Advanced
Narrative Design
The Narrative Design course is a 13-week remote programme aimed at individuals with backgrounds in
LEVEL UP YOUR ENVIRONMENT ART!
Overview
Learn how to make compelling scenes like an art director!
Our 3D Environments & Art Direction Programme, takes your portfolio to the next level, with weekly LIVE sessions and 121 mentoring under an experienced artist.
With over 10 years of experience as both a Principle Environment Artist and Art Director, Najim shares his tips, tricks and workflows - Showing you how to create industry ready pieces for films, games and digital media.
What you get:
- Long-term Support Until Your First Role.
- 121 Mentoring
- Weekly Live Sessions
- Mock Interviews
- CV/ Resume Workshops
- Employability Workshops (Networking, Soft Skills)
- Exclusive Community Of Peers and Mentors
Course Length
10 Weeks
With long-term support until your first role.
Location/Delivery
Remote Classes Through Discord.
Skill Level
Intermediate/Graduate
Min Requirements: Must Understand UE5, a 3D Package and Substance Painter
Start Dates
September 2026
February 2027
Tuition Fee
£100 Deposit
£599 Tuition Fee
Payment options such as Klarna & further breakdowns available.
Support
1 Lecturer
1 Mentor
2 Support Staff
Course Structure
Within our 10 week Environment Art programme, you will be exploring true art direction - bringing your scenes to life and giving you irreplaceable skills that will follow you through all your future projects.
Week 1 - Reference & Ideation
Theme: "Seeing Like a Director"
Theory: How to gather cinematic references (Shotdeck, ArtStation, Pinterest), analyze composition, color,
mood, lighting.
Week 3 - Modular Kit Design, Asset Planning and Modeling/Sculpting
Theme: "Build Smart, Not Hard"
Theory: Modular environment design — planning kits (walls, floors, trims, props) for reusability. Naming
conventions, pivot points, snapping, modeling and sculpting.
Week 5 - Lighting as Emotional Language
Theme: "Light Is the Invisible Character"
Theory: Lighting types (key, fill, rim), color temperature, contrast ratios. Natural vs artificial. UE5 Lumen vs
Ray Tracing basics.
Week 7 - Detailing & Storytelling Props + Mock Interviews & CV's/Resumes
Theme: "Story Is in the Details"
Theory: "Environmental storytelling" — clutter with purpose. Props as exposition. Scale, placement, wear
patterns.
Mock Interviews: During Week 7 you'll also have a separate session with a mock interviewer from the industry. During the mock interviews we'll have a separate call where we will go over everyone's CV/resume.
Week 9 - Optimization & Presentation Prep
Theme: "Make It Shine (Without Breaking)"
Theory: Level optimization - LODs, culling, instance meshes, Nanite best practices. Frame rate vs fidelity
balance.
Week 2 - Visual Language & Worldbuilding Foundations
Theme: "What Your Scene Says Before a Word Is Spoken"
Theory: Shape language, color psychology, cultural/environmental storytelling. How props, architecture, and
lighting imply narrative.
Week 4 - Materials & Texture Art Direction
Theme: "Surfaces Tell Stories"
Theory: Material storytelling - wear, grime, erosion, material contrast. PBR workflow basics. Using Quixel
Bridge/Megascans and Substance painter strategically.
Week 6 - Composition & Camera Language in UE5
Theme: "Framing the Feeling"
Theory: Rule of thirds, leading lines, depth layers, camera height/FOV psychology. Cinematic cameras vs
gameplay cameras.
Week 8 - Post-Processing & Mood Polish
Theme: "The Final Emotional Brushstroke"
Theory: Color grading (LUTs), bloom, vignette, depth of field, lens flares. How post FX manipulate
perception.
Week 10 - Critique, Polish & Portfolio Presentation
Theme: "Own Your Vision"
Theory: Giving/receiving critique. How to talk about your art direction choices. Portfolio presentation tips.
Not Just Any Bootcamp.
A Course Unlike Any Other
Our courses offer a unique blend of soft and hard skills, providing a comprehensive career-boosting experience to help you apply your degree and move forward with your future.
Our students leave with more confidence, a stronger understanding of the industry, and the ability to explore adjacent fields, as well as resilience and the skills to give and receive feedback to their peers. Making them strong team players in any position.
We ensure our students are personally supported throughout and after their time with us. Following along with their career journeys, giving advice and guidance to push them towards achieving their goals.
