Visual effects aren’t just for movies: creating effects like smoke, fire, explosions and bullet impacts are a vital part of modern games work, too. This tutorial sets out the skills you need to work on a modern triple-A title.

In this 20-minute video, Ubisoft senior effects artist Maxime Deleris explains how to use UDK, Photoshop and 3ds Max to set up a smoke system suitable for integration into an alpha-stage game level.

During the process, Maxime reveals tricks of the trade learned through his work on the Splinter Cell series and Rainbow Six Vegas 2.

Get more training like this on DVD
The tutorial is the first chapter from the Gnomon Workshop DVD Visual Effects for Games: Real-Time Effects with Unreal Engine 3.

On the DVD itself, Maxime goes on to explain how to set up a full range of effects, including fire, explosions, bullet impacts, muzzle flashes, environment smoke and environment effects. The disc also includes full project files for the tutorials.

Buy Visual Effects for Games: Real-Time Effects from our online store ($49, DVD or direct download)