I have a question about courses, I want to create game assets mainly hard surfaces. I am more concerned with the pipeline process itself and some details in modeling. And I see that almost everywhere the standard is some kind of modeling program (blender, maya, etc.) then the pipeline often includes Zbrush, Substance Painter, Marmoset. As I noticed, it is always a standard set, sometimes some other specific programs are added to it. And this is ± 150 euros per month just for these programs. Plus, I look at courses from cgma and these courses cost up to 1000 euros per course. And I have a question whether it is worth the money because, as I understand it, all this knowledge can be obtained freely on the Internet and in essence you pay for the convenience of not wasting time searching for information and so on. And I’m also concerned about the quality of the teachers. I heard somewhere that usually the teachers on such courses are not that great at teaching and usually they teach on such courses because they were fired and so on. They teach on such courses just in between job searches and very often they say that they’ve been in the industry for 13-15 years, but you find them on artstation or right here on the website, and they only have 3 to 10 works in their portfolio. At the same time, you see people who have been in the industry for 5-6 years and they have hundreds of works in their portfolio, and this makes me even more wary of these teachers. I am ready to pay 100-200 euros for a course but 800-1000 euros for a course to get a certificate that is essentially useless and is not valid anywhere because you will get this certificate anyway, just if you have completed 80% of the course and it does not matter how much time you spent on it and what is the quality of your work, and the teacher’s feedback is 3-5 minutes for your completed task. I would understand such a price if the course was online and the teacher answered your question online, and not just a recorded video. Once again, to the question of whether such expensive courses are worth their money or is it in fact an overpayment and it is better not to look at such expensive courses at all, but to find a mentor or just grind yourself?
There’s no “everything answer” here.
Some courses are worth paying for, and some are not. Some teachers really are qualified to charge for their educational knowledge. Others are basically hacks, who have an inflated ego and a polished sales pitch.
Some people are simply poor at self-learning, and need an actual teacher to motivate them, guide them, and give some personalized feedback on their progress. Other people are great at learning on their own; they look for everything they can find for study - which they do intensely.
As to a “course certificate of completion” - yes, it’s worthless.
Hello !
I think to get started you can just try to make the most of blender and what’s available online.
I think substance painter, eventually when you’d like to become serious, is a good investment.
And about courses, well that really depends , at some point you might find some of them useful. I think if you really don’t know where to start a course can be good. Or you reached a point where you need some extra / specific knowledge…
I think we all want to believe that after watching a few hours of course we’re gonna go from zero to hero… That’s probably how tutors advertises their course, but also how apprentice like to think.
The reality is that even if a course can be helpful you’ll have to practice on your own for days/months/years. Courses are helpful to save some time, it’s especially great when you have access to a mentor that gives feedback but it’s not going to save your life either.
So practice with what’s available, and at some point you’ll have a better idea if you need an extra push.
A long time ago I bought this one : https://www.creativeshrimp.com/hardsurface-modeling-blender.html
Because I was really lacking in modeling especially hard surface.
I didn’t practiced enough to be able to create something similar to the robot they’re advertising. However I learned a lot of little tricks and theory about hard surface. Basically I made progress , probably something I could have done by investing more time looking for information. But as modeling isn’t my main thing I think that was the right way.
Anyway, I think to get started investing in course is a bit of a waste, unless you really don’t know where to start …
While I don’t have any experience with Zbrush, from what I’ve read you can do a pretty good job (maybe not as smooth or easy, but still very good final results) with Blender up to a point.
That point is usually once the mesh hits a size/density level that then just really slows down Blender. Having said that, for general game assets, you may not hit that limit, compared to say a film quality dragon, seen up close in 4K.
Failing that, there is the 3D Coat option, which has a permanent license and also a texture painting system along the lines of Painter.
If it must be Substance Painter, then you can buy a permanent license via Steam. You won’t get any updates once the next ‘main’ version is released, but having said that, it doesn’t change much each year at this point. Looking at the 2025 release and it seems pretty… meh. I’m still using the 2023 version and just by looking at everything which was produced by that or older versions and there isn’t much it can’t do.
For Marmoset, I think that is used a lot for UV, baking and maybe final renders. Again, it may not be as simple or easy, but you can likely do that with Blender, Painter, etc.
Having said that, if the goal is to get an ‘industry’ job, then sticking to the main apps could be a good thing. But even then, Painter can be the same, plenty of the over skills in sculpting could just be translated from Blender to Zbrush, so it may not matter too much.
As for courses, 1000 euros for a worthless certificate really seems pointless. If you are self motivated enough, then general Youtube, etc should be enough to get you started and to intermediate level as fast as you want to spend the time to get there.
Then at that point you will have a much greater understanding of it all, be better able to research and evaluate courses to fill knowledge gaps and take you to an advance level.
Marmoset is ~400 for permanent license.
Painter can be purchased on steam and its cost is less than 50$ for permanent steam license.
