Unreal Engine 5 - Realistic Environment Design for Beginners

Name: Unreal Engine 5 - Realistic Environment Design for Beginners
Rating: 4.5 (1166 reviews)

Learn video game level design in UE5 by creating an entire playable island step by step, even as a complete beginner!

Created byGavin Eisenbeisz

Last updated 7/2021

English

English [Auto],

What you'll learn

UE5 basics, like installing the engine, importing assets, and navigating the engine
Custom sculpted landscapes
Landscape painting
Foliage painting
Level editing
Editing collision to create a fully playable world
Basic lighting, post processing, fog, and atmospheric effects

Course content

7 sections • 19 lectures • 4h 19m total length

Installing Unreal Engine 52:33
Download Unreal Engine 5 from unrealengine.com, install the Epic Games launcher, sign in, open the Unreal Engine library, and launch the engine in early access.
Creating a new Project4:38
Launch Unreal Engine 5, review the library and vault, then create a new blank project from the third-person blueprint template with starter content and lumen enabled.
Basic Hotkeys, and Engine Navigation14:18
Navigate Unreal Engine 5 editor, master basic hotkeys and viewport navigation, and learn essential level editing, view modes, snapping, and outliner operations.
Importing Objects to use in your Projects13:26
Learn how to bring objects into Unreal Engine 5, including importing custom objects (FBX and OBJ), using Quixel Bridge assets, and marketplace packs, with tips on materials and Nanite.

Finding Reference Images2:48
Search for reference images to define the island's terrain, vegetation, cliffs, and shoreline, then select a few favorites to guide the terrain design and future map planning.
Drawing a Basic Map4:11
Draw a map of an island to plan terrain, sand, beach, cliffs, hills, rocks, and paths, then place a structure to bring life in unreal engine environment design for beginners.

Landscape Tools Overview28:44
Learn Unreal Engine 5 landscape tools: manage and sculpt tabs, heightmap import, brushes, erosion and hydro erosion, visibility, mirror, and copy paste gizmo.
Sculpting our Island30:01
Learn to sculpt a realistic island in Unreal Engine 5 using landscape editing tools, shaping beaches, cliffs, and hills, applying erosion, noise, and path creation for a believable environment.

Creating a Landscape Material25:51
Create a multi-texture landscape material in Unreal Engine 5 by blending grass, sand, rock, and dirt textures from Quixel Bridge, and apply landscape coordinates for seamless tiling.
Painting our Landscape26:51
Apply the landscape material and paint beaches, eroded cliffs, rocks, and grass using layer info, weight blended layers, and brushes to craft a varied coastal island landscape.

Finding Assets for our Scene7:30
Import megascans assets via Quixel Bridge, download nanite-enabled cliffs, rocks, fences, ruins, and trees, then place them around the island in Unreal Engine 5.
Placing Assets Around our Scene26:07
Place cliffs, rocks, fence posts, and ruins in Unreal Engine 5, and use scale and rotation with snapping to craft a cohesive coastal environment design.
Finding Foliage Assets3:47
Acquire and add a handful of foliage assets from Quixel Bridge, then use the foliage brush to paint grasses, flowers, and shrubs in your Unreal project.
Foliage Tools Overview9:58
Paint foliage in Unreal Engine 5 with the foliage editing mode, adjusting density, erase density, single instance, line to normal, random yaw, slope limits, and height.
Painting our Foliage17:21
Paint a base layer of grass, adjust scaling and density, and meticulously place and erase foliage across beaches, paths, rocks, and cliffs to build a realistic Unreal Engine 5 environment.

Adding our Ocean7:53
Enable the water plugin, create and scale a water body, blend it into the landscape with sculpt and paint tools, and refine lighting and fog for a realistic ocean look.
Lighting the Scene17:11
Adding Collision and Blocking Volumes15:49
Set up collision and blocking volumes on island assets in unreal engine 5. Apply simple and complex collision and blocking shapes and volumes to limit movement.

Requirements

Basic knowledge of UE4 or 5 would be helpful, but is not required

Description

If you're new to Unreal, or want to get started creating highly detailed and professional outdoor landscapes, then you've come to the right place!

In this course I'll teach you all the amazing tools in UE5 that can be utilized to create levels and landscapes, and we'll put that knowledge to use by creating an entire island level, step by step!

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If you don't have any experience in Unreal Engine 4, or 5, I've got you covered! I've dedicated part of this course to teaching the basic knowledge needed to complete this course. You'll learn how to install the engine, how to add objects to your new projects, and even how to navigate the engine and edit levels!

Once you learn the basics, or if you already have some experience, we'll hop into learning all of UE5s landscape tools! I'll teach you how to sculpt terrain, by going in depth into all the parameters available in the engine, as well as how to create a custom landscape material that we'll use to paint highly detailed textures onto our island. I'll even show you how to paint realistic foliage onto your levels.

But we won't just stop after having created our island! I'll even show you how to implement some of UE5s realistic water system, and how to set the mood of your scene with lighting, post processing, fog, and volumetric clouds.

After that, I'll even teach you how to make your level playable by customizing object collision, and adding invisible walls to keep players on the right path.

Who this course is for:

Beginner to intermediate game developers who want to make high-end landscapes and outdoor levels

Unreal Engine 5 - Realistic Environment Design for Beginners

What you'll learn

Explore related topics

Course content

The Basics4 lectures • 35min

Planning our Environment2 lectures • 7min

Sculpting our Landscape2 lectures • 59min

Adding Texture Layers2 lectures • 53min

Decorating our Environment5 lectures • 1hr 5min

Finishing Touches3 lectures • 41min

Conclusion1 lecture • 1min

Requirements

Description

Who this course is for: