Entry requirements

This course is right for you if you’re interested in:

Designing and building digital worlds rather than individual shots
Creating film-quality assets, props and environments
Procedural workflows, systems thinking and scalable worldbuilding
Real-time engines and cinematic environment pipelines
Integrating CG environments with physical sets and miniatures
Working collaboratively within professional VFX pipelines
Exploring AI-assisted tools while maintaining artistic control
You may be a recent graduate, a self-taught artist, or someone with existing Industry experience looking to specialise and refine your craft. Applicants come from a wide range of creative, technical and international backgrounds, and the course benefits from the diversity of experience within each cohort.

If you're unsure which VFX pathway is right for you, (Environments and Assets or Lighting and Compositing), we encourage you to apply for either one and we will help to guide you to the option that best suits your interests and career goals.

While many applicants will have a degree from a British or overseas university, we will consider applicants who do not have a degree if they have an impressive portfolio, a creative track record or an alternative qualification.

Months of entry

January

Course content

The MA VFX: Environments and Assets is an Industry-focused MA specialising in building immersive digital worlds.

Working collaboratively across disciplines, you’ll integrate CG environments with physical sets whilst developing skills aligned with contemporary VFX pipelines.

Course Overview

At the National Film and Television School – one of the world’s leading film schools – we offer two complementary Master’s degrees in VFX - Environments and Assets and Lighting and Compositing. Each provides a focused pathway into the screen industries: one dedicated to creating the digital worlds and environments that stories inhabit, and the other to designing, lighting and compositing the shots through which those worlds are experienced. Together, they reflect the collaborative structure of the contemporary VFX pipeline and allow you to specialise from day one.

This course is designed to help you master the art of building immersive environments and breathtaking visual effects through advanced, industry-focused training. You’ll develop the creative and technical expertise needed to design and construct digital worlds, from detailed props and hero assets to cinematic environments.

You’ll work in a fully equipped production environment alongside students from VFX: Lighting and Compositing, Model Making, Composing and Sound Design, mirroring the collaborative pipelines of professional studios. You’ll learn how to integrate digital environments with physical sets and miniature models, developing the ability to craft photorealistic CG elements that can sit seamlessly alongside their physical counterparts.

Taught by working artists, supervisors and innovators from across the film, TV, games and advertising industries, this intensive course combines creative exploration with real-world professionalism. You’ll also benefit from access to the CoSTAR innovation programme, which drives national research and development into next-generation virtual production, AI and real-time technologies. This connection ensures that you are learning with, and contributing to, the very forefront of industry practice.

You’ll graduate with a strong, industry-ready portfolio that demonstrates your ability to design and build photorealistic assets and environments - ready to undertake CG generalist, environment and asset artist roles within the VFX industry.

Our graduates are in demand at leading studios such as Framestore and Industrial Light & Magic, as well as in the fast-growing short-form and advertising sectors, where cinematic VFX is increasingly central to storytelling and brand identity. You might find yourself crafting shots for large-scale fantasy series, creating set extensions for period dramas, or delivering high-concept visual effects for commercials and music videos for studios like Electric Theatre Collective, Selected Works or Time Based Arts.

What You Will Study

The course is a high-intensity, practice-led programme combining workshops, studio sessions, technical masterclasses, critiques and tutorials. Each term builds on the last – moving from foundational asset creation, through large-scale environment design and FX systems, to collaborative, production-scale worldbuilding.

By the end of the course, you will have developed:

A portfolio of industry-standard digital assets and environments
Strong skills in 3D modelling, texturing and look development
Experience with procedural systems and scalable worldbuilding
Understanding of real-time and cinematic environment pipelines
Experience working within collaborative, multi-disciplinary productions
Critical awareness of your own creative and professional development
You’ll also explore how AI-assisted tools can support concept development, iteration and procedural workflows – while maintaining artistic intent, ethical awareness and professional judgement.

Information for international students

This course is open to UK/EU/International students.

Fees and funding

Please visit our website for fees information. All production costs are included in the course fees, including the use of School facilities and equipment.

The NFTS is committed to ensuring it is open to students of genuine ability, no matter what their background or financial circumstances, which is why we award more scholarships and bursaries to British students, relative to the size of our student body, than almost any other educational institution in the UK.

Qualification, course duration and attendance options

MA
full time
12 months
- Campus-based learningis available for this qualification

Course contact details

Name: Course Enquiries
Email: info@nfts.co.uk

Visit website

VFX - Environments and Assets