Painter can replace you marmoset, despite the fact what baking in marmoset are faster and way more cozy.
So basically your budget is something around <50$ for the software (painter) which can close baking and texturing tasks for you.
I guess you saw how people use zbrush for “dynamesh+polish”. Blender can do this, but as always in a more cheap way with less quality results.
Im personally can recommend you to find some free cources/youtube video and save money for finding a mentor.
Im never saw 1k+ cources, but anything around ~50-250$ are basically - “meeeeh”. Nothing really new or valuable compared to info you can find on youtube or forums for free.
It costs a bit more then that. The price isn’t too bad, but I don’t think discounted upgrades (which no longer happen), where even that cheap. Unless there’s some crazy currency conversion going on somewhere.
Yeah, my mistake. Its around 100usd for my region. Still more than affordale and worth every cent, even with a clumsy stuff which adobe doesnt fixed yet.
Maybe it’s just caveat emptor. Don’t be concerned with “certifications” in any program. (CG or otherwise …) What you’re looking for is information, and a learning process that works best for you. All of us are different.
Even though I am a self-taught computer programmer (yes, I earned a college degree, but it was a formality and I knew it), for many years I taught (and created …) sophomore-level evening courses at the local community college. It was a tremendously rewarding experience for me – even when a PhD professor from the local university was in my class, and he explicitly but very politely told me (offline …) not to refer to him in class as “Doctor.”
I learned that there are some people who greatly benefit from "organized instruction." (And, the community of “fellow students.”) I very happily spent many hours with them, in the classroom and in the “lab.” And, I tried to give them everything that they (all adult students …) came for. I am pleased and honored to say that they all rated me highly. (Wow …)
You need to consider what sort of educational/training experience would work best for you. It really is an entirely personal decision. “I picked it all up from a manual,” but my students needed (and, paid for …) me. (Wow …)
You also need to think about your direction. “Where are you trying to go (next …), and what do you think you need to get there?” Of course be willing to “invest money in yourself” when this appears appropriate – “a good trainer is worthy of his hire.” But: choose wisely – and, definitely, ask (!) the providers that you are seriously considering.
Now – just one thing more. The outcome, ultimately, is going to depend on you. The trainers can only serve you the meal as best they can: it’s up to you to eat it and be satisfied.
This… (for example_
is a bit older… but: the principles still are valid…
So you may just have a look at the free ones and and overview by the rest and search for some other (even in maya and/or substance) to get i more “insight” about it. Then you might simply watch some more free tutorials and if you are satisfied with any tutor you might just pay for some more advanced tutorial/course for some hundred.
Maybe even have alook at something like Udemy: 3D modeling first and then look at possible free tutorials…
Again: older tutorials/courses and also different applications can still teach you something.
Also: as mentioned above: the best judge about what does fit your needs is still… you.
Edit:
And this ( not directly linkable quote …so seach for “An open letter to anyone just starting out in game art.” from “the master” ***Frank Polygon *** might be helpfull…
Learning a game asset creation pipeline requires commitment and repetition.
…
Keep everything in perspective. Success isn’t guaranteed but it’s often much closer than it appears.
I probably expressed myself a little incorrectly. I’m not a newbie to Blender for about 2-3 years, I’ve just been doing Blender as a hobby for myself and I know a lot of things but not at a very high level except for modeling itself. I understand the pipeline for game assets, I just don’t have well-structured knowledge and confidence whether I’m doing everything right or not. How many poly counts will be abnormal for certain models, when you need to connect some parts of the model, and when to leave them unconnected is not a problem for me now “solving the topology” for me now the problem is such seemingly insignificant issues not only in modeling but in texturing, etc. but there are a lot of them and this distinguishes, in my opinion, a good 3D prop artist from a mediocre one, I can call myself mediocre or a beginner but not good at all. And probably in my case I need a mentor with experience, and definitely not courses but thank you all for the information and opinions expressed, sorry for my English, not my native language
Your English is fine. // Is there any company in your local area who is right now doing this sort of animation or modeling work? Even if it is not a direct connection to your intended longer-term career path, it would place you in direct contact with people who are right now doing paid-for work, and who might hire you to help them.
Basically, the key idea is to “get inside,” somewhere. “You learn a lot by watching …” and a professional reference is priceless.
Also: it doesn’t matter if they are using “Blender.” The concepts are interchangeable.
Well, it would probably be simpler to let your work speak for yourself so we can asses your level on our own 
While it’s probably not going to be as effective as getting a personal mentor, posting your work here and/or polycount is a way to have your stuff reviewed by experienced artists, get feedback and improve step by step.
Some courses are still valuable and could be a complementary thing, as it’s an opportunity to look over the shoulder of some artists you like ! Which can be quite informative too !
Anyway from my experience even if you meet amazing artists that will help you grow, there is always a limit of knowledge we can ingest in a day. Theory can be easy to understand, hard to apply… It’s a never ending learning journey and we’re constantly improving thanks to our own efforts and different people that comes and go.