Unreal Engine Starter Pack
Shane Guion
4th Aug 22 9:49 pm
With the evolution of technology, new tools for creating photorealistic visual effects are created every day. Large-scale productions, such as “The Mandalorian” and “The Batman”, utilize the capabilities of virtual production with the Unreal gaming engine. nterested in learning the engine for virtual production, creating video games, lighting CG models, or creating environments, artists can access a vast amount of free information. In this article, we have assembled a small collection of resources you can use to learn Unreal Engine 5, whether you have never opened the engine before or are just refining your skills.
Unreal Engine 5 Download
https://www.unrealengine.com/en-US/download
The Unreal Engine 5 is free to download from the engine’s website. You will need to download the launcher, which will give you access to the engine and some learning material easily linked.
Unreal Engine Website
https://www.unrealengine.com/en-US/learn
The engine’s website provides a vast array of learning material that I encourage anyone to check out. The learning section is broken down into learning the engine for games, film, architecture, and visualization.
Games: https://dev.epicgames.com/community/learning?industry=games
Film and Tv: https://dev.epicgames.com/community/learning?industry=games,film_and_tv
Architecture: https://dev.epicgames.com/community/learning?industry=games,film_and_tv,architecture
Visualization: https://dev.epicgames.com/community/learning?industry=visualization
LinkedIn Learning
LinkedIn Learning is available for SCAD students, and while there aren’t as many tutorials as the Unreal Engine website, there is one tutorial that covers game terrain techniques.
YouTube
Unreal Sensei is a YouTube channel that has created a 5-hour-long tutorial for beginners. It covers many different aspects of the engine, starting with the user interface all the way to a modular castle.
If you’re looking for a more condensed tutorial, the channel CG Dealers has created a newbie guide that’s about 30 minutes long.
The channel William Faucher has created a video covering lighting for Unreal, which is about 44 minutes long.
Documentation
Unreal Engine has an extensive list of documentation for almost every aspect. It covers different subjects, including scripting, creating visual effects, building virtual worlds, and many more. This documentation is a great reference for those just starting and veterans alike.
https://docs.unrealengine.com/5.0/en-US/
Final Thoughts
It’s amazing seeing how gaming engines have evolved to create an array of different kinds of digital art. Learning new software can be troubling, but thankfully, there is a large community of users offering their knowledge for free online. Through enough time and dedication, anyone can master Unreal Engine 5 and start creating great games or visual effects for all to enjoy.
