With Unreal Engine 5 (UE5) fast becoming the tool

of choice for many of our studio partners, not just

the games industry but across film and television
(and more!) it’s increasingly important to be able
to engage with it. This guide has been created to
WHAT IS AN UNREAL
help you get started in UE5, from downloading the AUTHORIZED
tool, following a series of tutorials, to how you can TRAINING CENTER?

CONTENTS
take your new-found knowledge in various fields.

Escape Studios is one of the UK’s leading animation,

games and visual effects (VFX) schools. We’ve been
Our courses 05 Level up in UE5 12
at the forefront of creative education since 2002,
Industry partners 05 Games and VR 14
supplying the industry with studio-ready talent.
What is Unreal Engine 5? 06 Film and TV 16
Our tutors are experts in their field, including certified How to download UE5 07 Animation 17
trainers for Unreal Engine. You’ll hear from many of our Starting the engine 08 Visual Effects 18

+
tutors and industry friends throughout this guide, all Building blocks of Unreal Engine 09 The future is Unreal 19
sharing insights so you can prepare for your creative future. Useful keyboard shortcuts 10 Jargon buster 20

02 A GUIDE TO UNREAL ENGINE 5 A GUIDE TO UNREAL ENGINE 5 03

 Through our close partnership with
Epic Games, we were the UK’s
first Unreal Authorized Training
Center and are an Unreal Engine
Academic Partner. This is proof
that Epic Games recognises our
expertise in teaching Unreal Engine
and the quality of our courses.

With Unreal Engine 5 (UE5) fast becoming the tool

of choice for many of our studio partners, not just
the games industry but across film and television
(and more!)it’s increasingly important to be able
to engage with it. This guide has been created to
WHAT IS AN UNREAL
help you get started in UE5, from downloading the AUTHORIZED
tool, following a series of tutorials, to how you can TRAINING CENTER?

CONTENTS
take your new-found knowledge in various fields.

Escape Studios is one of the UK’s leading animation,

games and visual effects (VFX) schools. We’ve been
Our courses 05 Level up in UE5 12
at the forefront of creative education since 2002,
Industry partners 05 Games and VR 14
supplying the industry with studio-ready talent.
What is Unreal Engine 5? 06 Film and TV 16
Our tutors are experts in their field, including certified How to download UE5 07 Animation 17
trainers for Unreal Engine. You’ll hear from many of our Starting the engine 08 Visual Effects 18

+
tutors and industry friends throughout this guide, all Building blocks of Unreal Engine 09 The future is Unreal 19
sharing insights so you can prepare for your creative future. Useful keyboard shortcuts 10 Jargon buster 20

04 A GUIDE TO UNREAL ENGINE 5 A GUIDE TO UNREAL ENGINE 5 05

 This amazing performance in
immersive media reinforces our
place at the cutting edge of our field.

DR IAN PALMER
Principal

U
KN O W
OUR
COURSES

DID YO
+

?
KICK-
We teach Unreal Engine
to students and industry
professionals through a

STARTING
selection of undergraduate
degrees, postgraduate masters
and short courses, equipping
CHECK OUT
OUR COURSES them with the right skills for the
constantly evolving job market.

YOUR
OUR INDUSTRY PARTNERS INCLUDE

CREATIVE
04
FUTURE
A GUIDE TO UNREAL ENGINE 5 A GUIDE TO UNREAL ENGINE 5 05
 This amazing performance in
immersive media reinforces our
place at the cutting edge of our field.

DR IAN PALMER
Principal

U
KN O W
OUR
DID YOU KNOW? COURSES

DID YO
+

?
KICK-
In 2020, we ran a ‘Summer of Unreal’ and taught over
1000 Animators across Europe over four weeks! In We teach Unreal Engine
2023,
to students and industry
we hosted ‘Unreal Fridays’, taking commercial artists
from Framestore, The Mill, Hogarth, Untold Studios, professionals through a

STARTING
Time Based Arts and Electric Theatre Collective selection
on a of undergraduate
journey through Unreal Engine 5, all the waydegrees, postgraduate masters
to testing
and short courses, equipping
CHECK OUT
out their work on a virtual production stage.
OUR COURSES them with the right skills for the
constantly evolving job market.

