Plasticity - DIGITAL PRODUCTION

Plasticity 2026.1 adds hidden lines and PolySplines

Bela Beier — Tue, 21 Apr 2026 05:00:00 +0000

For those who don’t know the tool: Plasticity sits between DCC blocking and CAD cleanup, with bridges into Blender and Cinema 4D, plus exports for pipelines that like solids more than wiggles.

Plasticity 2026.1 focuses on two areas production artists actually feel: getting clean drawings out of 3D, and getting cleaner surfaces into CAD. It also tightens a bunch of everyday operations, from object management to numeric input, so the app stops fighting you over small stuff.

The release introduces three new commands: Export Hidden Line, PolySplines, and Slot. Export Hidden Line generates technical drawings as SVG. PolySplines converts mesh objects into editable NURBS surfaces with G2 continuity. Slot generates a closed slot profile from an open curve by offsetting it symmetrically and capping the ends.

Export Hidden Line turns the viewport into deliverables

Export Hidden Line generates technical SVG drawings from 3D objects. It supports hidden edge display, line styling, line colouring, and a grid view template that automatically positions objects. It also supports hatching with multiple methods and can export an object shader.

In practic,e that means you can pull a clean vector drawing directly from the model and keep it editable downstream, whether the next stop is a layout app, a documentation pass, or just a quick client PDF where crisp lines matter more than render noise.

Export Hidden Line also taps into the reality that line drawings are rarely only about engineering orthos. The command supports stylistic control through line styling and hatching, letting you steer the result toward either strict drafting or something more presentation friendly, without leaving the CAD context.

PolySplines aims for smooth surfacing from meshes

PolySplines converts mesh objects into editable NURBS surfaces in Plasticity, generating clean single and multi-span surfaces with G2 continuity. This matters because it draws a hard line between two worlds: polygon modeling and surface quality.

PolySplines is explicitly about turning mesh objects into NURBS surfaces you can keep editing as CAD geometry, rather than freezing the result into a one-way conversion. That makes it relevant for workflows where a mesh starts the shape exploration, but a solid or surfacing stage needs continuity you can inspect and work with.

Slot is small, mechanical, and welcome

Slot creates a closed slot shape by offsetting an open curve symmetrically on both sides with capped ends. The release notes call out mechanical parts like bolt slots and ventilation cutouts as examples.

This is the kind of command that saves time because it removes the little ritual steps everyone does manually. When a profile has a predictable structure, a single-purpose tool beats a pile of offsets, trims, and cleanups. Slot exists to make that predictable structure boring again.

Sketching and transforms get less fiddly

A set of changes in 2026.1 targets precision input and interaction consistency. Commands that share the Gizmo now accept Tab to enter a precise distance value. The release notes list Move, Rotate, Scale, Push Face, Extrude, and Thicken as supporting this behavior. That makes numeric input less modal, and it keeps precision work closer to the manipulator where you already are.

Numerical precision also increases for commands using the input function equals sign. Copying values can now include up to 8 decimal places with Ctrl plus C, with an example value copying as 30.34587689. That kind of detail sounds niche until you hit a tolerance edge case.

There is also a new 2D Snapping option in the Planes menu. When enabled and an active construction plane is set, all picked points project onto that plane. Dragging points moves them along the plane rather than in 3D space, and related interactions follow the plane orientation. If you ever looked at a sketch and realized it is technically three dimensional when you thought it was flat, this switch exists for you and for teh rest of us who want fewer surprises.

Outliner quality of life: search and active collections

The Outliner now includes a search field accessible via Ctrl plus F or the search icon, intended to make it easier to find specific objects in crowded scenes. Groups in the Outliner also pick up a new behavior: double clicking a group sets it as the Active Collection. Newly modeled, imported, or created objects will automatically be placed into that group, and a visual highlight indicates which collection is currently active.

Materials gain preservation and density

Copying and pasting objects with inherited materials into a newly opened scene window now preserves those materials correctly.

The Material menu also gains a Density field. Units can be adjusted in the Units section, and final mass calculations display in the Selection menu. If you ever needed a rough mass check without leaving the app, this puts the information close.And you don’t wast filament on your 3d printer.

Core commands get meaningful updates

Several existing commands gain new capabilities. Place now supports placing both Mesh and Instance objects. For instances, only Face and Edge snap points are supported. For Mesh objects, Vertex and Face snap points are supported. Place also supports creating instances directly when placing objects.

Mirror can now create instances when the Make instances option is enabled, and it can be invoked with “I”. Extrude now allows extruding surface edges directly. Extrude also adds a mode toggle: Individual mode extrudes each surface along its own normal, while Direction mode extrudes all selected surfaces along a single unified direction. Patch now accepts Regions as valid input, which was previously unsupported.

