Real-Time Character & Environment Lighting

Lighting for Games & Cinematics Using Unreal Engine 5 with Eric Roin

Learn cinematic character and environment​​ lighting with this professional workshop taught entirely in Unreal Engine 5. Created for intermediate to advanced-level artists, as well as those interested in learning more about Unreal Engine 5 or lighting in general, this workshop covers various principles and techniques that can be applied to your game-engine workflows to create effective and realistic games and cinematics.

The workshop begins with lessons in character lighting before moving into more detail about the Unreal settings and environment lighting in general. The tutorial breaks down three different shots, with each of them having their own unique sets of challenges, including how to represent them at different times of the day. Eric also shares how to light both interior versus exterior shots.

Environment storytelling from a lighting perspective is also briefly covered in this workshop, as well as how to use it to your advantage to improve your scenes and game levels. You’ll also learn how to take care of color correction using Unreal Engine’s post-processing tool; Eric additionally deconstructs the color theory behind his work for students to understand the importance that color plays in environment design.

To conclude the workshop, Eric discusses his top tips for working as part of a team as a lighting artist and shares his best practices to use when working on high-profile professional projects. He also briefly shares how to present your portfolio as a professional lighting artist.