Vertex School Tech Art Study Hub
Compiled from the Vertex School website and public web sources (Sep 2026), this is a self-study reference for the Tech Art Program / Tech Art Bootcamp: the full curriculum, 40+ official videos, free courseware, student capstone showcases and third-party learning resources — for whenever you hit a problem.
What is this
Vertex School is an online 3D school for the game industry. Its Technical Art track is one of the most complete public learning paths available, covering:
- 🎨 Game art pipeline: ZBrush sculpting → retopology → baking → Substance PBR → Unreal/Marmoset rendering
- 🧮 Shader math: coordinate transforms, SDFs & raymarching, noise (value/gradient/fBM), Voronoi, polar coordinates, post-process NPR
- 🛠️ Tools & systems: advanced Unreal materials, Niagara VFX, Houdini Engine, Blueprint editor tools, the PCG framework, graphics profiling
- 🌍 Procedural world building: Houdini terrain / rocks / foliage / rivers / building HDAs → Unreal integration
Two learning paths
| 🎓 Tech Art Program | 🔥 Tech Art Bootcamp | |
|---|---|---|
| Positioning | Zero-to-job full training | Intensive fast track for experienced 3D artists |
| Length | 12 months (4 terms × 12 weeks) | 18 weeks (36 live classes) |
| Tuition | $13,200 (from $1,295/mo) | $3,200 (list price $4,000) |
| Format | Pre-recorded + 2 live classes weekly + 1-on-1 mentorship | 2 live classes weekly + community Q&A |
| Output | 4 term capstones + certificate | 1 portfolio-grade capstone + certificate |
| Best for | Career switchers, students, beginners | Working artists/programmers levelling up fast |
📖 Week-by-week details: the Curriculum page; official Open Day replays and enrollment links: Resources.
Mentors
| Mentor | Position | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| William Harvey | Senior Technical Artist @ Meta | Poppy Playtime, Dawn of Defiance |
| Hicham Ouchan | Procedural Technical Artist @ Mob Entertainment | Poppy Playtime 3, HZD Remastered |
| Sam Jay | Technical Artist @ Blizzard | Diablo IV, NHL series |
| Edoardo Grimaldi | Senior Technical Artist | Bootcamp mentor |
| Filipe Strazzeri | Lead TA @ D3t (free course instructor) | House of the Dragon, The Witcher |
Quick start (free self-study path)
Don't want to spend $13,200? Free resources cover the core topics in this order:
- Programming basics → the official free course Coding for Creatives: 6 modules, from visual shader math to Maya Python tooling
- Shader math → The Book of Shaders + Shadertoy exercises (matches Term 2: noise, polar coordinates, SDFs)
- Unreal materials & Niagara → Epic's official docs + the official Open Day replay
- Houdini proceduralism → the SideFX Labs toolset + official SideFX tutorials (Terms 3–4)
- Portfolio benchmarking → study student capstones: Snow Ramp Generator, Eyvind Cliff Generator, procedural bridge HDAs and more (see Resources · Student work)
Site map
- Curriculum — the 12-month Program term by term + the 18-week Bootcamp week by week + tuition, software and admissions info
- Resources — official videos, blog posts, free courseware, GitHub repos, student portfolios, community reviews, all linked
This site is a personal study compilation, not affiliated with Vertex School; enroll at vertexschool.com.