Ep2 - Intro to Niagara & VFX Overview - Learn with Us: First Playable Grenade Explosion | BFX-U

Let’s learn more about Niagara!

Ep2 - Intro to Niagara & VFX Overview - Learn with Us: First Playable Grenade Explosion | BFX-U

Return To Class 

If you clicked through this blog then congratulations, you’ve made it to BFX-U | Learn With Us: First Playable Grenade Explosion Episode 2. You’re now embarking on a long journey that will elevate your skills and help you create your very first playable grenade explosion in Unreal Engine. You’ve already been introduced to our hosts, General Manager and Founder Keith Guerrette and Director of Marketing & Content Julian Bahmani. Plus, you should now have a foundational understanding of how to open Unreal Engine and navigate through its operating systems. 

Episode 2 is available right now and you can access it here or on the Beyond-FX YouTube channel. All episodes of the BFX-U | Learn With Us course are instantly accessible, and you can interact with each of these installments via this blog. So, what’s the next part of this process? 

Episode 2 - A Deeper Dive 

In this more extensive episode, we’ll be dealing with the big questions, like what actually is VFX and how the Niagara particle editor works within Unreal Engine? Along the way, Keith Guerrette will continue providing you with vital tips that will streamline the creative process, highlighting the importance of organizing files and understanding the program layout. 

What we want you to take away from this episode is an understanding of all the individual pieces that come together to create an effect. To do this, the episode covers the jargon and concepts that you’ll need to know for the rest of the series, with useful visual prompts that simplify those explanations. These basic descriptions are then applied to the software itself so that you can see all of these ideas in action. 

Feel free to experiment with the process as you progress, changing parameters, watching how new choices change the output, and ultimately tinkering with the final product. 

Previous Episode:

Episode 1

Next Episodes:

Episode 3

Episode 4

Episode 5

Episode 6

Episode 7

Episode 8

Episode 9

Episode 10

Continue Reaching Out 

Along the way, you’ll notice Julian asking some of the questions you may have thought of yourself. But there’s so much more to cover. If there’s a concept you don’t fully understand, or a piece of the software that you can’t operate yet, then hit us with your questions!

We’re always on hand to provide support, and who knows, you might be helping out your fellow BFX-U | Learn With Us students in the process. Let us know how you get on, and show us what you’ve created so far by tagging us on Twitter @Beyond_FX. Tune in for Episode 3, which is available right now. 

Want to stay in touch with our studio as we craft world-class real-time VFX? Follow Beyond-FX on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, Twitch, & TikTok!