Tangent Circle now shows an inline radius input during creation, making it easier to see and round the value, and to enter a precise value within the allowed range. All of this reads like a release aimed at modleing speed and predictability rather than novelty for novelty’s sake. Even the instancing hooks in Place and Mirror suggest the tool wants you to iterate without duplicating yourself into a corner.

Hardware navigation and interface polish

Also, if you rely on a SpaceMouse to stay sane in CAD navigation, refinements tend to be the kind of improvement you notice immediately and then never want to give back. Since I do have a Spacemouse and a CADMouse in my hand all day, this is relevant :)

Formats, licensing, and pricing

Plasticity offers a 30-day free trial with essential 3D modeling tools, STEP import, and low resolution OBJ and STL export, with no commercial use allowed.

The Indie license is priced at 175 USD plus local taxes and includes commercial use for an individual license, node-locked up to 2 machines, essential tools, STEP, OBJ, STL, and Parasolid import and export, FBX import, and version updates for 12 months. It also includes the Blender bridge.

The Studio license is priced at 299 USD plus local taxes and includes commercial use for an individual license, node-locked up to 4 machines, essential tools plus professional and expert-level solid and surfacing tools, more import and export formats including IGES and ACIS , Rhino import, plus DXF and DWG import on Windows only, and version updates for 12 months. It includes access to a beta program for 12 months, Blender bridge, and xNURBS on Windows and Mac only. The release notes name PolySplines as a Studio only feature.

Production reality check

New tools and innovations should be tested before use in production, especially when they touch surfacing, continuity, and export formats that can ripple through downstream steps.

If you want the safest first step, try Export Hidden Line on a few representative models and confirm your SVG consumers interpret strokes, dashes, and hatching the way your team expects. For PolySplines, validate the surface editability and continuity inspection on shapes that normally break conversions, not on the easy hero demo mesh.

https://doc.plasticity.xyz/release-notes/whats-new-2026.1

The post Plasticity 2026.1 adds hidden lines and PolySplines first appeared on DIGITAL PRODUCTION and was written by Bela Beier.

Plasticity 2025.3: Now with Instances, Curves and Clouds

Bela Beier — Thu, 18 Dec 2025 07:00:00 +0000

For those who don’t know the tool: Plasticity by Plastic Software is a NURBS modeller designed for artists who prefer CAD precision without CAD overhead. It runs on Windows, macOS and Linux, sits between MoI and Fusion, and exports clean geometry for Blender, Maya, Houdini and other DCC tools.

Instancing Arrives

Plasticity 2025.3 adds proper instancing. The new Create Instance command generates live references of solids, sheets, curves or groups. Changes to the master object automatically propagate across all instances, keeping files light and consistent. When geometry needs editing, Realize Instances converts them back into full bodies. Array and Mirror commands now also support instances, allowing users to pattern complex forms without duplication.

The new Publish to Plasticity Share feature lets users export a lightweight mesh preview to the web. Only mesh data is uploaded (no CAD data or full project files) so models can be reviewed safely by clients or collaborators through a browser link. It is designed for quick visual checks rather than full production transfers.

Precision Modelling Tools

Plasticity 2025.3 expands its measurement toolkit with Measure Radius, providing direct readouts on cylindrical or conical forms. The new Ellipse Tool finally delivers native ellipse creation with precise control. Measurements now display clear arrowheads at both ends, and curves render with thinner strokes for cleaner viewports.

Smarter Manipulation and Pivot Control

Edges on cylindrical or conical surfaces can now be moved directly while retaining analytical geometry. The Move tool supports both interior and exterior edge adjustments if the adjacent faces are planar, cylindrical or conical. Pivot points now align automatically along surface normals when primitives or sketches are placed, streamlining operations on complex shapes.

Curvature and Continuity with Real-Time Feedback

The former Measure Curvature command is now Toggle Curvature, featuring a right-panel menu for comb scaling and visibility control. Both Toggle Curvature and Measure Continuity now display live updates: manipulating curves or edges shows curvature and continuity changes immediately. Each offers its own panel with G0/G1/G2 scaling and deviation displays. Files from 25.3 remain backward compatible, with curvature data stripped when opened in older versions.

Enhanced Arrays, Mirrors and Sweeps

Array commands now support meshes, images and instances, with a Make Instances toggle for lightweight duplication. The Mirror command can now mirror meshes and instances, including negative scaling for direct axis reflection. The Sweep tool gains Mitre and Round corner types for guiding curves around sharp or smooth bends, adding control for product-style surfacing.