We do not hold back on feedback, and our unique approach to building community ensures our students have a strong network of peers and mentors that will support them and push them further in their work.
Payment Options
We understand not everyone can afford the price tags on courses, and we have designed our courses to be as affordable as possible whilst giving you as much support and information as we can.
To make things easier, we have a variety of payment options available to support you, all of which can be discussed on your initial call with our team.
Klarna
We offer Klarna to help break down the course cost into up to 3 monthly payments.
Further Breakdowns
On a case by case basis, we can offer to break down the course cost further, however this option must be discussed by a member of the team.
Usually this involves using a subscription based model to break down the cost into monthly payments, over a maximum of 10 months depending on your situation.
How to Apply
To apply to our courses, you first need to complete the application form. You don’t need to write much here, however, any information you do put is crucial to us understanding how best to help you.
Process
Once you have filled in the application form, you will be emailed to book in a call through our calendar. A member of the team will have a chat with you to discuss your current situation, what you want to gain through the course, give you a thorough breakdown on your portfolio and answer any questions you may have. This is to ensure the course is right for you!
Upon completing the call, you will be given a link to pay the initial deposit and lock in your place, and a link to pay the remaining amount. This is where you can use any discount codes or Klarna!
Once you have paid the deposit, we will begin to go through your portfolio and information with the team to create a brief that suits you. You will also have full access to our channels where you can begin to get help and feedback on any existing projects you are working on, before the course begins!
I'm not sure if I want to apply!
If you are still unsure and want to speak to a member of the team, complete the application form and we will go through your concerns and questions on call. This could include going through the curriculum, payment options and extra information.
Alternatively, feel free to reach out through our email address:
enquiries@snappygurus.com
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"The workshop was really good! It was clear specific attention to detail was put into each person's brief and all throughout the course we were supported to help make our art better. I would definitely recommend the snappy workshop."
"I've joined the Snappy Gurus 3D Bootcamp and it has changed my whole life. i have learnt so much and made so much progress in my game art journey. I can finally say that I've made something that is good!"
"I have nothing but good things to say about this course. I've seen a tremendous leap in both my own quality of work as well as that of the other students currently enrolled. The weekly lectures and mentor meetings really help you push yourself and it's great to force yourself to present your work every week as to get the feedback that you would otherwise overlook. "
Learn Directly From a Current Principal Artist
Working on Star Wars: Eclipse!
Najim Filali Saksak | Quantic Dream
Lecturer
Najim is your lecturer for the duration of the course, and has an extensive background in art direction as a principle artist working at Quantic Dream on the new Star Wars: Eclipse game.
He brings a unique perspective to creating narrative driven environments - skills that can be applied to a variety of roles around the media industry.
Najim has worked on multiple projects such as Splitgate 2, Dungeons and Dragons: Dark Alliance, Call Of Duty: Modern Warefare 2, and was also a mentor at Think Tank Training Center and Rubika Montréal.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the entry requirements?
This course is tailored to those currently applying to their first job within the industry. You must have knowledge in Unreal Engine, knowledge in a 3D modelling software (We cover a lot in Blender but discuss other software packages), and you must have access to Krita, Photoshop or an alternative.
How can I tell if I meet the entry requirements?
If you are unsure if you meet the requirements, apply anyway! You will be invited to have a call with a member of our team, who will review your portfolio and provide thorough feedback. If you do not meet the requirements, we will give you advice and guidance on what to focus on next.
If I can't pay before the start of the course, will I still be able to participate?
We require you to pay to run the course, however we can delay payments until you have the required funds to join the course, and you can take part before that point.
If I don't like my brief, can I change it?
Absolutely! We want to give you as much creative freedom as possible and if that means changing your brief, we're more than happy to accommodate.
If I pay and need to stop the course for any reason, do I get my money back?
If the stopping of the course is out of your control we will try and reschedule to join onto a future cohort, if not you'll recieve the tuition funding back. (The £100 deposit is non-refundable).
Do I get a certification at the end of the course?
No, and this is for a multitude of reasons, but the main one is that we wanted to ensure we are in full control of what we teach and we can directly affect all the areas of employment other courses can't/won't teach.
So, What Are You Waiting For?
Apply now and lock in your place!
Upon signing up, you will be prompted to book in a call with our team to ensure the course is right for you. Here we will give you feedback and advice and will go through your portfolio or projects to date.
Upon submitting your application, please check your emails to confirm.