Craft Blockbuster

Real-Time VFX in Unreal Engine 5

with Chaos & Niagara Fluids, Learn How to Destroy Anything, and Become a Highly-Skilled VFX Artist

in a few hours instead of weeks…even if you’re a beginner (and without any expensive plugins!)

Watch the course trailer:

Expand your VFX skillset with real-time destruction simulations directly inside Unreal Engine 5. Level up your reel, cinematic, or short film. The course is ultra beginner-friendly, teaching you fundamental concepts and slowly introducing more advanced setups. Included are many unique FX which are exclusive to this course. Chaos Destruction by RedefineFX is the only complete Chaos Destruction course on the market today, covering every main feature in-depth, and taking you from an absolute beginner to an advanced level at creating breathtaking real-time destruction effects at an astonishing level of detail previously only possible in traditional 3D software.

ENROLL NOW

Scroll down to learn more

Enhance Your Projects with Next-Gen Destruction & Pyro Simulations

Follow me step-by-step through over 50 ultra beginner-friendly, project-based lessons covering unique effects you can’t learn anywhere else

Axe Slash Wall Destruction

Superhero Landing

Anti-Gravity Discoidal Blast Gun

Ground Destruction

Unlock a New Skillset & Become a Full Stack VFX Artist

 

  • Master Unreal Engine fundamentals – prepare your project like a pro, setup sequencer, import assets, and so on…
  • Fracture objects in a variety of ways (radial, brick, slice, custom…)
  • Break objects in a thought-out, performance-friendly way (only add detail in certain areas)
  • Understand how to cluster fractures for radically improved realism
  • Optimize destruction sims to run in real-time. Remove tiny pieces. Put jittering pieces to sleep, & more
  • Add a different material to internal fractures for more realism
  • Add smoke, dust, or fire with Niagara Fluids
  • Add debris, rocks, or wooden splinters with Niagara Particles
  • Trigger additional simulations based on conditions such as speed of falling pieces
  • Mix multiple smoke & fire emitters within one sim (explosion with black smoke and brown dust trails etc.)
  • Easily setup Niagara Collision & Location events (carpet bombing bonus lesson)

Most importantly: Become a well-rounded, “Full-Stack” VFX artist that can setup particles, volumetric pyro AND destruction sims, making you a swiss-army knife and an indispensable part of any Unreal Engine VFX team

“RedefineFX has got you covered with their easy-to-follow and breathtaking tutorials and examples that deep dive into Niagara Fluids”

 –  Unreal Engine Community Spotlight, Epic Games

Why Now is The Best Time to Start Learning VFX in Unreal 

1.) Don’t fall behind the Unreal Engine real-time revolution

It has simply never been a better time for you to start learning these valuable skills that there is massive demand for. With Unreal Engine releasing industry-changing features with every new version and production studios in every  industry adopting UE into their pipelines, you don’t want to be left behind the Unreal train.

 

2.) Become a Full-Stack VFX artist by learning multiple VFX tools

Combine Chaos, Niagara, and Niagara Fluids and build complete, highly-detailed VFX shots that combine destruction, pyro, and particles

 

3.) Stay on the cutting-edge & get ahead of everyone else 

Unreal Engine is a new playing field – everyone is a beginner all over again. While others are still procrastinating knowing “they probably should start learning Unreal” and piecing together the basics from random YouTube tutorials, you could be light years ahead and already creating high-level VFX all in real-time.

 

4.) No VDB and Alembic imports. Do everything without ever leaving Unreal. 

Chaos lets you create high-quality destruction simulations directly inside Unreal Engine. This is absolutely huge, as it eliminates the need to run these sims in external software and bring them in as (often large and buggy) alembic sequences, plus you can make changes instantly right in your UE viewport without ever leaving the app.

 

5.) Attract new career opportunities with an in-demand skillset

Create amazing FX for cinematics, film, previz, and every other sector that uses Unreal Engine. There is currently huge (and growing) demand for non-gaming use of UE, and that’s where you can secure your next gig.

 

Why Chaos Destruction? 

