Master Modular Environment Creation: Blender to UE5

Under the expert guidance of Ben Keeling, Principal Environment Artist at Respawn, this course teaches how to build engaging modular environments inside of Unreal 5, using AAA production workflows.

Enrollment Open

What You'll Learn

Course Overview

Under the expert guidance of Ben Keeling, Principal Environment Artist at Respawn, this course teaches how to build captivating modular environments using AAA production workflows.

Using tools such as Blender, Substance 3D, and UE5, Ben guides you through building a complete modular game environment from start to finish. You will learn how to break down a scene into efficient, reusable pieces, and create materials, trims, and shaders to support the environment. The course covers a range of asset types, from modular kits to hero and unique props. You’ll also complete set dressing passes and lighting using time of day, practical lights, and emissive elements.

By the end of the course, you will have a fully realized real-time environment in Unreal Engine 5, along with portfolio-ready renders. This course is designed to function like a guided group mentorship, with a focus on specific, real deliverables and outcomes. It’s a viable alternative or stepping stone towards mentorship, at a fraction of the cost.

THIS COURSE IS IDEAL FOR

3D artists with a good general knowledge of environment creation who want to refine their skills, particularly in efficiency and modular workflows for AAA games.

Course GALLERY

Course Goals

Have a fully realized modular environment and polished renders to showcase in your game art portfolio.
Master professional workflows and techniques that make you faster and more efficient at every stage of the environment art process.
Develop a thorough understanding of the modular pipeline as it's used in game production and applied inside Unreal Engine 5.
Build a personal library of reusable assets for use in future projects.

Prerequisites

BlenderUnreal 5Substance Designer*Substance Painter*Miro (included)

Assignments

Open

Learn Together on Student Boards

Collaborative workspaces where students submit weekly assignments, receive feedback, share WIPs, and learn from the progress of their peers.

PAINTOVERS & FEEDBACK

Get clear visual feedback through paintovers and detailed comments that help you understand exactly what to improve.

LEARN FROM EVERY PROJECT

Follow the progress of other students and discover new techniques, workflows, and creative solutions through their WIPs, project breakdowns, and mentor feedback.

SHARED KNOWLEDGE BASE

From references and workflow tips to paintovers, everything is organized in one place for easy access throughout the course.

STAY MOTIVATED

Learning alongside other artists helps keep you inspired, accountable, and committed to your goals.

COURSE CONTENT

1

In week one, students will work on generating their initial idea for the project. The project will be based on a Sci-Fi Cyberpunk-style scene with a hero asset of a crashed robot. In the first week, students will learn how to start planning a project, understand the course structure and format, and create an art bible detailing what they want to learn and their project goals. They will gather and collect references before deciding on their project idea. There will be an introduction to the basics of the modelling software and game engine before creating the 3D blockout for the scene. Then, it will be exported to the game to assess the scale and composition, and to set up basic cameras. Lastly, the week will include a small recap and homework summarising the main objective and learning for the current week.

2

In week two, students' focus will shift to fleshing out the blockout and refining the assets for the scene. We will start with an introduction to the week, then demonstrate workflows and techniques for breaking down a scene and splitting it into different types of assets, such as Modular, Unique, Large Scale, and Hero. Once we have the plan, we will begin breaking down the assets into their own source files and setting up modular assets, unique assets and the hero prop for the scene. Finally, once we have the new refined blockout and meshes, we will focus on the scene in Unreal and update any set dressing. We will finish with the weekly recap and homework assignment.

3

In week 3, students will learn all about creating content they can reuse across their assets. We will start with an introduction to the week. Moving on to an analysis of our assets and what workflows would be suitable to make final quality art. We will set up reusable trims, tiling textures, and shaders to assist in the creation of all our assets later in the course. We will finish the week with a recap and set the homework assignment.

4

In week 4, the introduction to creating final content for our level, students will begin with modular asset workflows, which will form the majority of the significant building blocks of the scene. We will start with planning a modular component set using examples of how I typically break my content down into components. We will then create a set of building components from high to nanite game-ready mesh. Bake and texture, then set up level instance blueprints to populate our level. We will finish with tweaking and polishing, and the weekly recap and homework.

