Ultimate Weapon Tutorial 2 – The Complete Hard-Surface Masterclass
80+ hours. Full AR-15 weapon system. Complete AAA pipeline from first primitive to final 4K render.
This is the tutorial I always wanted to bring to you. We build a game-ready AR-15 from scratch in Blender, Substance Painter, and Marmoset Toolbag. Every component. Every technique. Nothing skipped.
Watch the 'What's Inside' Video here: https://youtu.be/HMUsvzSa81A
▶ What's Inside:
■ 80+ hours of structured, AAA production training
■ Full AR-15 weapon system (50+ components)
■ Modeling, UVs, baking, texturing, rendering, the complete pipeline
■ 30+ hours dedicated to texturing and smart materials
■ 10+ texture skins to build your own material library
■ Free 7-hour Holosight chapter included
■ Free 7-hour SFP Scope chapter included
■ Subtitles: English, Spanish, Korean, Chinese (Simplified)
▶ Software Used:
Blender • Substance Painter • Marmoset Toolbag 4 or 5
▶ What You'll Learn:
■ Hard-surface modeling from primitives to high-poly
■ Boolean workflow and cleanup techniques
■ Remesher workflow for high-poly conversion
■ UV unwrapping and texel density management
■ Baking in Marmoset Toolbag
■ Smart material creation in Substance Painter
■ Wear layers, edge damage, and surface storytelling
■ Building a reusable texture library
■ Portfolio-ready presentation and 4K export
▶ Who This Is For:
Aspiring 3D artists who want to break into the games industry. Intermediate artists looking to level up their hard-surface skills. Anyone who wants to build a complete, production-ready asset from scratch.
▶ Instructor:
Tim Bergholz • 20 Years AAA (Crytek, Ubisoft Toronto, Digital Extremes)
▶ Essential Files Included:
■ Reference images
■ Alpha maps and textures
■ Project files (Blender, Substance, Marmoset)
■ Subtitles in 4 languages
■ Full plugin list and setup guide
▶ Try Before You Buy:
Watch the free 7-hour Holosight tutorial on YouTube: youtube.com/playlist?list=PLGqVmXAMVB64_zT65cqd8vVP64kobeiKW
▶ Questions?
Join the ChamferZone Discord—5,600+ artists ready to help: discord.com/servers/chamferzone-286519901848469504
Happy modeling and see you in the tutorial.
— Tim
This course is the result of a single focus: to create the hard-surface tutorial I wished existed when I was starting out in the industry.
What Makes This Course Different?
It's the Complete System. We don't just model a cool looking shell. We build the entire weapon system with over 50 individual components. You will learn how every single part from the bolt carrier group to the magazine spring, is modeled, unwrapped and textured to AAA standards. You see every click and understand the decisions behind it.
Repetition is the Teacher: The workflow you learn in the free Holosight tutorial is the exact same workflow applied to the entire AR-15. You will perform the blockout > Boolean > high-poly (remesher) > UV > bake > texture loop dozens of times. By the end this pipeline won't just be something you've watched but it will be muscle memory. You'll know why we make certain decisions (e.g. for topology) and how to approach any new hard-surface challenge.
Texturing is Half the Battle. With over 30 hours dedicated to texturing in Substance Painter this isn't a modeling course with a single texture slapped on at the end. You'll learn to build a reusable smart material library from scratch covering wear layers, edge damages, oil stains and procedural workflows such as camouflage textures. You'll create over a dozen unique texture skins giving you the skills to make any asset look production ready and you will know how to build your own personal AR skin.
Your Instructor: I'm Tim Bergholz. I've spent 20 years in AAA game development at studios like Crytek, Ubisoft Toronto and Digital Extremes. I've trained artists who now work at top studios worldwide and my 3D assets sold on CG marketplaces are used in countless games on Steam: helping indie studios ship AAA quality weapons without requiring the AAA budget.
Try Before Buy: If you are uncertain if the workflow is right for you you can watch the complete free 7-hour Holosight tutorial on YouTube. It's a full start to finish chapter from the main course. Experience the teaching style, pacing and depth of detail with zero risk as we model, unwrap and texture the holosight which you can add to the AR15 afterwards.
All 12 subtitle tracks re-synced to match the corrected Episode 3 timeline. Apologies for the delay, ran into some API issues with the translation tool that slowed things down.