Version 10.1 of Substance 3D Painter, released near the end of 2024, is a major update that brings several improvements designed to make the texturing experience smoother and more powerful. With new features, enhanced support for the USD format, and significant performance upgrades, this version aims to meet the needs of 3D artists, game designers, and VFX professionals. Notably, the addition of new filter options and an update to core dependencies ensure a greater flexibility and speed during the creative workflow.
Substance 3D Painter 10.1 mainly focuses on introducing new tools and, as expected, optimizing existing features. Some of the most major additions include new filters, such as the Embroidery Decal filter, which allows users to add textile-like details to 3D surfaces, and the FXAA filter, which reduces aliasing and improves texture quality, especially on sharp edges. Additionally, the Fill Area Color/Mask Filter enables users to quickly fill closed areas or outlines, making the texturing process easier, particularly in complex scenarios.
Other new filters include the High Pass Filter, useful for generating grayscale textures for advanced effects like detail enhancement or blurring, and the Pixelate Filter, which simulates a lower resolution to create stylized visual effects. The introduction of the Posterize Filter allows for color reduction in an image, making it ideal for achieving high-contrast, stylized shapes. For sure all these filters will sound familiar if you already used Photoshop.
A highly anticipated tool in this update is the Threshold Filter, which lets users create binary masks quickly, perfect for handling sharp black-and-white transitions. Additionally, the Smoothstep Filter provides an alternative method for refining grayscale information by applying an exponential curve for smoother gradients.
These new tools, along with performance improvements, are designed to optimize the workflow when creating 3D textures, catering to the needs of artists and developers in various fields such as game design, VFX, and virtual reality. The new filters provide quick solutions for achieving high-quality effects without relying on external tools, while updates to project management and faster loading times help users work more efficiently, especially on complex projects. In fact Substance 3D Painter is aimed at professionals and content creators working with 3D object texturing. It’s ideal for 3D artists, game designers, VFX developers, and anyone in digital simulation fields who need detailed control over materials and textures. Additionally, with improved USD format support and better import/export options, this update is perfect for those working in multidisciplinary teams with this (not so new anymore) interexchange file format.
Adobe continues to support Substance 3D Painter, making it one of the leading tools for professional 3D texturing. Since Adobe acquired Allegorithmic, the original creators of Substance, the software has continued to evolve, improving integration with other Adobe applications and responding to the needs of industry professionals. As professionals we see also a bit of the first appearance of Quixel painter inside this tool.
Version 10.1 is the result of a series of software updates that enhance both functionality and core dependencies. The adoption of Qt 6 and the update to Python 3.11 have improved compatibility and stability (with a minor set of changes imposed to plugin developers). Additionally, key components such as Substance Engine 9.1.3, OpenEXR 3.2, OCIO 2.3.2, and OpenSubdiv 3.6.0 have been upgraded, providing more processing power for handling complex meshes, textures and materials.
A heartfelt thanks to the developers of Substance 3D Painter for their dedication, particularly for the significant improvements made for Linux users. These include support for Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) 8.6 and later, as well as performance optimizations for NVIDIA graphics hardware.
The updates in Substance 3D Painter 10.1 pave the way for an even more powerful and versatile future in texture creation. With ongoing improvements in VFX standards and increasing compatibility with formats like USD, it’s easy to see the potential for expanded collaboration between different software applications, making Substance 3D Painter more integrated into digital production workflows. Moving forward, Adobe is expected to further enhance the software’s capabilities, leveraging the latest advancements in graphics and AI to improve efficiency and quality in creative workflows.
While opinions on Adobe’s efforts remain divided between supporters and critics, it’s undeniable that Substance 3D Painter 10.1 marks a significant leap forward in 3D texture creation. This update introduces advanced filters, performance optimizations, and improved USD format support, allowing artists and industry professionals to work faster, more precisely, and with greater creative freedom.
For the massive list of fixes and additions you can refer to the official release notes: https://helpx.adobe.com/substance-3d-painter/release-notes/version-10-1.html
– article by Canterino F.
