, explaining the different material categories and sub categories that create the foundation for all material work in the engine. Mastering the concepts and specific nodes in this lesson, from basic texture application and math operations to the hierarchy of parent-child material relationships, is essential before moving to more advanced material techniques.

Duration: 27m 15s

In this lesson, Kosuke examines the Megascans assets and textures in his scene, and aims to unify the look and feel of them all using techniques from previous lessons, so that the whole scene feels natural and lived in. In this instance, he creates an advanced snow material function, combining procedural methods (normal direction, roughness breakup, height blending) with manual control (vertex painting) to get the desired look.

Duration: 29m 46s

This lesson focuses on animation workflows in Unreal Engine 5. Here, Kosuke teaches us about the sequencer, the native timeline from which we can animate in the engine, and the relationship between animation, the skeleton and the skeletal mesh when it comes to animating character actors. He also takes a look at different skeletal rigs, and how to attach props to the character. With some camera adjustment and environment refinement, Kosuke starts to pull this cinematic shot together.

Duration: 30m 1s

In the lesson, Kosuke shows us how we can integrate Niagara particle systems and cloth simulation within Unreal Engine to make a scene feel more life-like. By combining multiple particle systems with randomized parameters, varying speeds, sizes, and behaviors, he transforms a static scene into a dynamic, believable winter environment with a character whose clothing reacts to the scene appropriately.

Duration: 37m 36s

In this final lesson, Kosuke showcases some of the finishing touches you can apply to a scene to really push it to the next level. By combining volumetric lighting, carefully crafted lens effects, optimized render settings, some careful faking techniques, and proper particle system management, the instructor shows how to create visually stunning results entirely within the Unreal Engine, ready for realtime applications.

Duration: 40m 14s