Check out MattePaint 4.0
MattePaint has expanded its library of copyright-free source images for matte painters, making the content available in RAW and EXR format, and as PNG files with the sky already masked out.
Version 4.0 of the site also introduces a new set of 50,000px-wide 360-degree HDRI sequences and makes MattePaint training available as a part of all paid subscriptions.
Source images for matte painters: now also available as RAW and EXR files
Founded in 2017 as a resource “by artists, for artists”, MattePaint provides high-quality, high-resolution, copyright-free source images for matte painting work for visual effects.
At the time of writing, its online library contains just under 70,000 assets, each ‘priced’ in download credits according to resolution and file format.
With the launch of MattePaint 4.0, images are available in a much wider range of formats: as well as JPEG and PNG files, MattePaint now provides RAW and EXR files.
The RAW files are provided as 16-bit DNGs at multiple resolutions, while the EXRs are 32-bit linear sRGB files.
The new formats provide more flexibility over how MattePaint images are used in production, and increase their suitability for use as environment backdrops or projected textures, and in photogrammetry work.
MattePaint is also now using AI-based technology to automatically mask out the sky in source photos, so images are also available in PNG format with readymade alphas for the sky areas.
The new formats are available for the majority of MattePaint’s existing assets, barring a few low-res images.
New 360-degree HDRI sky sequences
In addition, MattePaint has added a new set of 360-degree HDRI skies, available as sequences shot at two-to-three-minute intervals, and provided at 50,000px width with tonemapped backplates.
Anyone with a MattePaint subscription can download all the HDRIs at 2K resolution without using up credits.
Video training content from MattePaint Academy is also now included with all subscription plans.
Since we last covered MattePaint, free subscriptions have been discontinued – MattePaint says they were being “heavily exploited” by some users – so you will need a paid subscription to access the content.
Pricing
For artists earning under $100,000/year, subscriptions to MattePaint now cost between $14/month and $29/month, with more expensive plans providing more download credits and higher-resolution HDRIs.
For studios, subscriptions cost $199/month or $499/month, according to the number of download credits. Extra credits cost $15 per 200.
Read more about the new features in MattePaint 4.0 on the site’s blog