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For those who don’t know the tool: 3DCoat covers sculpting, retopology, UV work, PBR painting and rendering. Applinks connect it with DCCs such as Blender, while 3DCoatTextura packages its painting and rendering tools separately.
The beta grows teeth
3DCoat 2026.11 turns the GPU node-texturing system previewed in June into a final release and surrounds it with a much larger set of sculpting, modelling, retopology and interchange changes. The Node System remains the headline, but this is no ceremonial version bump with three bug fixes hiding in a trench coat.
The visual Node Editor creates non-destructive materials, masks and effects. Parameters such as base colour, glossiness, rust intensity and scratches stay editable throughout the job, with changes appearing on the model in real time. Instead of painting a result, flattening it and discovering the art director has developed a sudden dislike of green corrosion, artists can retain the material logic and revise the useful controls.
That does not make painted layers obsolete. It gives texture artists another way to build repeatable surface behaviour and to expose variations without duplicating whole texture stacks. A sensible graph can reduce destructive revisions. An undisciplined graph can become a bowl of electronic spaghetti. Nodes remain noodeling.
What runs on the GPU
Procedural effects, maths operations, blending functions and noise generators are dynamically compiled into optimised shaders and evaluated on the graphics card. The underlying system uses NodeGraph Language, or NGL, to turn the graph into GPU code.
This is important for feedback, not merely for a handsome acronym. A procedural material may combine noises, remapping operations, curvature data, ambient occlusion, masks and channel processing. Recalculating that network interactively is the difference between adjusting a material and staring at a progress bar while reconsidering one’s career.
The official release notes do not provide comparative benchmarks, supported GPU tables for specific graphs or production-scale memory figures. Performance therefore needs measuring on the assets and cards a studio actually uses. // Not independently verified at press time.
Materials are only the beginning
The new system separates several procedural asset types. NGMaterials create complete Smart Materials that can react to curvature, shading and ambient occlusion. NGMasks generate editable dirt, wear and scratch patterns. NGModifiers apply procedural geometric deformation, while NGFilters process existing layer or object data rather than producing a new texture from zero.
NGVolumes move the idea into three-dimensional texture space. A volumetric material is evaluated through the object rather than laid across a two-dimensional UV chart, avoiding visible texture seams by design. That can be useful for stone, wood, layered deposits and other materials where a painted join is about as welcome as a boom microphone in the final shot.
The bundled library includes new node materials and masks. Legacy default Smart Materials have been converted to the graph system, so users are not greeted by a magnificent new editor and an empty shelf. Fabric materials based on scans from SCANIMAT are included as well.
Thirty channels walk into a material
The physically based material model now supports 30 channels. Standard surface properties sit beside additional channels intended for more elaborate light interaction and refraction. This extends the material definition beyond the familiar handful of colour, metalness, roughness and normal controls.
The practical gain depends on the renderer, shader target and export path at the other end. A rich working material is useful only if its important channels survive translation or can be baked into the maps required downstream. Thirty channels offer considerable control and at least 26 additional opportunities to wonder why the preview no longer matches the engine.
3DCoatTextura 2026.11 receives the texture-focused side of the release, including the GPU Node System, procedural materials and GLB export. Artists who only need painting and rendering can therefore use the specialised edition without buying the complete sculpting and modelling toolset.
Look development before UVs
The node system works in Per-Pixel Painting and as a shader system for sculpt objects. Artists can preview a material while sculpting, before retopology or UV mapping. This makes look development available earlier in the asset build, without forcing an early texture bake.
This changes the order of decisions. An artist can judge whether pores, panels, grooves or larger forms work with the intended surface response before committing to the low-resolution mesh. Material and form can develop together, which is useful when the perceived scale of detail depends on gloss, colour breakup or displacement.
Gizmos, search and fewer treasure hunts
The new inGizmoTransform node provides an interactive viewport control for position, rotation and scale. It connects to UVWTexture, TriPlanar and FragCoord nodes and can transform textures, procedural volume patterns and lattice structures without requiring a tour through several numeric fields.