YOUR
OUR INDUSTRY PARTNERS INCLUDE

CREATIVE
04
FUTURE
A GUIDE TO UNREAL ENGINE 5 A GUIDE TO UNREAL ENGINE 5 05
 People use the term game changer all too
often, in the case of Unreal Engine 5. It
really is just that! I can’t think of a another
creative package that is capable of creating
such stunning graphics for real-time games,
animation, VFX and of course the visualisation
and design industries. Whenever I use Unreal
SIMON FENTON
I feel I have the keys to the kingdom and can
Dean/Director of
create anything I can imagine.
Interactive and Real Time

WHAT IS
UNREAL ENGINE 5?
Unreal Engine 5 (UE5) has a Architecture, Cinematography
reputation as “the world’s most and Visual Effects to name a few.
open and advanced real-time 3D Despite their differences, these
creation tool” (source: epic games). disciplines do have something in
It has many useful features for common - they’re all worldbuilders. DOWNLOAD HERE
building photo-realistic and visually
impressive worlds including: UE5 is a significant upgrade compared You can be up and running with
to UE4 because of groundbreaking UE5 in a matter of minutes, just
Game Engine features such as Nanite, allowing click the link above and follow
Animation tools visuals with massive amounts of detail, the download instructions.
Physics engine and Lumen, for real-time dynamic
Visual scripting system light, both of which contribute If your computer can handle Free to No royalties You don’t
Rendering engine towards a big leap in visual fidelity. playing games, it can most download to pay need a
likely handle UE5. Not sure?
HOW TO
(No license (Until your high-tech
Although initially made to develop Check out Epic Games’ fees!) project earns computer
games, UE5 is gaining traction in the
DOWNLOAD latest recommended over $1mil)

UNREAL ENGINE 5
industry and learning how to use it hardware and minimum
offers opportunities in Animation, software requirements.

06 A GUIDE TO UNREAL ENGINE 5 A GUIDE TO UNREAL ENGINE 5 07

 BUILDING
BLOCKS OF
UNREAL
ENGINE
FREE TUTORIALS!

STARTING
THE ENGINE WITH CHRISTIAN AVIGNI
Programme Leader for MA Courses

Christian Avigni, Programme Leader

for MA Courses at Escape Studios
and Unreal Authorized Instructor, TOP TIP!
will take you through some quick Make sure to use the proper
demos with groundbreaking naming conventions for your assets,
features including Nanite, Lumen, name your folders correctly and
Post Process Volume and Niagara use them to orgranise your assets
Fluids. He’s been teaching new properly. Epic Games include a
creative talent for more than ten helpful guide for how to name
years, working worldwide and your assets for your reference.
has provided in-house training for
numerous companies in digital art.

08 A GUIDE TO UNREAL ENGINE 5 A GUIDE TO UNREAL ENGINE 5 09

 E F U L Learning keyboard shortcuts for LEVEL EDITOR

U BOARD
S
UE5 (also known as keybinds)
is a great way to increase your

Y S
+
E T
+

K U
efficiency rather than spending

O R T C time looking for them in menus.

S H
Menu Save All Set Bookmark Jump to
These are for Windows, but you can Bookmark
also use the respective Command
and Option keys if you’re using Mac.
+ +

Hide Selected Unhide All Snap to Floor Snap Pivot

to Floor
BASIC SHORTCUTS

+ + + +
+ + + +
Snap Bounds Snap Origin Select All Adjascent Select All Adjascent
Copy Cut Paste Undo
to Floor to Grid Floor Sufaces Slant Sufaces

+ + + +
+ + + +
Redo Save in Find within Find in Content
Select All Select All Adjascent Select All Coplanar Find in Blueprint/
Blueprint Blueprint Browser
Adjascent Sufaces Wall Sufaces Surfaces Level Script

+ + +
LEVEL EDITOR
Browse Tabs Open Level Show Navmesh
+ + + + + +

Play/Simulate Top View Front View Left View Right View

F KEY SHORTCUTS

Perspective Scale Translate Rotate Focus View

Open file Rename Actor Details View

This isn’t an exhaustive list of keyboard shortcuts, but the ones we think
you’ll find useful. There’s even more to discover if you take the time to find
Posess Shot Break Full Screen them. Once you’ve gained more mastery over UE5, you can create your own
shortcuts or even rebind the previous examples to suit your needs.

