Adobe releases Substance 3D Stager 3.0 in beta
Adobe has released Substance 3D Stager 3.0, the new version of its scene layout and rendering software, in public beta.
New features include Generative Background, a new system for generating background environments for scenes from text prompts, powered by Adobe’s Firefly generative AI toolset.
The update also improves preview rendering, adds new tools for creating 3D text and physical lights, and makes the Select Tool more user-friendly.
An intuitive way for less specialist 3D artists to create virtual product photographs
Launched in 2021, Substance 3D Stager is a shot layout and rendering application.
Aimed at designers as well as specialist 3D artists, it is intended to provide an intuitive workflow for creating photorealistic brand visualisations and product mockups.
Users can lay out scenes using physics-based tools to place assets, and pick from libraries of readymade materials and ‘environment stages’ mimicking real-world studio lighting.
AI-based Generative Background system creates environments from text prompts
The main new feature in Substance 3D Stager 3.0 is Generative Background, a new system for adding a background to a scene without the need to find a suitable stock image.
Powered by Firefly, Adobe’s suite of generative AI tools, it enables users to create the background by entering a simple text description.
Users can adjust the output by selecting presets for color, tone, lighting and composition, with Stager generating four variant images from which to pick.
The software’s Match Image system then automatically adjusts the perspective to that of the camera, and matches the environment lighting in the scene to the image.
Stager automatically attaches Adobe’s Content Credentials to assets generated using Firefly, indicating in the metadata that they are AI-generated.
Better speed and visual quality in the real-time renderer
The update also adds an interactive denoiser when editing a scene in Design mode, making it possible to see high-quality viewport previews more quickly.
The real-time rendering engine also now handles translucency better, displaying refractions when rendering objects like glass, plastics and liquids.
Other new features
Other new features include tools for creating 3D text and physical lights.
Updates to existing features include a redesigned Select Tool with a “screen-oriented bounding box design for easier compositing at lower angles”.
It is also now possible to group cameras, and to save custom scenes as templates.
Price, system requirements and release date
Substance 3D Stager 3.0 is in beta. Adobe hasn’t announced a final release date. The current stable release, Substance 3D Stager 2.1, is available for Windows 10+ and macOS 11.0+.
The software is now rental-only, Adobe having discontinued the old Steam perpetual license at the start of the year.
It is available as part of Adobe’s Substance 3D Collection subscriptions, which cost $49.99/month or $549.88/year for individuals; $1,198.88/year for studios.
Read a full list of new features in Substance 3D Stager 3.0 in the online release notes
Have your say on this story by following CG Channel on Facebook, Instagram and X (formerly Twitter). As well as being able to comment on stories, followers of our social media accounts can see videos we don’t post on the site itself, including making-ofs for the latest VFX movies, animations, games cinematics and motion graphics projects.