Master Game Lighting That Actually Looks Right

You know that moment when lighting just clicks in a scene? When textures catch light exactly how they should and everything feels real? We'll help you get there. Our autumn 2025 program focuses on practical skills that work in actual production environments.

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Professional lighting setup demonstration in 3D game environment

How You'll Actually Learn This Stuff

Forget watching hours of theory videos. We build skills through focused exercises that mirror what studios need. Each week tackles specific challenges you'll face in production work.

1

Foundation Weeks

Start with lighting fundamentals that matter. PBR materials, light behavior, shadow mapping. Quick exercises that show you what works and what doesn't before you waste time on complex scenes.

2

Practical Application

Build real game environments. Interior lighting for moody scenes, exterior day-night cycles, performance optimization. You'll work through common problems studios actually encounter.

3

Portfolio Development

Create work that shows technical understanding. We help you document decisions, show before-and-after comparisons, and explain your problem-solving approach in ways that resonate with technical directors.

Detailed texture work demonstration with proper lighting techniques

Skills That Transfer Across Engines

Light Baking Workflows

Understanding when to bake and when to use dynamic lighting saves countless hours. We cover practical techniques for both approaches and help you recognize which fits different scenarios.

Material Response

Textures need proper setup to catch light correctly. Roughness maps, normal mapping, and metallic workflows become intuitive when you understand the underlying principles rather than just copying settings.

Performance Considerations

Beautiful lighting means nothing if it tanks frame rates. Learn to balance visual quality with technical constraints through systematic testing and optimization strategies used in shipping titles.

Color Theory Application

Color temperature and contrast aren't just aesthetic choices. They guide player attention and support gameplay. We teach practical color relationships that work under various lighting conditions.

Miren Etxebarria, lead technical artist and program instructor

Learn From Someone Who's Shipped Games

Miren Etxebarria has spent eight years solving lighting problems in production environments. She's dealt with impossible deadlines, last-minute art direction changes, and hardware limitations that force creative solutions.

Her approach skips the theoretical fluff. If a technique doesn't hold up under production pressure, she won't teach it. The program reflects lessons learned from actual development cycles, not idealized scenarios that only work in controlled environments.

Classes stay small intentionally. You'll get direct feedback on your work and honest assessments of where you need improvement. Miren reviews every portfolio piece and helps you articulate technical decisions clearly.

More About Our Approach

What The Program Actually Covers

Starting October 2025, you'll work through structured lessons twice weekly for six months. Each session combines demonstration, practice, and critique. No fluff, no filler content.

Technical Curriculum

  • Global illumination setup and troubleshooting
  • Lightmap UV creation and optimization
  • Real-time shadow techniques and limitations
  • Volumetric lighting and atmospheric effects
  • Texture authoring for different light scenarios
  • Post-processing integration with lighting design
  • Engine-specific workflows for Unity and Unreal
  • Performance profiling and bottleneck identification

Practical Components

  • Weekly lighting challenges with peer review
  • Environment builds from concept to completion
  • Technical documentation practice
  • Portfolio presentation workshops
  • Industry standard tool training
  • Debugging sessions for common issues
  • Optimization exercises under constraints
  • Collaboration scenarios with mock teams
Advanced lighting workshop session showing real production workflow

Applications Open July 2025

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