Train the Professionals: Unreal Engine Essentials- subsidized course for working 3D artists
During the winter semester of 2022, we trained 30 professional artists to work in the most popular game engine in the world. Here’s how it all played out.
Unreal Engine Essentials course as part of the Train the Professionals initiative was intended for anybody working in in Visual Arts, has at least two years of working experience (no matter if in 3D modeling, visualization, VFX, Game Art, or any other creative field) and is coming from Serbia or other regional countries.
We started the Train the Professionals initiative with the goal of supporting the ambitions and career development of regional artists by getting them familiar with the Unreal Engine 5 possibilities and its practical use in a production pipeline. In this, we are supported by partners from Unreal Engine Educations and 3Lateral (Epic Games). The goal to teach the wider professional public to the tool’s specificity when it comes to environment design and real-time interaction.
Take your first step in the entertainment industry unlike any other we have seen before with Train the Professionals!
ABOUT THE TRAINING
Course name: Unreal Engine Essentials
Price: 70 € (its commercial value amounts to 530 euros)
Duration: Eight weeks (60 school classes)
Dates:
GROUP 1 – October 3 – November 21, 2022, every Monday and Thursday from 7 PM
GROUP 2 – October 5 – November 23, 2022, every Wednesday and Saturday from 7 PM
Deadline for submission of final work: February 23, 2023.
After six weeks of intensive training, attendees are able to:
- confidently use the Unreal Editor environment,
- independently create virtual environments using built-in terrain generation tools,
- apply ready-made solutions for vegetation or design their own with emphasis on optimization,
- successfully design a production line for manipulating 3D content created in specialized software (Autodesk Maya, Houdini, Cinema 4D) and their application in the engine,
- understand and apply to develop their materials directly from the engine,
- learn recommended practices for lighting scenes in real-time,
- design basic interactions using the Blueprint system,
- master the creation of animated camera sequences,
- use the built-in interface design module,
- add camera effects,
- get to know the Niagara particle system,
- use Quixel and Marketplace content,
- successfully publish a virtual experience.
After the official part of the training, the students will be able to attend specialized lectures by the industry experts who will introduce you to the work processes in their studios. Among the companies eager to join us in this segment are Ebb Software, Mad Head Games, Case 3D, Mag Achi, Wonder Dynamics and Open Studio.
TERMS OF THE COMPETITION
Apply if:
- you are a working artist specializing in any field of visual arts;
- have a minimum of 2 years of working experience (regardless of the current employment status);
- have a comprehensive level of Serbian language;
- skilled in any of the industry-standard 3D modeling software (Autodesk Maya, 3ds Max, or Blender);
- are highly motivated to learn.
The number of applicants is limited, and candidate selection will be based on technical expertise, the quality level of your portfolio projects, and the motivation you exert through your application. Up to three spots are available for recent graduates looking for professional experience, able to impress us with their work.
The application is open until August 31, 2022;
at midnight (UTC +2)
The Many Faces of Unreal Engine 5
Unreal Engine 5 is being used more and more for the development of linear and interactive content in real-time for films, video games, or VR/AR applications. It is becoming accessible in architectural visualization and advertising, and even more in film studios and virtual production on TV.
With one of the most recent projects, The Matrix Awakens: An Unreal Engine 5 Experience, the limits of traditional formats has successfully been surpassed, all thanks to Unreal Engine. With many more ambitious projects emerging, it’s safe to say that Unreal Engine gives a greater range of possibilities to creative teams. This comes as no surprise considering that it literally expands the space in real-time, all while simplifying the production pipeline and enabling higher control of the creative process.
Aside from this, Unreal Engine has found its role in the world of the automobile industry, specializing in driving simulations and new car model testing. Due to its ability to create realistic simulations, it is being used more and more in science, as seen in the project of “resurrecting” a prehistoric man from Lepenski Vir, which the Serbian delegation presented last year at Dubai Expo.
Why Learn the Art of Unreal at Crater Training Center?
At the start of 2021, the leader in the field of interactive and 3D engine technology, Epic Games awarded Crater Training Center with the Epic MegaGrant for the project dedicated to educating professors from numerous schools in Serbia. From this stemmed the original Train the Trainers initiative during which we trained 45 university professors to work in the Unreal Engine.
Later that same year, we participated in the European education project in this engine called Summer of Unreal, shoulder to shoulder with the leading European schools for animation and digital graphics. These are Escape Studios, ArtFX, The Animation Workshop, Screen Skills Ireland, La Salle Barcelona, and Hochschule der Medien Stuttgart.
Our educational program Technical Art in Unreal Engine, completed with this course, has been accredited by the Agency for qualification by the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Serbia.
About the Lecturer
Milan Ličina
Visual artist and a docent at the Metropolitan University in Belgrade, as well as a lecturer on the Unreal Engine Essentials course at Crater.
As a specialist for audio-visual technologies in studio Galerija 12, he worked on many local and international projects. Through his work, he connects art, design, and new technologies to create immersive content for TV production and VR, and is prone to using game engines for the development of interactive art installations and virtual set design.
Unreal Engine Essentials - Aftermovie
