6 WEEKS • LIVE ONLINE • INSTRUCTOR-LEAD • SKILL-FOCUSED
Lighting For Games
Build Your Portfolio As A Lighting Artist w/ Maria Yue
Learn The Art Of Creating Amazing Lighting And The Science Of Optimizing It For Real Time Environments.
CLASS OVERVIEW
Learn how to apply the theories of stage and photographic lighting design in the digital world with one of the Industry’s leading artists, Maria Yue. Maria has been lighting scenes for nearly 7 years and currently works as a Senior Lighting Artist at Splash Damage.
Maria will teach you the workflows for designing lighting specific to the demands of your scene or character. You will learn all the steps in the pipeline and understand how to make effective and efficient design decisions.
This course on Lighting For Games will consist of six modules of pre-recorded lessons and live Q&A sessions. You’ll learn core lighting design skills and workflows and be part of a community of artists working to achieve next level quality in their work.
- Skill Level: Intermediate
- Course Format: Standard
- Duration: 6 Weeks + Lifetime Access
- Lecture Type: Pre-Recorded & Live
- Assignments: Deadlines each week
- Feedback: Live, weekly Q&A
What You’ll Learn
The course will go through the full process of designing Lighting for 3D games. The emphasis will be on applying theoretical knowledge in practical and efficient ways for various settings, interior, exterior and natural lighting, lighting for characters, and lighting using Unity, CryEngine and Unreal. Maria will demonstrate her own lighting approach and the workflow she uses from concept to game-ready.
Students will learn how to make smart choices from the moment they collect references to create their moodboard to time they finish their project.


By The End Of The Course
You’ll:
- Understand how lighting can both serve the work as well as function as a visual element.
- Understand how to design lighting for different scenarios.
- Have mastered your way through the lighting workflow.
- Have developed an understanding for how to design different lighting styles.
Weekly Breakdown
Theory Of Lighting - How It Works
- Basic Lighting Theory
- Primary Color Theory of Stage Lighting
- Real Lighting vs. CG Lighting
2.Best Practices - Designing The Lighting (Part 1)
- Interior Lighting, Exterior Lighting, Natural Lighting
- Lighting The Character
3. Best Practices - Designing The Lighting (Part 2)
- Lighting Tool Selections In Different Software
(Unity, CryEngine, Unreal)
4.Thinking Like A Craftsman - Tailoring The Lighting Design For Your Project (Part 1)
Theoretical & Practical Workflows
- How To Select References & Build Moodboards
- Determining & Designing Lighting Styles Specific To Your Project
5.Thinking Like A Craftsman - Tailoring The Lighting Design For Your Project (Part 2)
- How To Select References & Build Moodboards
- Determining & Designing Lighting Styles Specific To Your Project
6.Inspiration & Continued Study
Understanding How Much Time/Effort To Spend On Lighting
- How To Find References To Push Projects Further
- Helpful Links/Books/References
Maria Yue is a Senior Lighting Artist at Splash Damage.
Prior to joining Splash Damage, she worked as a Lighting Artist at Cloud Imperium Games, Crytek Frankfurt and Ubisoft Shanghai.

Your Mentor's Work





















Sands Kopaei
"Everyone told me to forget about trying to be a character artist, that artists have been trying for 6-7 years and that it would take me years before i get that chance. Now here i am making characters for an unannounced triple A title and already have watchdogs 2 in my resume. I feel like saying thank you to you and all the instructors here is not enough, but it's all I can say really, thank you so much for making my dream come true."

Océane Bidou
"I think i had a vague idea of how to make a character for games before but now I am much more confident. When I compare my new work with my old work it is just really better. This is the first time I was doing something realistic and it was a huge step for me and it went really well. "
Our Graduates Work At














Enrollment for this Course is CLOSED.
Enter your name and email below to be the first to know when enrollment opens again.
GET ANSWERS
We love questions, almost as much as we love providing answers.
Here are a few samplings of what we're typically asked, along with our responses:
Why are these skills relevant today?
Who will I be taking classes with?
What can I expect to accomplish by the end of this course?
When is the first class?
What time of day is class?
Week One:
Theory Of Lighting - How It Works
- Introduction to the Artistic Function of Light
- Basic Lighting Theory
- Primary Color Theory of Stage Lighting
- Real Lighting vs. CG Lighting
Week One:
Theory Of Lighting - How It Works
- Introduction to the Artistic Function of Light
- Basic Lighting Theory
- Primary Color Theory of Stage Lighting
- Real Lighting vs. CG Lighting