Export and Topology Controls

Plasticity’s export engine grows more configurable. OBJ export gains several topology and cleanup features:

Remove Small Features strips fine details by numeric threshold for retopology or baking workflows.
Simplify Radial Surfaces maintains continuous edge flow across curved forms.
Convex Ngons Only prevents concave ngon generation, improving downstream shading in tools like RizomUV or 3ds Max.
OBJ export also now supports empty meshes and un-realised instances. SVG export is now available for curves, enabling vector output for documentation or design applications.

Section Analysis for Meshes

Section Analysis can now cut through mesh data (STL, FBX, OBJ), not only NURBS bodies. This gives users a quick way to inspect internal geometry or verify imported scan data.

Material Handling and Visuals

Render Mode ships with a new default HDRI for better baseline lighting. The Cathedral Tile PBR material joins the library, and material management is now more interactive: dragging a material from the Assets menu or directly from the Outliner applies it in the viewport. Hovering over materials in the Assets panel highlights every object using that material.

Performance, Snapping and Navigation

Mousewheel zooming is faster and smoother, particularly in dense assemblies. Snap performance on OBJ files has been improved for both face and vertex snaps. Incremental snapping now respects grid settings during scaling, and spherical faces feature new centre snap points.

Localisation and Preferences

Plasticity now supports ten interface languages, including English, German, French, Japanese, Portuguese and Chinese. Faceting density in Preferences can be adjusted without restarting the application. Mesh objects’ pivots can be repositioned and saved for consistent orientation.

General Optimisation

Curve performance has been improved for intersection-heavy scenes. The outliner now better handles instanced hierarchies. Render and viewport updates deliver smoother interaction with high-poly models.

Availability

Plasticity 2025.3 is available now for Windows 10+, macOS 12.0+ and Ubuntu 22.04+. Users should test all new tools and exporters in controlled environments before deploying them in production.

Social Media: Plasticity 2025.3 lands with live instances, SVG export, new curvature toys and a cloud preview. Time to model smarter, not heavier.

The post Plasticity 2025.3: Now with Instances, Curves and Clouds first appeared on DIGITAL PRODUCTION and was written by Bela Beier.

Plastic Software upgrades Plasticity to 2025.2 with HDRIs, physical materials, new surfacing tools

Bela Beier — Wed, 09 Jul 2025 08:20:12 +0000

Plastic Software, led by developer Nick Kallen, has released Plasticity 2025.2, a substantial update to the lightweight NURBS modeller aimed at concept artists and industrial designers.

A digital rendering of a mechanical object showcasing various physical materials and textures. The close-up view highlights a gold-toned component labeled ‘LOCK’ alongside textured surfaces and intricate details, set against a dark background.

New lighting and material preview

The update introduces 34 readymade physical materials—metal, plastic, fabric, wood, stone—that appear in Render Mode. Users can now switch on HDRI‑based environment lighting, choosing from seven built‑in HDRIs or importing custom ones. Shadows drop onto the ground plane in Render Mode, giving models improved spatial context.

Surface‑analysis shaders

Two new shaders in Shader Mode assist in surfacing diagnostics. Normal Surface Checker colours inward‑facing normals in red, facilitating quick normal corrections. Topology Shader overlays a wireframe on curved models, aiding in evaluating imported organic forms.

Two smooth, curved surfaces shown in a 3D modeling software, with a highlighted yellow arrow indicating alignment between them. The background is black, and the interface displays various modeling options on the left.

Precision surfacing tools

Three new commands bolster surfacing workflows. Measure Curvature introduces a ‘curvature comb’ overlay on surfaces, useful for assessing curvature variation. Measure Continuity assesses G0, G1 or G2 continuity across selected edge pairs. Users with Studio licences get Align Surface, powered by xNURBS, to auto‑align surfaces with G0/G1/G2 continuity matching.

Usability enhancements

The release also updates existing commands (Boolean, Bridge Curve) and adds new tools: Unlock All, batch unlocks objects in the Outliner; Select All options for visible measurements, solids, and sheets; support for π and unit‑conversion expressions in numeric dialogs.

An illustration of curvature combs displayed on a black background. The main feature is a wavy line composed of evenly spaced points, with a toolbox visible at the bottom left, showcasing a digital design interface.

Licensing, plans, and pricing

Plasticity now offers a range of plans: a free tier with a 30-day trial and no commercial use permitted, including essential 3D modeling tools and STEP import, with low-resolution OBJ/STL export only. The Indie 1.1 license, priced at $149 USD plus local taxes, targets individual users seeking access to all essential hard-surface modeling tools, STEP/OBJ/STL/Parasolid import and export, FBX import, and a Blender bridge. It allows commercial use, is node-locked for up to two machines, and includes all version updates for 12 months.

