Announcements

 The Substance 3D team has put together a comprehensive introduction to OpenPBR aimed at 3D artists of all levels, across any discipline. This is a software-agnostic guide, covering the underlying model, how its layers and parameters work, practical material creation guidance, and an FAQ addressing common questions and pain points.It covers everything from the basics (what OpenPBR is, how dielectric and metallic materials differ) through to more advanced topics like transmission, subsurface scattering, thin-film, and more, as well as a section on how to avoid some of the most common mistakes.You can find the documentation right here!

 Substance 3D at SIGGRAPH 2026: faster workflows, OpenPBR everywhere, and digital twins at scale We just posted our SIGGRAPH 2026 announcements over on the Adobe blog. The key points:  OpenPBR is now supported right across the Substance 3D ecosystem — Painter 12.1, Designer 16, and Sampler 6 — with the entire Assets library (14,000+ materials, decals, and atlases) being converted too. Adobe has also released an open-source OpenPBR implementation on GitHub. Substance 3D Painter 12.1 delivers the long-requested Skew Map Painting, giving artists direct control over baking artifacts with brush, fill, and edge protection tools — alongside Auto Rebake, which speeds up iteration by only rebaking affected areas, a refreshed baking workspace, and a new Hard Surface Auto UV mode for mechanical assets. Substance 3D Designer 16 expands the procedural toolset with a redesigned Shape Splatter v2 node for scattering varied 3D forms procedurally, new SDF nodes for building and manipulating complex sha

 Substance 3D Painter 12.1 is here, and it brings some significant improvements to baking workflows, along with initial support for OpenPBR. Here's a rundown of what's new.  Auto Rebake Painter 12.1 introduces Auto Rebake, which automatically triggers a rebake whenever a change is detected, confining this to only the changed region rather than the project overall. This makes baking iteration significantly faster, particularly when working with skew corrections. Auto Rebake activates automatically when entering Skew Painting mode, but can also be toggled manually — and should you prefer full control, a new single-map quick rebake button is available, letting you rebake just the visible map without touching any other settings. Skew Map Painting  This release also brings in Skew Map Painting, a powerful new addition to the baking workflow that gives you direct, hands-on control over skewing artifacts — the distortions that can appear when baking low-poly meshes due to the angle at which r

Nick Hornby is a London-based sculptor whose works are conceived entirely in digital space before being realized as monumental physical sculptures in bronze, steel, and marble. In this piece for the Adobe blog, he discusses the creative process behind his Zygotes and Confessions series — including how he uses Adobe Substance 3D to test materials and surfaces, and how the boundary between digital model and finished artwork becomes increasingly blurred.

Adobe and Maxon are rolling out a seamless “Send to” workflow in the new release of ZBrush allowing you to send your meshes from ZBrush over to Substance 3D Painter more smoothly than ever before. This partnership between two of the key industry-standard tools used across games, VFX, animation, manufacturing, and product design is all about reducing friction in your creative workflow, freeing you up to focus on the more creative elements of your project that really matter.  Sculpt in ZBrush. Send your work directly to Substance 3D Painter in one click. And dive straight into texturing without breaking your flow. It’s really that simple. Try it out! You’ll need ZBrush 2026.2.0 (the Maxon One April 2026 update) and Substance 3D Painter 12.0.2. And for more info, Maxon have just posted a livestream demo of Master ZBrush Trainer Ian Robinson and all-around 3D Ninja Wes McDermott showing how the process works. You can watch that above, or click through to see it in YouTube right here.  

 We’re excited to share that Frame.io now supports 3D files natively — and it’s free on every plan.  You can upload GLB, USDZ, FBX, OBJ, STEP, SBSAR materials, and 14+ other 3D formats directly to Frame.io. It auto-generates a high-fidelity turntable so anyone on your team — even people without 3D software — can review, leave degree-stamped comments, and approve.  Spin. Share. Ship. This is the same review workflow you may already be using for video. Now for 3D.  "Can I get a quick look at that 3D file?" has just become easier to answer than ever before.  If you’re using Frame.io, give it a spin!  

