Hi everyone,
I’m pretty new to Unreal Engine and I’m really interested in learning how to create FX assets—like fire, smoke, magic spells, explosions, etc.—for my game. I’ve seen amazing effects in other UE5 projects, and I’d love to start learning how to make those myself, but I’m not sure where to begin.
Right now I’m a bit overwhelmed with the tools available. I’ve heard of:
- Niagara System
- Material Editor (for shaders)
- Cascade (but I think this is being phased out?)
- And even external tools like Houdini or Blender for creating meshes/textures
Some questions I have:
- What is the best starting point for a beginner who wants to create FX assets from scratch?
- Should I learn Niagara first, or do I need to understand materials and textures before diving in?
- Do you recommend using free marketplace assets as a base for learning, or should I try to build everything from the ground up?
- Are there any simple practice projects or exercises I can follow to learn step-by-step?
My goal right now is to make something like a basic fireball or hit effect—something small but cool that I can actually use in a gameplay prototype.
Any advice, tutorials, or beginner-friendly workflows would be super helpful. Thanks in advance for your time!