5

In week 5, Students will explore unique assets, unlike modular assets, which are one-off assets with their own unique textures and are typically made in isolation from each other. They tend to be smaller props, and you can spend time adding engaging storytelling and distinctive details. We will start with reference gathering, plan the asset workflow, create the mesh from high to nanite, bake and texture it, and then import the asset into the game. Finishing with a weekly recap and homework.

6

In week 6, the final asset we will approach is the hero prop, which will be our focal point for the scene: the robot. This will be the focus of more specific hard surface workflows and how to make large objects look highly detailed and interesting. We will start with gathering references and planning our workflows. Then create the high-poly nanite mesh for the asset, bake and texture it, and import the model into the game. Finishing with a recap and homework.

7

In week 7, Students will focus on taking their scene to a more final level with set dressing and decal passes. This pass can bring an environment to life and help make the scene feel real. We will start with a weekly intro, detailing our specific areas with set dressing, such as the road and ground floor areas. We will focus on buildings, adding features such as air conditioning, frameworks, and pipes. We will add signage, cables and foliage to the scene where needed. We will also complete a decal pass on the scene to add an extra layer of grime and storytelling. Finishing off with a recap of the week and homework.

8

In week 8, Students will look to wrap up their scenes, with a focus on lighting and final polish and tweaks to the scene, before capturing high-quality screenshots with post-processing and portfolio-ready shots of their environments. We will start with an intro, working on final lighting with UDS, adding any local lights and fog cards to the scene. We will balance all the emissives and tweak any final set dressing. We will add post-processing and adjustments to cameras and take our final renders, putting them into Photoshop to make any final adjustments. To complete the class, we will finish the recap and set our final homework.

Learn From The Best

1 / 5

2 / 5

3 / 5

4 / 5

5 / 5

Ben Keeling

Ben Keeling is a Principal Environment Artist at Respawn with over 13 years in the games industry. He has helped shape worlds on major AAA titles across leading studios, including Need for Speed, Halo, Suicide Squad, Star Wars, VR projects, and Iron Man.

Outside of work, Ben enjoys sharing his creative process on ArtStation, creating tutorials, and now teaching artists at Sierra Division Academy.

Learn at your Own Pace

All options include the complete course. Choose the amount of time that best fits your learning style.

8

Weeks Access

$650

or $162.50 × 4 installments

Full 8-week course content
8 weeks to complete 8 rounds of instructor feedback on assignments
1-year course content & Miro board view access
Exclusive Academy Discord access
Monthly live Q&A sessions
Certificate of completion

12

Weeks Access

$725

or $181.25 × 4 installments

Full 8-week course content
12 weeks to complete 8 rounds of instructor feedback on assignments
4 extra weeks for review & polish
1-year course content & Miro board view access
Exclusive Academy Discord access
Monthly live Q&A sessions
Certificate of completion

16

Weeks Access

$775

or $193.75 × 4 installments

Full 8-week course content
16 weeks to complete 8 rounds of instructor feedback on assignments
8 extra weeks for review & polish
1-year course content & Miro board view access
Exclusive Academy Discord access
Monthly live Q&A sessions
Certificate of completion

Installment plans on all options where available

Ask a qUESTION

Have questions about the course, prerequisites, or anything else? Drop us a message and we'll get back to you shortly.

Related COURSES

Crafting Environments: Career Kickstarter

Set yourself up for success in the games industry as an environment artist. Learn how to build a professional 3D environment art portfolio that shows you’re ready for a AAA studio role.

In this group mentorship course, expert environment artist Alex Beddows from That’s No Moon shares industry insights and provides personalized feedback you won’t get from self-paced tutorials. Through in-depth video lessons and live Q&As, you’ll receive clear guidance on working within a professional production pipeline and how to improve your skills.

Creating Realistic Textures in Substance 3D Painter

Realism in texturing is more than detail; it is about creating materials that feel alive. In this course, Sierra Division Environment Artist Niels Couvreur will guide you through Substance 3D Painter to achieve that level of authenticity.

Game Art Texturing Masterclass – The Complete Pipeline

In this in-depth game art texturing masterclass, Robin will take you through the complete 3D texturing pipeline used in AAA game production. You’ll learn how to organize your workflow, create optimized textures, and understand how each step connects to professional studio standards.