The Studio plan, at $299 USD plus local taxes, provides all Indie features plus advanced solid and surfacing tools, IGES, ACIS, Rhino, OBJ, STL, and Parasolid import/export, and DXF/DWG import (Windows only). Studio users receive beta program access for 12 months, xNURBS integration (Windows & Mac), a Blender bridge, and commercial use with node-locking for up to four machines. Companies with more than 10 employees must use this plan.

Plasticity 2025.2 runs on Windows 10+, Ubuntu 22.04+ and macOS 12.0+. As always, innovations should be tested before use in actual production pipelines.

Plasticity 25.2 Release Notes (July 10, 2025) (doc.plasticity.xyz)

The post Plastic Software upgrades Plasticity to 2025.2 with HDRIs, physical materials, new surfacing tools first appeared on DIGITAL PRODUCTION and was written by Bela Beier.

Plasticity 104 – Watch Modeling PT4 – Import into Cinema 4D

Raphael Rau — Tue, 29 Apr 2025 05:04:00 +0000

With the 4th installment of our Plasticity series we are back at our Watch. This time we’re importing the model into Cinema 4D. Beyond that we learn importing different resolutions as well as trouble shooting some errors.

CHAPTERS
00:00 Intro
00:34 What’s Up!
01:37 Join me on Patreon
02:35 C4D: Import Workflow
03:22 C4D: Import Normal Handling
05:02 C4D: Import Inspection
05:33 Plasticity: Re-Export Case-Back
07:15 Moi: Tessellation
08:20 C4D: Exchanging Imported Parts
09:40 C4D: Aligning Import Object Axis
11:36 Import Error on the Glass / Crystal
11:49 Investigating / Fixing the Glass / Crystal Error
14:44 Verifying the Axis Positions
15:03 Grouping the Watch Parts
15:20 Finishing Import Steps
16:28 Conclusion
15:58 Patreon Thanks
18:00 Famous last Words

Download the Tut Scene by becoming a Patreon member. No matter which tier!

VIDEO RELATED LINKS: —————————————————
Plasticity Official Website: https://www.plasticity.xyz/
Maxons Official Website: https://www.maxon.net/
Octane C4D Otoy Official Website: https://render.otoy.com/forum/viewfor…
Blender Foundations Official Website: https://www.blender.org/download/
Blender Octane Otoy Official Website: https://render.otoy.com/forum/viewfor…
Blender Octane 2025.1 Beta Version: https://render.otoy.com/forum/viewtop…

If you’ve ever wondered what happens when a VFX artist spends too much time obsessing over pixels and lighting, well—welcome to my world! You can find all my latest experiments, tutorials, and general nerdy shenanigans here:

Website: silverwing-vfx.de
Patreon: patreon.com/SilverwingVFX (Get scenefiles for all of my tutorial scenes also while supporting me)
Instagram: instagram.com/silverwingvfx (Finished 3D projects and engagement with the community)
YouTube: youtube.com/@SilverwingVFX (Updates and news about my work and what I am up to)

And if you’re into retro gaming and deep-dive nostalgia, check out the big article I wrote for this magazine—my love letter to the legendary Game Boy. Because nothing says “true love” like an 8-bit screen and a battery life that could outlast modern smartphones.

The post Plasticity 104 – Watch Modeling PT4 – Import into Cinema 4D first appeared on DIGITAL PRODUCTION and was written by Raphael Rau.

Plasticity 103 – Watch Modeling PT3 – Rounding / Filleting / Export

Raphael Rau — Mon, 07 Apr 2025 17:55:00 +0000

This is the 3rd part of our Plasticity series and this video is packed to the brim. It basically contains three separate tutorials: 1 Fixing some mistakes, 2 Rounding / Beveling / Filleting our model, and then finally exporting it to a mesh format to then import into our beloved 3D software as e.g. Cinema 4D or Blender. As always I hope you have fun watching and learn something along the way!

CHAPTERS
00:00 Intro
00:30 What’s Up!
01:35 Fixing Mistakes: Watchcase Bottom Gap
02:19 Fixing Mistakes: “Shading” Errors on the Crown R Letter
05:53 Filleting the Crown “R”
08:20 Filleting the Crown Front
08:43 Filleting the Crown Back & Fillet Learning Session
11:32 Filleting the Crystal / Glass 1
12:25 Filleting the Bezel, Case-Back, Inner Case-Back
12:54 Filleting the Watchface
13:13 Fixing the Case Back Filleting / Isoparam
18:37 Filleting the Watch-Case
21:35 Export from Plasticity
23:46 Plastictiy Export “Min Width”
24:29 Plastictiy Export “Max Width”
25:03 Plasticity Export Selected Objects
25:42 Exporting STEP from Plasticity for MOI 3D
26:18 What is MOI 3D
27:05 MOI 3D Import / Export
28:11 MOI 3D Export Settings
30:40 Patreon Thanks
31:40 Famous Last Words