10 A GUIDE TO UNREAL ENGINE 5 A GUIDE TO UNREAL ENGINE 5 11

 LEVEL UP
IN UNREAL
ENGINE
The Blueprint Visual Scripting system allows artists and
designers to plug and play with tools previously only available
to programmers. Although this may offer a lot of convenience,
its functionality can be limited. That’s why learning how to code
is a great way to level up your skills in Unreal Engine. Then you’ll
be able to customise Blueprints to work exactly how you want in
your projects, or even code functionality from scratch yourself.

If you have absolutely no idea where to begin, Python is one of

the best coding languages to start learning because it’s easy
to read and simple to understand for beginners. Whatever
language you choose to start with, the most important thing is
understanding the fundamentals of coding, like syntax, because
that will help you learn any other language in the future.

12 A GUIDE TO UNREAL ENGINE 5 A GUIDE TO UNREAL ENGINE 5 13

 STUDENT WORK EXAMPLES
TOP TIP!
The Unreal Asset
Marketplace is an
excellent resource for
developing a VR project.
It’s an online platform
for buying, selling, and
sharing assets for Unreal
PHIL MEREDITH Engine projects, offering
Head of Games a wide range of VR
templates, high-quality
3D models, textures,
materials, animations,
and more created by the CHECK OUT OUR
Unreal Engine community GAMES COURSES
and professionals.

From small solo projects to massive commercial

titles, UE5 can be used to make a wide range of
games. It also supports multiple platforms, including
PC, consoles, mobile, and Virtual Reality (VR).

UE5’s advanced rendering capabilities, enables

developers to create visually stunning and

Escape Studios tutor project - Dungeon Crawler

realistic environments - perfect for VR!

INDUSTRY CASE STUDY

You’ll be able to leverage the cinematic quality
and detail levels afforded by Nanite and Lumen,
mixed with the ultrahigh detail and hyper realistic
Photogrammetry for environments and characters,

+
to create an immersive visual experience.
DUNGEON
Keep the scope of your project realistic and CRAWLER
scalable. You don’t need to try and reinvent PC GAME
the wheel, so don’t be afraid to use shortcuts TUTOR PROJECT
like free templates wherever possible.

14 A GUIDE TO UNREAL ENGINE 5 A GUIDE TO UNREAL ENGINE 5 15

 STUDENT WORK EXAMPLES
TOP TIP!
The Unreal Asset
Marketplace is an
excellent resource for
developing a VR project.
It’s an online platform
for buying, selling, and
sharing assets for Unreal
Engine projects, offering
a wide range of VR
templates, high-quality
3D models, textures,
materials, animations, DUNGEON CRAWLER PC GAME
and more created by the TUTOR PROJECT - CHRISTIAN AVIGNI AND SIMON FENTON
CHECK OUT OUR
Unreal Engine community
An educational passion project of two Escape GAMES COURSES
and professionals.
tutors, Christian Avigni, Programme Leader for MA
Courses, with more than 15 years’ experience with
Unreal Engine and Simon Fenton, Dean/Director

DUNGEON + of Interactive and Real Time and ex-Sony Lead

Artist with 9 published games on the PlayStation.

Escape Studios tutor project - Dungeon Crawler

CRAWLER
PC GAME This project builds upon a well-loved framework
TUTOR PROJECT and “old school game mechanics”, while using the
latest processes in computer graphics for content
creation, aiming for a new level of graphic quality.

From small solo projects to massive commercial The game features hyper-realistic graphics using
titles, UE5 can be used to make a wide range of UE5, Reality Capture, MegaScans assets and
games. It also supports multiple platforms, including Quixel Mixer, to create a visually compelling
PC, consoles, mobile, and Virtual Reality (VR). and thrilling RPG dungeon adventure.

UE5’s advanced rendering capabilities, enables

developers to create visually stunning and

Escape Studios tutor project - Dungeon Crawler

realistic environments - perfect for VR!

INDUSTRY CASE STUDY

You’ll be able to leverage the cinematic quality
and detail levels afforded by Nanite and Lumen,
mixed with the ultrahigh detail and hyper realistic
Photogrammetry for environments and characters,
to create an immersive visual experience.

