Crafting Realistic Materials in Unreal Engine 5

All our courses are 100% teacher-led by our authorized instructors and include certification exams.
Getting certified, you can also have the possibility to join Be Licensed’s recruitment portal.

Course Overview

This 5-day course dives deep into the Unreal Engine Material Editor, exploring foundational concepts as well as advanced techniques for material creation and optimization. Participants will work with procedural materials, shaders, textures, material instances, and material functions, learning how to apply them to landscapes, characters, and environments. Special emphasis will be placed on optimizing materials for real-time rendering, understanding the Physically Based Rendering (PBR) workflow, and creating complex material setups.

Course outcome

By the end of this course, participants will have gained a comprehensive understanding of material creation in Unreal Engine 5. You will have created dynamic, optimized materials for various environments, from landscapes to characters, and gained the ability to create procedural shaders and advanced material setups. You will complete a final project showcasing your ability to create complex materials ready for integration into real-time applications or cinematic projects.

Your new skills

Understanding Unreal Engine’s material editor and PBR system
Creating and optimizing materials and material instances
Working with textures, UVs, and procedural materials
Using shaders and material functions to create complex material setups
Applying materials to landscapes, characters, and props
Optimizing materials for real-time performance and visual fidelity

Prerequisites:

No prior experience with Unreal Engine is required, but familiarity with material creation or 3D modeling software is beneficial.
A workstation with the following specifications:

Windows:

OS: Windows 10 64-bit version 1909 revision .1350 or higher, or versions 2004 and 20H2 revision .789 or higher
CPU: Quad-core Intel or AMD, 3 GHz or faster
RAM: 16 GB (32 GB preferred for demanding tasks)
Storage: 256 GB SSD (OS) + 1 TB SDD (Data)
GPU: DirectX 11 or 12 compatible graphics card with the latest drivers
DirectX: 11 or 12

Mac OS:

Operating System: macOS Monterey or later
CPU: Apple Silicon (M1 Pro, M1 Max, M2, or newer) or an Intel i7/i9 processor
RAM: At least 16 GB (32 GB preferred for demanding tasks)
Storage: 512 GB SSD or more (no need for an HDD since Macs typically come with SSD-only configurations)
GPU: Integrated Apple Silicon GPU (M1 Pro/Max/Ultra) or a discrete AMD Radeon GPU if using an older Intel-based Mac

‍Note: Ensure the Mac has sufficient cooling and power capabilities to handle prolonged, intensive UE5 work, which is better managed on desktops like the Mac Studio or high-performance MacBook Pros.

What is included in the price?

Fully led by an authorized instructor.

All materials needed to complete the course are included in the course fee. This includes course literature, exercise assignments and fees for the certification exam.

The course is held remotely in a virtual classroom. All lectures are recorded and are available as reference material for two weeks after course completion.