Game Art Texturing Masterclass – The Complete Pipeline

In this in-depth game art texturing masterclass, Robin will take you through the complete 3D texturing pipeline used in AAA game production. You’ll learn how to organize your workflow, create optimized textures, and understand how each step connects to professional studio standards.

Enrollment Open

What You'll Learn

Course Overview

Learn to think and work like a Senior 3D Artist with Sierra Division’s Robin Mariančík.

In this in-depth game art texturing masterclass, Robin will take you through the complete 3D texturing pipeline used in AAA game production. You’ll learn how to organize your workflow, create optimized textures, and understand how each step connects to professional studio standards.

Using tools such as RizomUV, Substance, and Marmoset, you’ll go through the full process, from preparing and packing UVs of pre-cut models to creating textures from scratch, adding complexity and consistency, and achieving polished final renders. Along the way, you’ll gain insight into real AAA production methods, learning not only how to texture efficiently but also how to think like an experienced artist.

By the end, you’ll have a solid understanding of the AAA texturing pipeline and the practical skills needed to bring game-ready assets to life. This course is designed to function like a guided group mentorship, with a focus on specific, real deliverables and outcomes. It’s a viable alternative or stepping stone towards mentorship, at a fraction of the cost.

THIS COURSE IS IDEAL FOR

  • Game artists who already know the basics of 3D modeling and want to specialize in texturing assets for AAA games.
  • Game artists who want to understand professional studio workflows and standards used in the industry.

Course GALLERY

Course Goals

  • Gain a thorough understanding of how to optimize and streamline a texturing workflow
  • Have a portfolio showcasing 5-10 high-quality texture images
  • Master the procedural texturing pipeline
  • Learn from a top artist at Sierra Division

Prerequisites

Must have familiarity with 3D concepts and Substance Painter Substance Painter Substance Designer Maromoset Toolbag (for baking)

Assignments

Open

Learn Together on Student Boards

Collaborative workspaces where students submit weekly assignments, receive feedback, share WIPs, and learn from the progress of their peers.

PAINTOVERS & FEEDBACK

Get clear visual feedback through paintovers and detailed comments that help you understand exactly what to improve.

LEARN FROM EVERY PROJECT

Follow the progress of other students and discover new techniques, workflows, and creative solutions through their WIPs, project breakdowns, and mentor feedback.

SHARED KNOWLEDGE BASE

From references and workflow tips to paintovers, everything is organized in one place for easy access throughout the course.

STAY MOTIVATED

Learning alongside other artists helps keep you inspired, accountable, and committed to your goals.

COURSE CONTENT

1
Week 1 Uvs and Baking
In week one, students will be provided with a pre-cut Model. On this Model, they will be packing the UVs with the goal of hitting the minimum target texel density by using techniques like mirroring, downscaling certain islands and upscaling others to capture high-density detail areas better. Both Models — high poly and low poly — will be unorganized. Students will be required to prepare them for Baking and import them in Marmoset Toolbag. After this, they will be creating Bakes there. The final Bakes must have no Baking errors and no skewed details caused from projecting it to a flat surface. The final part of this week will be the preparation of the Substance Painter scene for Texturing.
2
In week two, students will be tasked with collecting references related to the provided Models and their materials. They will create an organized collection of them in PureRef. Secondly, one of their goals will be to create their own stencils for Texturing. They will also be encouraged, but not required, to go outside and take their own pictures and use them for creating stencils. Lastly, based on the collected references and their imagination, they will be making their own 2D graphic labels which will later be used in Substance Painter.
3
In the third week, we will take an in-depth look at the various tools used for Texturing, including generators, filters, anchors, and other effects. Additionally, students will learn how to create simple custom filters in Substance Designer, which will be utilized later in Substance Painter.
4
In week four, students will learn how to organize their layers and folders in Substance Painter. This will help them orient themselves in complex files, with a substantial amount of material. They will also learn how to set up base materials as a solid foundation for further Texturing. They will learn about variation which is necessary for creating interesting Textures.
5
In week five, students will learn the importance of variation in their Textures and how to look for it in references. They will also build upon their base materials and learn how to start creating unique elements, through the combination of anchors and different effects.
6
In week six, students will start building more complex unique effects with the help of various grunges, stencils, filters, generators, anchors, and custom painting. They will be adding unique details, like peeling paint, leaky rust, height variation, unique scratches, and marks. Layering different effects and experimentation will be important during this course.
7
In week seven, students will finish up their Textures by adding overall dirt and grunge that will help unify the entire look of the asset. They will learn how to layer different types of dirt and how important it is to add some unique touches to break the uniformity of the asset. They will also be doing final adjustments before the final Renders.
8
The last week of the course will be dedicated to importing the Model and Textures into Marmoset Toolbag and setting up a scene for final Renders. Students will gain hands-on experience in setting up lights, cameras, and post-processing effects. They will also learn how to create a simple environment and experiment with various lighting scenarios within the same file to discover the most captivating results.

Learn From The Best

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Robin Mariančík is a Senior 3D Artist at Sierra Division. He started out as a freelance artist with NVIDIA, working on projects like Digital Twins and Racer X, and now contributes to Counter Strike 2 and other exciting projects at Sierra Division.

His work has been featured in industry publications such as 80 Level and Games Artist. At Sierra Division Academy, Robin enjoys teaching AAA-quality workflows and practical techniques that help students build professional level skills.

Student SHOWCASE

Learn at your Own Pace

All options include the complete course. Choose the amount of time that best fits your learning style.

8
Weeks Access
$650
or $162.50 × 4 installments
  • Full 8-week course content
  • 8 weeks to complete 8 rounds of instructor feedback on assignments
  • 1-year course content & Miro board view access
  • Exclusive Academy Discord access
  • Downloadable project files
  • Monthly live Q&A sessions
  • Certificate of completion
Get Started
16
Weeks Access
$775
or $193.75 × 4 installments
  • Full 8-week course content
  • 16 weeks to complete 8 rounds of instructor feedback on assignments
  • 8 extra weeks for review & polish
  • Exclusive Academy Discord access
  • 1-year course content & Miro board view access
  • Downloadable project files
  • Monthly live Q&A sessions
  • Certificate of completion
Get Started

Installment plans on all options where available

Ask a qUESTION

Have questions about the course, prerequisites, or anything else? Drop us a message and we'll get back to you shortly.

Related COURSES

Under the expert guidance of Ben Keeling, Principal Environment Artist at Respawn, this course  teaches how to build engaging modular environments inside of Unreal 5, using AAA production workflows.

Set yourself up for success in the games industry as an environment artist. Learn how to build a professional 3D environment art portfolio that shows you’re ready for a AAA studio role.

In this group mentorship course, expert environment artist Alex Beddows from That’s No Moon shares industry insights and provides personalized feedback you won’t get from self-paced tutorials. Through in-depth video lessons and live Q&As, you’ll receive clear guidance on working within a professional production pipeline and how to improve your skills.

Realism in texturing is more than detail; it is about creating materials that feel alive. In this course, Sierra Division Environment Artist Niels Couvreur will guide you through Substance 3D Painter to achieve that level of authenticity.

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