After an overwhelming response to Niagara Fluids Immersion, I immediately started working on taking it a step further by combining Niagara with Chaos Destruction.

Inside of this course, I’m sharing everything I’ve been posting – every simulation and every setup that has brought so much industry attention my way. It’s all here for you.

This is once again your chance to jump in and learn a new tool early. This could easily be your opening card to getting a VFX job at any studio that uses Unreal Engine (which these days is almost all of them).

“Only a handful of people I trust to learn VFX from, RedefineFX
being one of them!”

 –  Logan Pinney, Educational Advisor, Epic Games

Introducing:

Chaos Destruction by RedefineFX

A Beginner Real-Time VFX Simulation Course in Unreal Engine 5.4

Go from Absolute Beginner to an Advanced Level (in a few hours, not weeks)

Start with easy setups you can create even as a complete beginner

Cluster destruction pieces for more realism

Avoid common mistakes (and save yourself hours of troubleshooting)

Avoid the ‘low-res look’ and create

highly-detailed simulations

Instantly elevate your cinematic, short film, or previz

with destruction simulations

Learn from an award-winning, experienced & trusted instructor

About Your Instructor, Jesse Pitela:

  • Unreal Engine Authorized Instructor
  • Work featured at Unreal Fest Orlando 2025
  • Training featured by Epic Games and 80 Level
  • Featured in Autodesk Media & Entertainment Showreel
  • Official Judge in The Rookie Awards
  • Autodesk Excellence Award Winner 
  • Recorded 1000+ lessons across 25+ premium courses
  • 7+ years teaching VFX to thousands of students

Hi, I’m Jesse and I started RedefineFX in 2018 out of pure frustration of not being able to find the kind of VFX training I was looking for – something concise that shows you the entire process, so you walk away with a finished result, that you can immediately use to attract better career opportunities. 

Trusted by Major VFX Studios

Artists from studios you know learn at RedefineFX, including Crafty Apes, FuseFX, Bottleship VFX, Millarc CGI, The Boundary, and many others.

Always Beginner-Friendly

I never forget how I felt when I was starting out, and will always make sure you feel included, even if you're completely new to VFX.

Practical Skills to Help You Earn More

At the end of my tutorials & courses, you will have a finished, professional result.

Subtitles Now Available in 6 Languages

Subtitles are now available for all courses in English, Spanish, Korean, Japanese, Portuguese, and French

What You Will Learn: Course Outline

Chapter 1: Introduction to Chaos Destruction

  • Intro, Hardware, Optimization, Recommendations
  • Setting up UE Project
  • Intro to Chaos
  • Intro to Damage
  • Intro to Selections
  • Intro to Clustering
  • Intro to Materials
  • Intro to Fracture Types
  • Intro to Fields
  • Summary of Chapter

Chapter 2: Chaos Destruction Projects

  • Axe Slash Scene Prep
  • Importing character, setting up sequencer
  • Fracturing the wall into multiple levels, interactive selections
  • TinyGeo tool, Optimizing and Activating Destruction
  • Animating gradual destruction
  • Adding detail, tweaking force field
  • Linking Niagara & Chaos
  • Adding dust with Niagara Fluids
  • Improving dust simulation, Chaos data interface settings
  • Lighting & overall presentation of effect
  • Axe slash energy particles
  • Superhero Landing scene prep
  • Radial fracture
  • Clustering, Flatten, Auto Cluster
  • Landing destruction
  • Taking care of jittering pieces
  • Adding smoke
  • Character energy trail
  • Ground destruction scene prep
  • Custom fracture

Chapter 3: Chaos & Niagara Fluids: Blockbuster VFX

  • Ground cracks, animating force field
  • Making our Niagara VFX template
  • Chaos destruction settings in-depth
  • Laser Blast
  • Creating a damaged ground asset
  • Gravity Magic Part 01
  • Gravity Magic Part 02 Smoke
  • Pulse weapon
  • Brick fracture & Grout
  • Combining wood & concrete within one simulation
  • Statue Explosion Part 01 – scene prep
  • Statue Explosion Part 02 – fracturing
  • Statue Explosion Part 03 – explosion
  • Statue Explosion Part 04 – dust trails
  • Statue Explosion Part 05 – ground dust
  • Statue Explosion Part 06 – debris mesh particles
  • Statue Explosion Part 07 – final improvements, lighting

