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Unreal Engine 5 – 3D Game Art, Fantasy Swords, Niagara VFX
118 students
What you'll learn
- Unreal Engine's Nigara System
- Making Assets for Multiplayer Games, RPGs, and MOBAs
- Creation of a full weapon props and visual effects for Combat in games
- How to make game props for optimal performance in a shipped game
- Core features of the VFX in Unreal Engine 5
- SOLID 3D modeling principles AAA quality
- Scalable 3D modeling techniques that can serve as the foundation for any games
- Industry Software Tools to use such as PureRef, Maya 2024, ZBrush, Substance Painter, and Unreal Engine 5.4
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Course content
7 sections • 47 lectures • 4h 52m total length
Requirements
- ZBrush or Blender for Sculpting high resolution 3D models
- Download Maya or Blender or a 3D art software package equivalent
- Download Substance Painter or texturing equivalent like 3D Coat or Marmoset ToolBag 4
- Have enough computer memory to download Unreal Engine 5.4 and to hold your 3D Art
- Photoshop or Krita or Paint Tool Sai for cleaning up baking errors
Description
From beginner to pro: Design stunning swords with modeling, texturing, and real-time VFX!
Welcome to the definitive course on creating game-ready fantasy swords from scratch—all the way into Unreal Engine 5! Whether you're completely new to 3D art or looking to refine your workflow with industry tools, this course will walk you step by step through the entire game asset pipeline.
You'll start with the fundamentals of 3D modeling in Maya, then move into professional-grade texturing in Substance Painter, and finally add awesome real-time VFX using Niagara in Unreal Engine 5.
Even if you've never used Maya, Substance Painter, or Unreal Engine before, don’t worry—we’ll walk you through everything from navigation to hotkeys.
What You’ll Create
By the end of this course, you’ll have created multiple fully-optimized, low-poly fantasy swords with stunning VFX, ready for real-time use in:
Action games (RPGs, MOBAs, Shooters, etc.)
Combat animations
Game portfolios
Indie titles with multiplayer support
Software & Tools Used
We use industry-standard software every step of the way:
Autodesk Maya 2024 (3D modeling, UVs)
Substance Painter (Texturing & Baking)
Unreal Engine 5.4 (VFX + Rendering)
ZBrush, Photoshop, Krita (for bonus detail work)
Prefer Blender? You can still follow along—many of the lessons focus on best practices and core techniques that apply across tools.
Included With Your Purchase
You’ll get full access to an exclusive asset pack:
Game-ready sword meshes (FBX + Maya files)
Substance Painter projects with baked maps
Niagara VFX systems (UE5.4 .uasset files)
Final PNG texture exports
ZBrush/Photoshop/Krita files
All custom VFX textures and flipbooks
Course reference boards and sample work
Lifetime access to future course updates
You’ll also be invited to our Discord community, where you can ask questions, get feedback, and check in on new updates as we release intermediate and advanced sword builds with layered visual effects.
What You’ll Learn
Beginner Section
How to download and organize your course assets
Setting up your file system for long-term project success
Creating an art reference board using industry tools
Installing custom scripts like auto-smoothing for Maya (no coding required)
Full Maya 2024 UI overview and navigation
Modeling practice: Create a snowman to learn manipulation tools, extrusion, and the outliner
Sword Modeling in Maya
Blocking out the blade and handle using primitives
Using symmetry, subdivisions, extrusions, and cleanup tools
Proper topology flow and deleting unnecessary geometry
Clean, optimized UV unwrapping using “Camera Based” projection and mirrored UV shells
Professional material and object naming conventions
Maya autosave and incremental backup setup
Texturing in Substance Painter
Project setup and resolution tips
Baking mesh maps and why they matter
Navigating the 3D and UV texture view
Layered materials and folder-based workflows
Smart masks and brushes for fast, stylized textures
Custom color palettes and edge wear
Exporting textures with the correct templates
Understanding texture types and naming for pipelines
VFX in Unreal Engine 5.4
Installing and launching UE5.4 with Epic Games Launcher
Importing sword assets and textures
Creating materials in Unreal’s node-based editor
Setting up Niagara systems and emitters
Translucent and additive materials for glowing effects
Creating lightning and dark shadow sword VFX
UV panning, noise distortion, sine waves for animated effects
Fixing VFX rendering order and system lifetimes
Bonus: Customizing lighting, coloring, and FX preview settings
What Comes Next?
This course is just Part 1 of a larger series! As a student, you'll get early access to future updates:
Intermediate sword with multi-layered VFX
Advanced sword with complex material blends and gameplay hooks
Buy now to lock in the best price—future course expansions will be included at no extra charge for early adopters!
Meet Your Instructors
Daniel – Founder of Baka Bros Entertainment, 3D game artist & course creator
Amelia – VFX artist and Unreal wizard (and Daniel’s awesome wife!)
Together, we’re building our debut indie game Chaos Kart while running our game dev YouTube channel. This course is the product of months of recording, editing, and polish, and we’re so proud to bring it to you.
Ready to Level Up?
Whether you’re a beginner with no prior experience or a hobbyist looking to step up your game art portfolio, this course will help you build professional-quality assets that look great and run fast in real-time engines.
So let’s get to blacksmithing those blades, casting some enchantments, and making your props shine!
Join the course and invest in yourself, your portfolio, and your game development future.
See you inside!
— Daniel & Amelia
Baka Bros Entertainment
Who this course is for:
- Those who wish to know how to make scalable and shippable game in Unreal Engine 5
- Those who wish to know how to implement Niagara VFX for their props and weapons
- Those who wish to know how to 3D model quickly and not waste any time with older techniques
- Those who wish to create their own RPG, MOBA, Shooter Game, or any other type of game involving awesome weapons and visual effects
- Those who wish to know how to use Maya as a beginner and scale to pro level all in one course
- Those who are looking for a comprehensive course on the Core Niagara Components like Systems, Emitters, Modules, and Parameters so they can use it in their own game projects
- Hobbyists and Professional Game Developers alike will benefit from this course
- AAA developers who need to learn the fundamentals of Niagara, or a modeling package for their team's game project
- Leaders of game development projects who need to understand how Niagara works in Unreal Engine, its capabilities, limitations, and costs on time and effort for developers
- Anyone who wants to creat some Unreal Engine projects and wants to learn from a game developer
- Teams who need to create their game project making game assets in a scalable manner, so it will be easily maintainable post-launch
- Those who have had little to no previous 3D modeling experience
- Anyone wanting to support an indie studio while gaining knowledge of how to make their own game