Marmoset ships Toolbag 4.03
Marmoset has released Toolbag 4.03, a major free update to the real-time rendering and look dev software, adding hardware-accelerated render denoising on Nvidia RTX GPUs and improved CPU denoising.
The update also adds new selection, object manipulation, colour picking, texture painting and material editing controls, and streamlines group and layer workflow.
A real-time look development and rendering toolkit, particularly for games assets and portfolio work
A lightweight system for lookdev, compositing and final rendering, Toolbag is widely used by games artists, but is also increasingly being used in other sectors of the industry.
It enables users to visualise imported models quickly, setting up PBR materials and lighting, with last year’s Toolbag 4.0 update adding a new 3D texture painting system.
Users can then either bake texture maps for export to other DCC software or game engines – Toolbag exports directly to Unity, though not Unreal Engine – or render stills or animation directly.
Support for hardware-accelerated GPU denoising and improved CPU denoising
Toolbag 4.03’s version number is deceptive, since it packs in almost as many new features as 4.0 itself.
Key changes include GPU render denoising on Nvidia GPUs. The implementation supports hardware accleration via the RT cores in current-gen RTX GPUs, but will work with GeForce 10 series cards and newer.
The existing CPU denoiser gets a new High Quality mode that better preserves fine details.
New scene layout, texturing, materials and lighting tools
The update also adds new tools throughout Toolbag’s feature set, from scene set-up to lighting.
New selection controls include the option to marquee- or lasso-select objects in a scene, plus a magic wand tool and support for object, face and UV island selection in texturing projects.
In addition, it is now possible to edit pivot points of scene objects inside Toolbag, and to copy and paste objects within a scene preserving all of their mesh settings.
New texturing features include the option to paint straight lines by holding down [Shift], to paint random textures from a sprite sheet, and new brush tip contrast and warping settings.
The release also adds a new colour picker, capable of either sampling multiple materials simultaneously or working on a per-map basis. It can also sample images on external monitors.
In addition, transparent materials get new index of refraction controls.
Lighting workflow has also been updated, with the new Light Controller (shown in the video above) making it possible to position lights in a scene by clicking points on a mesh’s surface.
Toolbag then automatically places a 3D light so that it illuminates that point on the mesh, or generates a specular highlight there.
Improvements to layer workflow and file relinking
Workflow improvements include a revamp of the way that Toolbag handles layers and groups, including new options to colour code them, and to rasterise or merge layers.
Other changes a new Resource Locator for relinking missing files when opening scenes, and updates to Python scripting and workflow with local content libraries. You can find a full list via the links below.
Pricing and availability
Toolbag 4.03 is available for Windows 10 and macOS 10.15+. It is compatible with any Direct3D 11-capable GPU on Windows, and macOS GPU family 2.
New licences cost $299 for individual artists, and $799 for studios. Subscriptions cost $14.99/month for individuals and $39.99/month for studios. The 4.03 update is free to existing users.
Read an overview of the new features in Toolbag 4.03 on Marmoset’s website
Read a full list of new features in Toolbag 4.03 in the online release notes