TECH ART FUNDAMENTALS
SHADERS - CREATING ART WITH MATH
Every Great Technical Artist Knows How to Control the Look
Shaders are at the heart of how things look in games, from water and wind to glowing effects and material blending. In this term, you’ll unlock the power of shaders by learning how to combine math, logic, and visual design to create expressive and optimized visuals inside Unreal Engine.
You’ll master core shader concepts like UV distortion, vertex painting, material blending, and procedural effects, and build a stylized environment that brings it all together. This term doesn’t just teach you how shaders work, it gives you the ability to use them creatively and technically, so you can shape how your worlds look and feel.
12 WEEK COURSEÂ
$2,499 /USDÂ
Payment Plans Available
START THE WEEK OF
SEPTEMBER 1, 2025
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GET MENTORED BY INDUSTRYÂ EXPERTS
At Vertex School, you’ll be mentored by industry professionals who work at top studios like CD Projekt Red, Ubisoft, and Playground Games. Continue your journey to becoming a tech artist in the Tech Art Fundamentals course, term II of the Tech Art Program.
Jacob Claussen
Environment Art Director at
Fall Damage
PROJECTS:
Avatar Frontiers of Pandora, Overkill's The Walking Dead
Filipe Strazzeri
Lead Technical Artist atÂ
D3t / Keyword Studios
PROJECTS:
House of the Dragon, Alien Romulus (Oscar-nominated), Exoborne, The Three Body Problem, Shadow and Bone, The Witcher, Roald Dahl's The Witches
Stefan Oprisan
Ex-Senior Material Artist at
Ubisoft
PROJECTS:
Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, Forza Horizon 4, Planet Zoo
WHERE OUR STUDENTS GET JOBS
PERSONALIZED MENTORSHIP
At Vertex School, you’ll learn directly from Technical Artists and Shader Specialists who work at top studios like CD Projekt Red, Playground Games, and Meta.
Your mentor will guide you through the math and mindset behind real-time shader development—helping you understand not just how to build a material, but how to design and optimize it for performance and visual storytelling. Through weekly feedback and live sessions, you’ll get personalized support on your shader assignments, artistic direction, and technical implementation.
STUDIO-LEVEL TOOLS ANDÂ WORKFLOWS
In this term, you’ll be working directly inside Unreal Engine’s Material Editor, using studio-grade workflows to build interactive, shader-driven visuals.
From master materials and decals to vertex animation and procedural blending, you’ll learn to solve real-world visual challenges using math and logic. These techniques are used in everything from AAA games to stylized indie projects, and you’ll walk away knowing how to apply them confidently as a Technical Artist.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS
COURSE DETAILS
LIVE Q&As | Weekly 2-Hour Q&As
LECTURESÂ |Â 12 Pre-recorded Lectures
ASSIGNMENTSÂ |Â 6 Exercises
SOFTWAREÂ |Â Unreal Engine 5.6 / VSCode - JetBrains Rider (Optional)
HARDWAREÂ |Â Meet Minimum Requirements
AGEÂ |Â 18 Years or Older
LANGUAGEÂ |Â Taught in English
SKILLS YOU NEED BEFORE YOU START
To succeed in this term, you’ll need the skills covered in Term I: Game Art Basics. That includes a solid understanding of how 3D assets are created, prepared, and brought into real-time engines.
This term transitions you from understanding how game assets are built to mastering how they look and behave on screen, through the creative and technical power of shaders.
WHAT YOU'LL LEARN
In Term II, you’ll learn how to build real-time shaders and materials using math, data, and logic inside Unreal Engine. You’ll explore how shaders control everything from stylized effects to subtle surface details, and you’ll use those techniques to create a visually rich, shader-driven diorama. In this course, you will:
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Understand how shaders work on the GPU and how they interact with the PBR rendering pipeline
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Learn core data types and operations: floats, vectors, multiply, lerp, clamp, smoothstep
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Build common real-time effects like UV distortion, texture panning, flipbooks, and emissive flicker
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Create shader systems using vertex painting, world position, and procedural blending
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Use master materials, material functions, and decal systems to improve efficiency and reusability
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Explore introductory VFX integration using Niagara systems tied to your shaders
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Complete a shader-based environment diorama featuring water, foliage, and dynamic material effects
By the end of this term, you’ll have the skills to create production-ready shaders and understand how to balance creativity with performance.
Vertex School Pricing Plans
Pay in installments or pay in full
Vertex School offers payment plans that allow students to distribute the $2,499 USD tuition into flexible payments.Â
Pay in full
$2,499
LOWEST POSSIBLE PRICE
3 monthly payments
$916
BILLED MONTHLY
6 monthly payments
$479
BILLED MONTHLY
FAQ
What software and hardware do I need?
What software and hardware do I need?
How long will I have access to the bootcamp?
How long will I have access to the bootcamp?
Can I be located anywhere?
Can I be located anywhere?
How do I receive project feedback?
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Are there any pre-requisites?
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Do I get a certificate of completion?
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RELATED COURSES
If you're interested in tech art, we think you'll love these courses! Our Core Tech Art Courses provide a great foundation in tech art and will help prepare you for a career in the industry.Â
Game Art Basics
12-WEEK COURSEÂ
Build your artistic and technical base.
Blueprints - Introduction to Programming
12-WEEK COURSEÂ
Learn to think like a programmer.
Intro to Procedural Content Generation
12-WEEK COURSEÂ
Multiply efficiency with tools and systems.
Python - Your First Programming Language
12-WEEK COURSEÂ
Automate and build real-world tools.
Advanced Procedural Content Generation
12-WEEK COURSEÂ
Specialize and showcase your strengths.
WHAT OUR STUDENTS ARE SAYING
Heather Geiger
"What really stood out to me was the community and mentorship.
Being surrounded by other aspiring artists and getting direct feedback from pros in the industry helped me improve faster than I thought possible."
Maria Fola
"Vertex School gave me the structure and mentorship I needed to seriously grow my skills.
The mentors were all working professionals who understood exactly what studios are looking for, and they helped me build confidence in my abilities. I went from feeling lost to knowing exactly how to move forward as an artist."
Giancarlo Aberilla
"The experience at Vertex was incredibly rewarding. The lessons were well-paced and flexible enough to fit around my job.
What stood out most was the level of support—my mentors were patient, insightful, and always willing to answer questions. It was life-changing."
Amanda Fedora
"I started out knowing almost nothing about 3D art, but with the guidance and feedback from Vertex mentors, I created my first complete scene.
The program is definitely beginner-friendly and focused on real, practical skills."
Rodin Abengana
"Vertex doesn’t waste your time with unnecessary content. Everything is focused on helping you build the skills studios care about.
The mentorship and hands-on learning made it easier to stay motivated and make real progress."
Samyak Jain
"As someone just getting started in 3D, I appreciated how approachable Vertex made everything.
The content, the support, and the ability to learn from actual industry artists made a huge difference. I came away with skills I’m proud of—and excited to keep building on."
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