Practicing with UDK

I have been making some good progress with UDK. Thanks to the 3DBuzz tutorials, I am understanding the basics of the program.

I have finished studying the next three chapters:

1. UDK:   Part 2 - Creating a Simple Level 
2.           Part 3 - Lighting (Introduction)
3.           Part 4 - Geometry Mode

After using programs such as 3DSMax and Maya, understanding the basic workflow of UDK has not been hard at all.

Without doing any static mesh import, I have created a practice scene with some very basic elements. I have only used models which can be found in the Content Browser. There are a lot of modular ones, so I just legod some things out, examining the advantages of modular assets.

First blockout

The blockout was done using only BSP brushes. I have tried to be very clean about my units, so everything is evenly positioned from the center point with proper scale.

I have looked at static meshes that emit light, by baking the lighting information into the textures around them. The little lights on the walls are meshes like that. Also, I've added a post-production effect as well to the second room of the building. I've also been able to slowly transition this effect, so that the color changes don't just pop, instead they slowly fade in and out.
I created a basic trigger for the door as well, so that when a player approaches it, it opens with proper sound effects. I've created these via Unreal Kismet and Matinee.

Very cool stuff indeed, I`m very eager to continue with the tutorials and start practicing with some very unique designs.