Chapter 4: Beyond the Basics

  • Mesh Fracture Part 01 – Intro & Logo Cutout
  • Mesh Fracture Part 02 – Scatter Geo for Unique & Irregular Detail
  • Wood Fracture using Noise & Recompute Normals
  • Magnet Cluster – add edge detail fractures
  • Rising from underground
  • Gradual destruction activation
  • Rockfall
  • Dirt explosion alternative
  • Axe slash (wood version)
  • Caching Niagara Fluids
  • Caching Chaos Destruction
  • Rendering with Path Tracer
  • Retiming & Bullet-time
  • Optimization tips for faster simulations
  • Attach geometry to destruction
  • UVs, Materials, and adding fracture detail
  • Combine fractures with GeoMerge
  • Niagara laser beam FX
  • Circular laser beam FX

Chapter 5: Bonus Lessons

  • Carpet bombing part 01 – user parameter to move emitter
  • Carpet bombing part 02 – collision & location event handler
  • Carpet bombing part 03 – Niagara data channels
  • Carpet bombing part 04 – adding emissive particles / light renderer
  • Office destruction part 01 – dealing with many objects in Chaos (desk, office supplies)
  • Office destruction part 02 – fracturing & optimization

Chapter 6: New Bonus Lessons

  • Matrix Awakens Bridge Destruction Part 1
  • Matrix Awakens Bridge Destruction Part 2
  • Matrix Awakens Bridge Destruction Part 3
  • Matrix Awakens Bridge Destruction Part 4
  • Matrix Awakens Bridge Destruction Part 5
  • Matrix Awakens Bridge Destruction Part 6

BONUS COURSE #1

Chaos & Niagara Fluids: Blockbuster VFX 

Combine Chaos with Niagara. Add detailed explosions, smoke trails, and trigger additional debris simulations based on conditions such as a fracture breaking, or pieces colliding with the ground.

Gravity Magic

Detailed Wood Destruction

Rock Fall

Laser Blast

BONUS COURSE #2

Chaos: Beyond the Basics

Go beyond the basics and learn advanced techniques. Featured are bonus lessons full of workflow tips & tricks to improve realism & speed up simulations, along with hidden features you might otherwise miss.

Retiming simulations & real-time bullet-time effects

Mesh Fracture

Add edge detail in-between primary fractures

Combine multiple materials (e.g. brick wall with wooden paneling) within one simulation

Attach geometry to destruction pieces for added realism (e.g. rebar inside concrete)

Generate UVs and textures for internal fractures’ material IDs

And many more bonus lessons, quick tips & tricks!

BONUS #3

Chaos Trailer Shots

Follow me step-by-step as I recreate the extra VFX setups created for the course trailer

Carpet Bombing (combine Niagara collision events with Niagara Fluids data channels)

Office Destruction

BONUS #4

Matrix Awakens Overpass Destruction

New series of lessons added in April 2025.

Featured by 80 Level

Multiple simulations from this course have been featured by 80 Level

What RedefineFX students say

Below reactions are collected from all of our courses

“Jesse is one of the best instructors I ever found in the digital art field. He has the ability to make really complex content look simple, with straight to the point explanations and great examples. Truly one of the best options available to learn new techniques for real time VFX.”

Charles Moreira – VFX Artist at BioWare. Enrolled in both Niagara Immersion & Chaos Destruction
Enroll in Chaos Destruction

Make the Investment in Your VFX Career

Enrollment in the course closes when the countdown expires. When it re-opens in the future, the price and bonus content is subject to change.

