In 满帆的游戏美术学士学位 程序, students learn to create 3D content to suit any game - from immersive 3D worlds to side-scrolling adventures. At the 程序’s halfway point, students enter 项目及作品集III, a course in which they learn to create fully rendered 3D environments in Epic’s Unreal Engine.

Instructor and accomplished 3D designer – with experience in film, 电视, and with clients including Disney Theme Parks – Jonathan Lewis guides students through the demanding four-week course.

“我总是告诉我的学生, ‘This is the biggest project you have ever had to do up until this point at school. I'm trying to push you guys so you can get something that you're proud of for your portfolio, something that can go off to a potential employer,’”他说.

Broken up into four weeks of milestone assignments, the portfolio course is most students’ first real foray into creating within Epic’s powerful design engine. “I'm really showing them Unreal Engine for the first time. They've maybe been introduced to it, but they don't really have a lot of experience using it. [After a] month, they're diving in the deep end,” says the instructor.

在第一周, students utilize Maya to model assets for their 3D interior environment, 在第二周, they begin to develop the textures and materials to make their models more realistic. By week three, students are learning to light their scene and bring their environment to life. The month culminates with week four, focused on refinement and final delivery.

“With my film and 电视 background, I'm really trying to push for stuff that looks very cinematic. A lot of what they're having to do is their final movies from the Unreal Sequencer, 我们说的是镜片, we're talking about different types of shots they can do, 焦距和景深, 诸如此类, so they get an understanding of how to showcase their work.”

应用ing his own experience as not only a designer but a former 满帆 student, Jonathan empathizes with the realities of the accelerated degree, 说, “I know the nature of how 满帆 works, so it does dictate how I teach in the class. You learn a lot very quickly and these students are in school every day, eight hours a day…I’m always trying to teach them that they need to do re搜索 on their own and that they inevitably are going to run into problems, 但解决问题的, 故障排除? 这些技能是无价的.”

A selection of screenshots from student’s final designs made in Unreal Engine during Project & 投资组合三世.

With a final deliverable in the form of a strong portfolio piece, students leave Jonathan’s class prepared to dive deeper into game art techniques and applications in the remaining half of the 程序.

“我最喜欢的东西? 我只是喜欢结果. When the students come into the class that first day, they feel like they're completely overwhelmed. 然后, 月底之前, they're extremely pleased and surprised – it's almost like they're motivated now because they see what they're capable of doing.”