Lighting for videogames with Unreal Engine course
Welcome to our Lighting for Video Games with Unreal Engine course!
This program is designed for artists who want to master lighting in interactive environments and reach an AAA industry level.
You will learn to work with professional workflows, from hybrid baked and dynamic raster lighting to Lumen, ray tracing, and path tracing, creating unique atmospheres and effectively guiding the player’s attention.
We will explore Unreal Engine’s key tools in depth, and through progressive hands-on exercises, you will apply everything you learn in exclusive environments and cinematics, with professional support and feedback.
What will you learn?
Lighting is key in video games: it defines the final look, creates the right mood, and guides the player in a creative way. In this course, you will learn all the workflows used in top studios, from hybrid baked lighting and dynamic raster lighting to advanced technologies like Lumen, ray tracing, and path tracing.
You will also dive into how to balance environment lighting with player-driven lights (torches, flashlights, etc.), adapt to art direction, and achieve a strong visual composition. You’ll master essential Unreal Engine tools such as Sky Atmosphere, Blueprint Lights, Light Mixer, Post Process Volumes, and Trigger Boxes, understanding how they are used in production and how similar technologies work in studios like Naughty Dog or Remedy Entertainment.
This course will prepare you to work in the AAA industry, whether you have prior experience or not.
With the high demand for lighting artists in video games, it will give you the foundations you need to take your first professional step.
View learning blocks
Color theory
Advanced lighting technologies
Art direction and Player Guidance
Learn to interpret visual references and subtly guide the player through lighting and art direction, combining visual storytelling with gameplay design.
Environment lighting and cinematics
Discover how to light full 360° environments within a 3D space, as well as characters and cinematic scenes with a professional look.
Professional workflows used in AAA productions
Learn to light scenes the way it’s done in major video game productions like Grand Theft Auto, The Last of Us, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, DOOM, The Witcher, or God of War, following real industry methodologies and standards.
Professional portfolio with expert feedback
Develop portfolio-ready pieces with continuous support, including professional feedback, overpaints, technical solutions, and personalized video reviews when needed.
Color theory
Applied to production (harmony, contrast, temperature, saturation, and value control).
Advanced lighting technologies
Master modern technologies such as Lumen, Ray Tracing, and Path Tracing, along with hybrid methods like baked lighting and dynamic rasterization, to create cinematic lighting while optimizing performance.
Art direction and Player Guidance
Learn to interpret visual references and subtly guide the player through lighting and art direction, combining visual storytelling with gameplay design.
Environment lighting and cinematics
Discover how to light full 360° environments within a 3D space, as well as characters and cinematic scenes with a professional look.
Professional workflows used in AAA productions
Learn to light scenes the way it’s done in major video game productions like Grand Theft Auto, The Last of Us, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, DOOM, The Witcher, or God of War, following real industry methodologies and standards.
Professional portfolio with expert feedback
Develop portfolio-ready pieces with continuous support, including professional feedback, overpaints, technical solutions, and personalized video reviews when needed.
Exclusive scenes of the course
Juan Ocamica
My name is Juan Ocamica, a Lighting Artist. Over the past 6 years, I’ve had the opportunity to work on AAA video game titles such as Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, Indiana Jones and the Order of the Giants, Divine Knockout, and Tempest Rising, as well as audiovisual projects like Rewind Hispano and various multimedia commercials.
Currently, I work as a Lighting Artist at MachineGames, one of Microsoft’s core studios. I’ve also collaborated with other well-known studios such as Hi-Rez Studios and Slipgate Ironworks. Throughout my career, I’ve worked with both public engines like Unity and Unreal Engine, as well as proprietary technologies such as id Tech.
Since I was a child, I’ve been fascinated by lighting, color, and cinematography in films and video games. Being able to dedicate myself to this craft in productions I once admired is truly a dream come true.
Now, I’m excited to share all the knowledge and professional experience I’ve gained over the years, helping you understand the real challenges and workflows used in the AAA industry.
Projects I have worked on
Level
No prior knowledge of Unreal Engine or lighting is required, although a basic understanding of 3D is recommended. We will cover everything Unreal has to offer in lighting from the ground up, learning how to use the tools and understand what each of them does.
Unreal Engine is an industry standard in video games, and more and more world-renowned companies are adopting it, such as CD Projekt RED.
Demo lessons
If you’d like to see what the course is like on the inside, you can watch the first demo lesson here.:
Final project
The course includes 4 progressive exercises to reinforce everything you learn:
- Lighting prototyping in a greybox environment.
- Relighting one of three scenarios using hybrid baked lighting, with “hope” and “horror” themes.
- Advanced 3-part exercise: full lighting of two environments using AAA workflows, plus two relightings of the course’s exclusive Japanese temple scene to refine lighting composition.
- Lighting two cinematics: the first focused on optimizing environment and scene lighting with AAA workflows, and the second pushing a shot to the highest level using the exclusive Kylo Ren scene.
You will also have constant support on Discord and professional feedback throughout the entire process.
Why choose us?
Professional mentors
Our team is made up of industry professionals with years of experience at leading animation and video game studios such as MachineGames, Microsoft, Walt Disney Animation Studios, and Sony Pictures Imageworks, among others.
Learning by doing
Learn through hands-on projects and real-time exercises to develop skills that are directly applicable in the real world.
Personalized feedback
You’ll receive instructor feedback, gaining valuable insights and personalized guidance to refine your techniques and improve your work.
Networking and community
Connect with other passionate people in the world of video games, expand your professional network, and collaborate on exciting projects.
Continuous updating
Stay up to date with the latest trends and technologies in the video game industry.
Lighting Course with Unreal Engine
450€ + VAT (VAT for people in UE)
- Access to the community
- Over +30h of recorded lessons
- Group and one-on-one chat with the instructor
- Daily feedback through chat
- Exclusive scenes