Keep the scope of your project realistic and

scalable. You don’t need to try and reinvent
the wheel, so don’t be afraid to use shortcuts PHIL MEREDITH
like free templates wherever possible. Head of Games

14 A GUIDE TO UNREAL ENGINE 5 A GUIDE TO UNREAL ENGINE 5 15

 UE5 is no more challenging for Animators

© 2023 Walt Disney Studios & Framestore

or Film Makers to learn than any other
software. It offers a much faster solution TOP TIP!
than other software because it renders
shots in real time. This allows you to focus In some graphics software, you can
your energy on animation and character ‘smooth preview’ which means a
performance and gives a much clearer idea chunky low poly geo will appear
of how the shot will look in its final form smooth in the viewport, and indeed
for clearer animation and film choices. render smooth also. In UE5, anything
low poly will render low poly, so you
Because UE5 was originally intended for must either make sure it is smoothed
developing games, it’s also worth bearing before you bring it into the engine
in mind that the functionality you’ll or think more carefully about
need to make films are not easily found smoothing normals. What you see
in the settings. For example, working in is what you get in a game engine.
PAUL HARRISON
timelines, toggling visibility on and off, Head of Animation
and rendering out a sequence are all
things you need to go looking for.

STUDENT WORK
EXAMPLES

ANIMATION
INDUSTRY CASE STUDY
There’s an amazing library of
high-quality assets available for
environments and props which
means animators can concentrate
just on the animation.

CHECK OUT OUR

ANIMATION COURSES
16 A GUIDE TO UNREAL ENGINE 5 A GUIDE TO UNREAL ENGINE 5 17
 VISUAL D ID YOU

EFFECTS +

KN
OW?
Graphics in video games have been pushing the boundaries
over the last few years, to the point that they’ve been
catching up with the quality of VFX in film and TV.

Since it’s mainstream introduction, Virtual Production +

has become a popular method to produce VFX in film
and TV. “Virtual production uses technology to join the
digital world with the physical world in real time. It blends
traditional filmmaking techniques with modern technology
to help creatives achieve their vision” (source epic games). These
worlds may seem separate, but when you think about it,
the process of capturing a scene is universal, regardless
of whether it’s real or virtual, interactive or linear. They
involve the same three components: a scene, a camera,
and an image, which UE5 gives full control over.
N OW?
K
Epic Games continue to update their hub on Virtual U
CLEMENT GHARINI

O
Production, a great source for anyone interested in using

DID Y
Unreal Engine’s tools to make film and TV content. Head of VFX According to the 2021 Burning
Glass report, demand for
real-time 3D skills is seeing
global growth by 60%.
(source epic games)

THE FUTURE
INDUSTRY CASE STUDY
IS UNREAL
The use of Unreal Engine 5 is on the rise throughout all sorts
of industries, so there are plenty of opportunities for someone
who’s spent time studying and mastering how to use it.

CHECK OUT OUR Check out Epic Games’ public roadmap for UE5
VFX COURSES to see what experimental features they’re
working on and planning to implement.

18 A GUIDE TO UNREAL ENGINE 5 A GUIDE TO UNREAL ENGINE 5 19

 VISUAL D ID YOU

EFFECTS +

KN
OW?
Graphics in video games have been pushing the boundaries
over the last few years, to the point that they’ve been
catching up with the quality of VFX in film and TV.

Since it’s mainstream introduction, Virtual Production +

has become a popular method to produce VFX in film
VIRTUAL
and TV. “Virtual production uses PRODUCTION
technology to join the
digital world with the physical world in real time. It blends
Virtual production with UE5 works by displaying virtual
traditional filmmaking techniques with modern technology
environments and characters on large LED walls. Then,
to help creatives achieve their vision” (source epic games). These
cameras on set interact with virtual cameras in UE5,
worlds may seem separate, but when you think about it,
so that the virtual scene moves as the real cameras
the process of capturing a scene is universal, regardless
do to achieve a shot that blends computer generated
of whether it’s real or virtual, interactive or linear. They
imagery (CGI) and live-action footage captured on sets.
involve the same three components: a scene, a camera,
This example is also known as in-camera visual effects
and an image, which UE5 gives full control over.
(ICVFX) or on-set virtual production (OSVP). N OW?
K
Epic Games continue to update their hub on Virtual U
CLEMENT GHARINI

O
Production, a great source for anyone interested in using

DID Y
Unreal Engine’s tools to make film and TV content. Head of VFX According to the 2021 Burning
Glass report, demand for
real-time 3D skills is seeing
global growth by 60%.
(source epic games)

THE FUTURE
DID YOU KNOW?
Our tutors built a UE virtual production
environment for ‘Escape Reality’ that they

IS UNREAL
filmed at the Epic Innovation labs, London.

