Substance 3D Painter

ApplicationAdobe

Also called substance painter, allegorithmic painter

AdobeCreative

3D texture painting Adobe bought from Allegorithmic. Adobe Substance 3D Painter.exe is the process. It is not Photoshop.

What you need to know

Substance Painter paints 3D textures. Photoshop paints 2D pixels.

Adobe bought Allegorithmic. Painter.exe in the Substance folder is a mesh painter. Photoshop.exe is a 2D compositor.

What is it?: 3D texture painting
Still current?: Yes, see Current status
Official download?: Use the vendor link in this article

Feex says

If Adobe Substance 3D Painter.exe is the process, that is 3D texture painting, not Photoshop. I would not hunt Photoshop.exe to explain a missing texture set.

What is Substance 3D Painter?

Substance 3D Painter is a 3D texture painting application. The Windows executable is Adobe Substance 3D Painter.exe.

If you have never used it

Substance 3D Painter paints textures on a 3D mesh. Adobe bought Allegorithmic. Adobe Substance 3D Painter.exe is the process. It is not Photoshop. A PSD is 2D pixels. A Painter project is mesh plus texture sets. Install from Creative Cloud or a Substance plan.

What is it used for?

Mesh texture sets

Paint on UV sets. Photoshop can paint a flat map. This app is the 3D viewport.

Smart materials

Allegorithmic materials. Those are not Photoshop layer styles.

Export maps

Normal, roughness, and base color for a game engine. A PSD flatten is the wrong export.

Who is it for?

Game artists who bake textures
People who still say Allegorithmic
Anyone who opened Photoshop to paint a 3D model

Current status

Substance 3D Painter (2014) is a current 3d texture painting from Adobe. The vendor still points Windows users at https://www.adobe.com/products/substance3d-painter.html.

How old is it?

Allegorithmic shipped Painter around 2014. Adobe bought the Substance suite in 2019. Photoshop (1990) remains the 2D editor. Current Painter is an Adobe Substance 3D app.

Versions

Major channels first. Exact build numbers are not all verified here.

Current Windows build

System requirements

Values follow the publisher's public guidance. Workload still changes the real need.

Minimum

Minimum system requirements
Operating system	A current supported Windows 10 or Windows 11 release, per the vendor
RAM	8 GB class plus a GPU Adobe lists for Substance 3D Painter

Resource profile

CPU demand: Follows what you open inside the app
RAM demand: Follows documents, tabs, or libraries

Installed processes

These executables belong to this product when it is installed.

Installed processes
Adobe Substance 3D Painter.exe	Main Windows executable

Startup components

Painter does not need to start with Windows. Creative Cloud may sit in the tray.

File locations

Common Substance 3D Painter locations
Typical install	C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Substance 3D Painter\

File formats

SPPSBSARPNG mapsEXR

Common problems

Opened Photoshop to paint a character

Export maps from Painter. A flat PSD is not a texture set.

GPU feature level too low

Adobe documents GPU floors for Painter. This is not a Photoshop scratch disk.

Getting unstuck

Confirm Adobe Substance 3D Painter.exe

Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Substance 3D Painter is the app. Photoshop.exe is the 2D editor.

Install from Creative Cloud

A random Substance crack is junk.

Update the GPU driver first

Painter is viewport-heavy. Adobe lists the GPU bar.

Alternatives

Blender texture paint and Mari overlap. Photoshop does not replace a Painter project.

Official help and downloads

Start with the vendor. Random exe sites are not a support channel.

Official contacts
Download	www.adobe.com/products/substance3d-painter.html Official installer or vendor page
Help	helpx.adobe.com/substance-3d-painter.html Vendor support
Official site	www.adobe.com/products/substance3d-painter.html Start here, not a random exe host

Related hardware

A GPU with enough VRAM matters more than a famous CPU name. Adobe lists current Windows 10 or 11 64-bit.

Technical details

Vendor version numbers change. This article does not pin a build.

Sources and verification

Reviewed by Feex editorial. Last verified August 2026 Status: Feex Reviewed. How we research.

Substance 3D Painter official site · Vendor product page
Substance 3D Painter help · Vendor support
Foxhole process map · First-party samples on Windows PCs. Not a lab benchmark.

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