In this opening chapter, Fabio M. Silva establishes the creative goals for the high-tech sci-fi dome project, discussing how the project will be tackled using one of the templates that ships with Unreal Engine 5 as the starting point.

Duration: 2m 36s

In this second lesson, Fabio shows how to utilize Miroboard to assemble a professional reference sheet, establishing the visual foundations for the dome effect. He discusses how such tasks are assigned in a AAA production environment, highlighting the critical questions artists must ask to ensure success. Artists will learn how to deconstruct creative briefs into actionable technical milestones before beginning any engine work.

Duration: 13m 17s

In this lesson, Fabio transitions the workflow into Substance Designer to author the foundational textures required for the sci-fi barrier. Artists will learn how to build procedural nodes that offer good flexibility, allowing for quick iterations and tileable results, which Fabio will then show how to use in the materials in Unreal Engine 5.

Duration: 18m 35s

Beginning the first half of the dome material construction, Fabio starts by building the master shader in Unreal Engine 5. He focuses on establishing the primary shield visual, incorporating the textures generated in Substance Designer. He explains the logic behind sophisticated Fresnel effects and scrolling parameters, ensuring the barrier has a high-tech aesthetic that maintains clarity and visual interest.

Duration: 23m 13s

Continuing with the shader development, Fabio dives into more advanced material logic to refine the dome's appearance. This lesson covers integrating secondary detail layers, distortion parameters, and color modulation. Artists will learn how to keep their material graph organized and optimized while achieving the complex, multi-layered look expected in top-tier, AAA, sci-fi environments and cinematic gameplay sequences.

Duration: 37m 38s

This lesson introduces the technical backbone of the reactive shield: Render Targets. Fabio guides artists through setting up high-performance Render Targets in Unreal Engine to track spatial data. Artists will learn how to capture coordinate information dynamically, allowing the dome material to "know" exactly where and when an external impact has occurred on its surface.

Duration: 46m 18s

With the Render Target established, Fabio now shows how to implement the Blueprint logic that drives the interaction. This lesson covers how projectiles, explosions, and the barrier communicate with one another. Artists will learn to pass hit data into the shader system, creating a truly reactive system in which every projectile strike triggers a localized, visually accurate response on the dome.

Duration: 18m 47s

In this lesson, Fabio moves into Embergen to simulate high-fidelity fire, explosion, and smoke effects. This lesson demonstrates how to create real-time simulations, export them as optimized flipbook textures, and use them for final weapon impacts and shield-surface explosion effects.

Duration: 10m 57s

This lesson focuses on the delivery system for our effects: the weapon. Fabio dives into Unreal Engine's Blueprint system to configure a functional weapon that fires our reactive projectiles. He explains how to synchronize weapon fire with the particle systems and logic established in previous chapters, ensuring a seamless and responsive experience between the player’s actions and the environment.

Duration: 18m 59s

Using the Niagara VFX system, Fabio shows how to construct the particle effects for the weapon, projectile trails, and shield impacts. This lesson teaches artists how to utilize the Embergen flipbooks and custom modules to create dynamic, high-performance particles. He focuses on timing, scale, and color to ensure the effects feel powerful and integrated into the sci-fi dome system.

Duration: 20m 53s

In this final lesson, Fabio shows how to integrate all the individual components: the dome material, Blueprint logic, and Niagara systems, into a single, unified scene. He demonstrates how to polish the final effect and make the final, smaller tweaks to each of the elements created in the previous lessons. Artists will conclude the workshop with a complete, reactive AAA-quality sci-fi barrier for their portfolio.

Duration: 26m 19s