 The latest Substance 3D releases are out. Designer 16 expands procedural capabilities with an improved Shape Splatter node and new SDF tools. Sampler 6 focuses on faster, more consistent material creation, including new templates and better HP Z Captis capture integration. And with ZBrush 2026.2.0 and Painter 12.0.2, you can now transfer meshes between the two apps in a single click. OpenPBR support is also now live across Designer and Sampler, and in beta in Painter. Head over to our post on the Adobe blog for more info!

A beta version of Substance 3D Painter 2026 is now available. This release features Skew Baking, Auto-Rebaking, OpenPBR compatibility, and introduces a new Hard-Surface mode for Auto Unwrap.New FeaturesSkew Baking: Paint skew correction maps in baking mode, using familiar tools as well as new helper functions like “Edge Protection”. Auto-Rebaking: toggle auto rebake for a baked map to instantly rebake that map as soon as any baking setting changes. Useful when painting skew maps. OpenPBR: support for the OpenPBR material standard. Includes new channels and shader. Hard-Surface Auto Unwrap: a new mode for auto-unwrap that works much better for non-organic, hard surface objects, with the additional bonus of calculating much faster than the default method.Why we made this betaWe’re releasing this beta to gather feedback on a first version of our new features. While all features are working, some may feel unfinished since it’s still early. By participating, you can help shape how these fea

 Today we’re announcing the release of Desirable Patina, the rust-themed Signature Collection by Loic Anquetil, available now on Substance 3D Assets.  Loic is a Senior 3D Artist/Material Artist working at Ubisoft, who has previously worked on titles including Ghost Recon Breakpoint and Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown. In our interview with Loic on the creation of the collection, Loic discusses how he studied rust references, built procedural noises, and translated corrosion patterns into Substance 3D Designer materials, as well as sharing some thoughts about how to use Substance 3D Designer like a creative toolbox.  Take a look! You can find the article right here, and the Desirable Patina Signature Collection is right here!

 New Content Available in Substance 3D Assets! The Substance 3D Assets library continues to grow with new content designed to integrate seamlessly across Substance 3D Painter, Sampler, and the wider ecosystem. New: Ribbon Assets (130 assets) Ribbons are a new asset type in Substance 3D Painter that allow you to place repeated elements along a path on your model, allowing you to easily make trims, seams, patterns, and other details that conform to surface shapes.  New: Texture Generators (30 assets) We’re introducing Texture Generators, a new category of parametric noises, grunges, and patterns. These assets are designed to help you add variation, imperfections, and surface depth directly within your materials. 30 texture generators are currently available; more are on the way.  USD Format Milestone All models in the Substance 3D Assets library – now over 9,000 – are available in USD format. Featured Collection: Desirable Patina Also available is Desirable Patina, a Signature Collection

 Hey there, one and all! We’re psyched to announce the release of Substance 3D Painter 12.0. This update introduces several new features designed to improve projection workflows, streamline project setup, and give artists more control when refining the final look of their assets. Some highlights include Warp to Geometry, a new projection tool developed with Adobe Research that helps project details cleanly onto complex surfaces, and a new post-processing stack that allows you to refine renders directly inside Painter. The update also brings improvements to the New Project window, automatic UV generation for hard-surface assets, and more.  Take a look at the full announcement in our post on the Adobe blog, which you can find at the link below. You can also find news about updates to Substance 3D Designer and new content in the Substance 3D Assets library. We hope you enjoy the update! Keep creating awesome stuff!

Heya! It’s just about time for the Game Developers Conference – aka GDC, one of the biggest annual events for the gaming industry across the globe! The event will take place at the Moscone Center in San Francisco from March 9-13; the Substance 3D team will be on hand for the occasion, with some outstanding presentations, portfolio reviews, and the legendary Substance Days After Party. Details: Monday, March 9 — Substance Days @ Moscone Center We’re hosting a Substance 3D Keynote presentation showcasing the latest Substance product updates, as well as sessions with some of the artists behind recent hit games Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, Doom: The Dark Ages, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, and South of Midnight. Monday, March 9 — Substance Days After Party This is a great way for artists, the Substance 3D team, and anybody with any interest at all in 3D to meet one another, share experiences, and have a great time. Come along, say hi, and let us know what’s on your mind. Attendance i