Abstract adds a new 2D painting system to InstaMAT 2026-07
Abstract has added a new 2D painting system to InstaMAT, its texture painting and material authoring software for game development, motion graphics and VFX work.
InstaMAT 2026-07, the latest update, makes it possible to paint directly on a mesh’s UVs in a dedicated 2D view alongside the 3D viewport, using many of the existing 3D painting features.
A newer alternative to the Substance 3D tools for games, motion graphics and VFX
On its release in 2024, InstaMAT got a lot of attention in the CG community, with many seeing it as an alternative to Adobe’s Substance 3D tools.
The core application, InstaMAT Studio, supports layer-based painting and node-based authoring workflows similar to Substance 3D Painter and Substance 3D Designer.
Paint directly onto a model’s UVs in a dedicated workspace
Although users can already paint directly onto a 3D model, InstaMAT 2026-07 adds a new 2D painting system, making it possible to paint directly on a mesh’s UVs in a dedicated 2D view.
The workflow uses InstaMAT’s existing painting engine, and supports the same key features as 3D painting, including symmetry, lazy strokes, paint projection and masking.
2D painting also supports the UDIM UV layout format common in VFX workflows, making it possible to display UDIM tiles in the 2D view and paint across them seamlessly.
Abstract pitches the new workflow as a way to achieve more precise texture placement than is possible with 3D painting.
Other new features
Other changes include the option to solo the active material section or UDIM tile, as shown above, making it easier to focus on a particular part of a texturing project.
The Mesh Bake Light node has been updated, and can now bake lighting from an environment map.
There is also a new Normal to Curvature Smooth node, which provides a “cleaner, broader” curvature map than the existing Curvature node.
The Tile Scatter and Guided Scatter nodes get a new Tile Number scatter mode, making it possible to scatter images in order.
Price and system requirements
InstaMAT Studio 2026-07 is compatible with Windows 10+, Windows Server 2019+, macOS 13.0+ and VFX Reference Platform 2024-compatible Linux.
Integration plugins are available for 3ds Max, Blender, Maya, Unity and Unreal Engine.
The Pioneer edition of the software is available free to artists and studios with revenue under $100,000/year, and can be used on commercial projects with attribution.
You can find details of commercial pricing in our stories on InstaMAT 2026.
Read more about the InstaMAT’s new UV painting toolset in Abstract’s blog post
Read a full list of new features in InstaMAT in the online release notes
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