  • 70+ total lessons teaching you Chaos Destruction from the ground up
  • Bonus lessons #1: Chaos & Niagara Blockbuster VFX
  • Bonus lessons #2: Beyond the Basics
  • Bonus #3: Chaos Trailer Shots
  • Learn from an experienced instructor with work featured by Epic Games
  • Lifetime access
  • Access to a beautiful learning platform
  • Subtitles available in 6 languages

$295

one-time payment

Enroll Now

Tax will be calculated at checkout based on your country of residence

The Complete Collection of All 9 Courses

Niagara Megabundle CORE

Includes NEW Niagara MCP, Carnage, Pyro & Liquids 5.8

Our #1 best-selling bundle. This one-of-a-kind collection of courses provides the most complete deep-dive into Unreal Engine’s real-time Niagara VFX, Chaos, and Motion Design Tools. Built for beginners who want to create high-end real-time VFX. Over 400 total lessons included.

The Megabundle Core Includes:

All 9 Unreal Engine Courses

Your complete Niagara + Motion Tools package for Unreal Engine

  • Niagara MCP Crash Course (NEW)

  • Niagara Carnage (NEW)

  • Niagara Pyro (NEW)

  • Niagara Liquids (NEW)

  • Niagara Automotive

  • Niagara Motion

  • Chaos Destruction

  • Niagara Magic

  • Unreal Motion

Master multiple real-time skillsets across fire, smoke, liquids, destruction, particles, cloners & effectors, character effects, and automotive visuals, all inside Unreal Engine.

  • Get instant access to over 400 lessons
  • All bonus content & new 5.8 lessons included
  • Lifetime access
  • Subtitles now available in 6 languages

If purchased individually: $1,670

Launch Week Price: $595

one-time payment

Enroll in Megabundle Core

Tax will be calculated at checkout based on your country of residence

Save Time & Learn Faster by Adding Project Files

Niagara Megabundle PRO

Includes Everything + Project File Library

This is the “I just want everything” bundle
The Megabundle Pro Includes:
  • All 9 Unreal Engine Courses

  • Project File Library (50 total setups)

  • 10 New Pyro & Liquids 5.8 Files

  • 10 New Carnage 5.8 Files

Includes my exact Niagara setups used in trailers

+ EmberGen Bootcamp (included as a bonus)

+ LiquiGen Immersion (included as a bonus)

Get access to all courses and a full project file library with ready-to-use templates for over 50 of my most popular effects. Use them to learn or drop them directly into your own shots.

If purchased individually: $1,670

Launch Week Price: $795

one-time payment

Enroll in Megabundle Pro

Tax will be calculated at checkout based on your country of residence

Your Most Frequent Questions:

Will the course still be available after the countdown expires?

No. Enrollment closes after the countdown above expires. When enrollment re-opens in the future, the price of the course may increase and its content may be different (e.g. bonus courses may be sold separately in the future).

I'm completely new to Unreal Engine, is this for me?

Yes. This course is made with absolute beginners in mind. The first chapter of the course will get you up to speed even if you’ve never made any VFX before.

I'm more advanced, will I still get value out of this course?

Absolutely. The course gradually introduces more advanced concepts and there’s a lot to learn for all skill levels. The later chapters include multiple advanced setups.

Does the course teach just Chaos or Niagara also?

This course focuses primarily on Chaos, but we will also cover a lot of Niagara Fluids & standard Niagara particles along the way, specifically when adding explosions, smoke, and additional debris particles.

Is the course up to date?

Yes, you can follow the course in 5.8 without issues. Niagara has changed only minimally between versions and I’ve added additional lessons to cover the few changes.

What project files are included with Megabundle Pro?

