For those who don’t know the tool: Matcha Pro is a Maya plug-in for reference cameras, camera matching and projection-based texturing. It exports layered PSD stacks for Photoshop and is distributed through ArtStation Marketplace.
Reference setup first
Kanstantsin V. has released Matcha, a free Maya plug-in for artists working with image planes, photo references and camera matching. Matcha Pro extends the same idea into projection painting, layered exports and scene migration. That is a very specific problem space, which is good. Fewer magic buttons, fewer promises of a new artistic religion. Installation is deliberately low ceremony. Unpack the archive, open Maya without administrator mode, then drag drag_drop_install.py into the viewport. The tool installs automatically and adds an icon to the currently selected shelf. Supported host versions are Maya 2022 to 2027.
How the workflow is structured
The documentation splits the tool into installation, layer-based workflow, Board View, Align Tab camera controls, Paint Tab mask painting, Layer Tools, layouts, interface color, hotkeys, update checking and bug reporting. Pro-only areas are marked separately in the docs.
The Align workflow starts with reference cameras. Artists create cameras, manage them from one interface, save the setup and restore it later. The Pro edition adds camera position history and viewport lock, which should help when camera alignment becomes the usual archaeology dig through renamed views and half-dead image planes.
After alignment, the Paint Tab handles mask painting and projection painting. The Pro workflow projects reference images onto the model, combines UV layers with Projection Layers, then exports projections, masks and layer hierarchy into an organized PSD stack. Version 1.1.0 also includes unpainted layers in Bake All and Export PSD Stack.
Layers and limits
The free edition keeps the core camera workflow but limits Projection Layers to 10 and layered node capacity for UV layers to 10. Projection painting is available as a preview only, without export. Camera transforms are included in both editions.
Matcha Pro removes the Projection Layer limit and raises layered node capacity for UV layers to 32. It also unlocks Board View, Layer Tools, Vertigo Effect, hotkeys, camera position history and viewport lock. The documentation does not spell out every Layer Tool operation in the exported DOCX, so those controls should be checked directly in the plug-in.
Migration, baking and fixes
Version 1.1.0 adds Import/Export Project, which stores scene migration data in a single .matcha file. That gives artists a direct way to move camera setups between scenes without rebuilding the whole reference structure by hand.
The same release adds a Baking Bar, a Clear All masks button and a Report a Bug button. It also fixes Ctrl+Z lag and Maya crashes during viewport interaction, creates the initial checkpoint automatically on first tool open, and applies the Z-fight fix to locked layers. Very glamorous, yes, but undo stability beats feature confetti every working day.
Licenses and pricing
Matcha is free and is listed as a 1.8 MB ZIP for Maya. Matcha Pro Personal is listed at USD $26.99, with a Standard License covering one person, one installation, commercial use and one commercial project up to 2,000 sales or 20,000 views.
Studio pricing is available for USD $123. The Studio license uses the Extended Commercial License, covers one seat, allows unlimited commercial projects, and includes priority support. Test Matcha on duplicate scenes before production use, especially around camera migration, undo, viewport interaction, Bake All and PSD export.