The Sculpt and Modeling workspaces also gain text search in the Quick Access panel. Search boxes rarely make glamorous launch trailers, but finding a tool by typing its name is one of those suspiciously modern conveniences that becomes indispensable roughly twelve seconds after first use.
Voxel lattices inside any model
The release can generate internal voxel lattices and other volumetric structures inside a model. Pilgway positions the feature for lightweight 3D-printed parts as well as decorative patterns. Node-based surface and volume patterns can be converted into regular sculpt objects for further editing.
For additive manufacturing, an internal lattice can reduce material and weight while retaining useful strength. Yes, we got into 3D Printing, and yes, we know that being excited about it is like a kid telling you what the best dinosaur is, so we’ll shut up about it. But 3D Coat can help! Yaaaay!
The same machinery can create dense ornamental structures or repeating three-dimensional forms for design work. Once a pattern is converted to a sculpt object, conventional sculpting tools can modify it rather than leaving the result trapped inside the procedural graph.
Splitter, lofts and Hybrid Meshes
The new Splitter tool divides a model into separate parts and automatically places each result on its own layer. This removes some housekeeping from operations such as preparing multipart models, isolating components or turning a combined sculpt into objects that can be managed independently.
Lofted Surface expands the On-Plane tool with surfaces constructed from editable curves. Artists can define the loft and sculpt directly on the generated voxel surface. The approach suits controlled shells, armour panels, vehicle forms and other shapes where freehand sculpting needs a geometric chaperone.
Retopology meshes can also be converted into Hybrid Meshes and used as On-Plane sculpting surfaces. This lets a deliberately constructed low-resolution form guide voxel work. It is a useful reversal of the familiar high-to-low retopology journey: the tidy mesh gets to tell the unruly sculpt where to go.
LWO3 enters, GLB leaves
GLB export has been added for exchange with Blender and other compatible applications. LWO3 import brings current LightWave 3D scene files into the application. The Windows build is available from the official download page, which also offers a 30-day trial followed by a restricted, non-commercial Learning Mode.
GLB packages geometry, materials and related asset data into a compact binary form supported by Blender, web viewers, engines and many interchange tools. Its addition provides a more current delivery option than juggling separate model and texture files, although the exact material translation still needs inspection at the destination.
LWO3 import matters to LightWave users working with the newer object format. It also gives studios maintaining older LightWave-based libraries another route into sculpting, retopology and texturing without first converting every asset through an intermediary application. And you guys have NO idea how difficult it was to NOT make jokes about LightWave in 2026.
Availability and the warning
3DCoat 2026.11 is available for Windows, macOS and Linux. The Windows compatibility is with Windows 7, 8, 10 and 11. New users can run a full 30-day trial, after which the software switches to a restricted Learning Mode with non-commercial output limitations.
The release is substantial enough to deserve a parallel installation and a representative test asset. Studios should verify graph evaluation, memory use, bake results, colour handling, GLB translation, LWO3 imports, applinks and custom scripts before replacing a stable production build. Shiny nodes are lovely. Delivering the shot remains lovelier.
| Product | 3DCoat 2026.11 |
| Developer | Pilgway |
| Release status | Final release |
| Main editions | 3DCoat 2026 and the texture-focused 3DCoatTextura 2026 |
| Operating systems | Windows 7, 8, 10 and 11; macOS 10.15 or later; Linux with Ubuntu 20.04 or later listed as the baseline |
| Trial | 30-day full trial |
| After the trial | Restricted, non-commercial Learning Mode remains available |
| Licence models | Permanent, rent-to-own, monthly subscription and one-year rental; individual, company, education and student or teacher options |
| Current individual price | €279 plus VAT for a permanent node-locked 3DCoat 2026 licence during the launch promotion; regular price €379 |
| Updates with permanent licence | 12 months included; optional subsequent update listed at €45 from month 13 or €90 from month 25 |
| Download | Windows, macOS and Linux builds |
| Pricing | Official licence options |