  1. Beach Waves
  2. Water Force Field
  3. Temple Flood
  4. Water Attack
  5. Wheel Mud
  6. Hydroman
  7. Blue Origin Explosion
  8. Rocket Launch Plumes
  9. Meteor Impact
  10. Nuke Explosion
  11. Starship Launch
  12. Helicopter Rotor Wash
  13. Car on Fire
  14. Airplane Engine Fire
  15. Zero-G Water Sphere with Foam
  16. Burnout
  17. Wheel Dust
  18. Tire Marks
  19. Tail Light Trails
  20. Snow & Ice Debris from Under Wheels
  21. Dirt & Sand Debris from Under Wheels
  22. Airflow Visualization Trails
  23. Advection
  24. X-Ray Reveal & Exploded View
  25. Falling Leaves, Snow, & Rain
  26. Wall Destruction
  27. Wood Destruction
  28. Force Field
  29. Portal
  30. Harry Potter Duel (From Niagara magic)
  31. Object Voxelization (from Unreal Motion)
  32. Magnetic Orb (from Unreal Motion)
  33. Character Ghost Particles (From Niagara Motion)
  34. Particle Physics Attraction (From Niagara Motion)
  35. Bombing with Shockwave Impacts
  36. Sandstorm
  37. FLIP High Quality Water with Foam #1
  38. FLIP Muddy Water with Foam #2
  39. FLIP Sticky Lava Liquid Sim
  40. Liquid Particles Color by Speed
  41. Liquid Reactive Particles Multi-Color
  42. Car Crash Explosion and Rolling Fire
  43. Car Crash Debris, Sparks, Smoke
  44. Bending Metal
  45. Bullet Hits System
  46. Laser Gun System
  47. Laser Beam
  48. Stylized Rendering
  49. Audio Visualizer Histogram
  50. Audio Visualizer Fire Line
  51. Crowd Sim with Collisions

Are there subtitles available?

Yes. English, Spanish, Korean, French, Portuguese, and Japanese subtitles are available.

What is Chaos and is it worth learning? What makes it special?

If you’re using Unreal Engine and want to create VFX without the need to import simulation files from an external application, Chaos and Niagara are the best tools for you to learn right now. They are both free and come bundled with UE. You can also quickly make changes directly inside your Unreal Engine viewport, without the need to keep exporting & importing simulations from an external app.

Especially if you’re already familiar with Niagara, combining it with Chaos will give you an additional edge.

Will you be optimizing the simulations for games? What about Blueprints?

No. We will not be optimizing the simulations in any way to improve their performance in real games and there are no Blueprints setups covered in this beginner-oriented course. The focus is on VFX for cinematics, short films, previz, VR, AR, and other real-time experiences. I will share all of my optimization tips with you, to make the sims run faster in your viewport, however our goal here is simply to make the simulations look as good as possible inside Unreal Engine.

What are the PC system requirements?

I recommend a 2070 RTX as a minimum to run the sims in real-time. The more VRAM your GPU has, the better.

Have a not-so-powerful machine? No worries. I will show you how to easily lower the simulation resolution for smoother performance, and how to render it with Path Tracer (enabling higher resolution only during rendering), so you are good to go even on a slower PC.

Can I use these skills in VR, ArchViz, ProductViz, Motion Design, Previz, Automotive, Film, and other areas of CGI?

Absolutely. These simulations are not limited to explosive cinematics for games. Whichever industry you’re in, you can enhance your Unreal Engine projects with volumetric simulations.

Will my boss / studio / workplace pay for this course?

It’s very possible that your place of employment will cover an educational expense, such as this course, if it directly relates to your job duties. It sure doesn’t hurt to ask.

When does the course start and finish?

This is a completely self-paced online course. I’ve made the lessons bite-sized so you can make progress every day without feeling overwhelmed.

How long do I have access to the course?

You get lifetime access, meaning you get to access the courses for as long as RedefineFX exists.

Do I get a Certificate?

Yes! Upon completion of all lessons, you will automatically receive a unique Certificate of Completion.

Can I enter my TAX ID / VAT ID at checkout?

Yes. There is a dedicated VAT field on the checkout page. After checking out, you will automatically receive a standard business invoice to your email. Please note that the invoice cannot be modified after the transaction has been completed, so please double check that all information is correct.

Didn’t find an answer to your question?
Email: jesse@redefinefx.com

“I’ve already taken multiple RedefineFX courses and what I appreciate most are Jesse’s teaching skills. He manages to break everything down into short parts that are very easy to understand & follow, with visually stunning results. Super recommended!”

– Alexandre Lino, VFX Artist. Enrolled in both Niagara Immersion & Chaos Destruction