What Is TextureCraft: a Free Open-Source 3D Texture Painter (New, Nov 2026)
Paint PBR materials straight onto 3D models with layers and masks, bake mesh maps, use smart materials, then export to any engine.
Independent third-party directory, not the official site. Always download from official channels.
What you're doing: Paint PBR textures on a 3D model and export them to a game engine
TextureCraft is a 3D texture painting tool in the Substance Painter category: paint colour, roughness and metalness in layers on the model, bake mesh maps, speed things up with smart materials and masks, then export with engine presets.
| What it solves | Painting materials on the model instead of tuning shader parameters |
|---|---|
| Output | PBR maps plus engine presets (official list includes Godot 4 ORM and OpenPBR) |
| Platforms | macOS / Windows / Linux / FreeBSD / browser (WebAssembly) |
- Install ArtCraft Launcher, or grab the installer for your OS from the official release.
- Import a model (the 1 Nov release reads cameras and textures from FBX / COLLADA / USD).
- Add a layer, constrain it with a mask, block in the base material, then stack filters (Bevel, Glow, Mosaic, Baked Lighting and more).
- Bake mesh maps and drive smart masks / smart materials from them.
- Export with the target-engine preset (Godot 4 ORM or OpenPBR) and verify metal/rough channels in the engine.
When to switch to something else: For the industry-standard Substance material library, team collaboration or a large ready-made smart-material collection, stay with Substance Painter for now.
Official public information (not yet hands-on tested)
What it is: an open-source 3D texture painter in pure Rust. Paint PBR materials on a model in layers with masks, bake mesh maps, drive smart materials from them and export for multiple engines.
Shipped in v0.2.0 (1 Nov): filters including High Pass, Edge Detect, Warp Directional, Grayscale, Normal Invert, Bevel, Glow, Mosaic and Baked Lighting; clear coat in USD export; cameras from FBX / COLLADA / USD; displacement and viewport shadows; geometry masks per mesh part; eight smart masks and four smart materials; Godot 4 (ORM) and OpenPBR export presets.
Form factor: native macOS / Windows / Linux / FreeBSD plus a WebAssembly build; MIT OR Apache-2.0; the README advertises an MCP server for agents.
Maturity: official badge says 'in active development'; the repository was created on 14 Oct 2026 and v0.2.0 is its first public release.
Can it replace Substance Painter — and who is it for?
It fills a gap the ArtCraft suite did not have: 3D texturing. The main chain — import a model, paint in layers, bake, export — works today, but it is early: material libraries, tutorials, team pipelines and Substance-ecosystem compatibility all need time.
- Good for: indie developers, game jams, anyone who wants quick PBR materials on a self-made model, and Godot / in-house engine users who need ORM maps.
- Not for: teams that depend on the Substance smart-material library, collaboration/versioning, or film-grade asset delivery.
How to get started
- Check the official app page's screenshots and feature list to confirm it covers the texture channels you need.
- Download
texturecraft-web-0.2.0.zipfrom the official release and serve it locally for a zero-install trial, or install the desktop build. - Run one low-poly model through the full chain (paint → bake → export → engine) before migrating a real project.
This page summarises official public information checked against GitHub and the official site on 2 Nov 2026; we have not yet run a hands-on test. Stars and versions refresh automatically.
Related apps
- CADCraft — CAD alternative
- DesignCraft — InDesign alternative
- FigCraft — Figma alternative
Continuously updated
ArtCraft ships weekly. Scan the QR code to follow our WeChat account for release notes and hands-on updates.