INDUSTRY CASE STUDY

The use of Unreal Engine 5 is on the rise throughout all sorts

of industries, so there are plenty of opportunities for someone
who’s spent time studying and mastering how to use it.

CHECK OUT OUR Check out Epic Games’ public roadmap for UE5
VFX COURSES to see what experimental features they’re
working on and planning to implement.

18 A GUIDE TO UNREAL ENGINE 5 A GUIDE TO UNREAL ENGINE 5 19

 JARGON
BUSTER CHARACTER GAME MODE
Sometimes the worlds of games and other creative subjects speak A subclass of a Pawn Actor that is The Game Mode sets the rules of
different languages. Being a games engine, a lot of the terminology is intended to be used as a player character. the game that is being played.
centred around games, so It’s important to get your head around these The Character subclass includes a These rules can include:
terms and concepts. For instance, animators will want to use characters collision setup, input bindings for
and assets to populate a ‘scene’, but it’s called a ‘level’ in Unreal Engine. bipedal movement, and additional How players join the game.
code for player-controlled movement. Whether or not a game can be paused.
Any game-specific behaviour
PROJECT ACTOR such as win conditions.
Holds all the contents of your game. It Any object that can be placed into a PLAYER CONTROLLER
contains several folders, such as Blueprints level. For example, a Camera, static Takes player input and translates
and Materials. You can name and organise mesh, or player start location. it into interactions in the game. GAME STATE
folders inside a Project however you wish. Every game has at least one Player A Game State is a container that holds
The Content Browser panel inside the Controller in it. A Player Controller often information you want replicated to
Unreal Editor shows the same directory CASTING possesses a Pawn or Character as a every client in a game. In simpler
structure found inside the Project folder. Takes an Actor of a specific class representation of the player in a game. terms, it is ‘The State of the Game’
and tries to treat it as if it were of a for everyone connected.
different class. Casting can succeed
BLUEPRINT or fail. If casting succeeds, you can AI CONTROLLER
A node-based scripting language then access class-specific functionality Just as the Player Controller possesses VOLUME
used to create gameplay elements on the Actor you cast to. a Pawn as a representation of the Volumes are bounded 3D spaces
from within Unreal Editor. Objects player in a game, an AI Controller that have different uses based on
defined using Blueprint are colloquially possesses a Pawn to represent a non- the effects attached to them.
referred to as “Blueprints.” COMPONENT player character (NPC) in a game.
A piece of functionality that can be
added to an Actor. For example, a LEVEL
OBJECT Spot Light Component will make your PLAYER STATE A Level is a gameplay area that you
The most basic class in Unreal Engine. Actor emit light like a spotlight. A Player State is the state of a participant define. Levels contain everything a
They act like building blocks. Almost in the game, such as a human player or player can see and interact with, such
everything in Unreal Engine inherits (or a bot that is simulating a player. Non- as geometry, Pawns, and Actors.
gets some functionality) from an Object. PAWN player AI that exists as part of the game
A subclass of Actor and serve as an in- world doesn’t have a Player State.
game avatar or persona (for example,
WORLD
CLASS the characters in a game). Pawns can be
A World is a container for all the Levels
Defines the behaviours and controlled by a player or by the game’s BRUSH that make up your game. It handles the
streaming of Levels and the spawning
properties of a particular Actor AI, as non-player characters (NPCs). A Brush is an Actor that describes a 3D
(creation) of dynamic Actors.
or Object in Unreal Engine. shape, such as a cube or a sphere.

20 A GUIDE TO UNREAL ENGINE 5 A GUIDE TO UNREAL ENGINE 5 21

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London, SE10 0ER
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