In brief
- Painter 12.2 lets artists adjust baking cage distance on the model using painting and Polygon Fill tools.
- The update builds on the previously introduced skew painting and automatic rebaking infrastructure.
- Polygon Fill gains features including Polygon Loop, Partial Loop, and selection previews.
- Texture Set Highlighting and Order Independent Transparency are among the other improvements in the update.
In an interview published by 80 Level on 29 October 2026, Adobe discussed the cage painting workflow in Substance 3D Painter 12.2, along with other baking improvements made throughout 2026. According to Laurens Corijn, Adobe Substance 3D Painter product manager, the new tool lets artists adjust cage distance using Painter’s on-model painting and Polygon Fill tools. The update also improves Polygon Fill, Texture Set Highlighting, and transparency rendering.
Cage adjustments can be made directly on the model
During baking, the cage determines how far rays travel from the model, while skew controls their direction. In Painter 12.2, artists can make cage corrections by painting directly on the model instead of switching to a separate application. According to Corijn, the tool also lets users set cage offsets per object with Polygon Fill, so they do not have to paint the entire object by hand.
The new feature builds on the skew painting workflow added earlier. For that workflow, Adobe brought Painter’s painting system into baking mode and developed automatic rebaking infrastructure. Cage painting uses the same infrastructure, retaining the approach of letting artists quickly see the results of their corrections.
Polygon Fill and visibility improvements
The update also brings changes to Polygon Fill, a tool that had not received a major overhaul in nearly a decade. To address the problem of accidentally selecting objects behind the intended target, marquee/drag selection behavior has been changed. Polygon Loop and Partial Loop are designed to speed up masking on quad surfaces. A preview has also been added for complex Partial Loop selections.
When working with multi-material models, there is no longer a need to toggle visibility sets one by one to find which surfaces correspond to each Texture Set. Texture Set Highlighting highlights the set under the cursor in the viewport. Highlighting with Ctrl + Alt in the viewport can also show the relevant set in the list and with a name label; right-clicking switches to the selected set.
The Order Independent Transparency (OIT) improvement in Painter aims to reduce visual issues caused by the ordering of overlapping transparent surfaces in the real-time viewport. Adobe’s example includes objects appearing incorrectly behind one another in layered glass surfaces.
Impact on architecture and visualization workflows
These updates focus on managing model baking steps more directly within Painter, particularly for workflows used in game and entertainment production. Adobe also notes that Painter is used in other areas, including product visualization. For architectural visualization teams preparing materials and surface textures, on-model corrections could reduce the need to switch between applications; however, the source does not provide compatibility or performance findings specific to architectural projects.
Before adopting Painter 12.2 in an office, teams should separately check its compatibility with their existing project and asset workflows, licensing terms, and behavior on their hardware. The source does not provide pricing, system requirements, or compatibility information for specific software. Corijn says the Painter team aims to simplify baking so artists can get started with texture creation sooner.
Sources
1 sourceSource texts are not republished; short quotes are marked, everything else is our own summary and commentary.
The practical value of the changes in Painter 12.2 lies in their aim to reduce the need to switch to other tools to fix baking issues. For teams working with assets made up of many parts, on-model cage adjustments and Texture Set highlighting could make small but repetitive tasks in day-to-day production easier. How useful these features will be in architectural visualization projects depends on the stages at which teams use Painter.
For offices in Turkey, compatibility with existing files and licensing terms should be verified before making a decision. Since the source provides neither pricing nor hardware requirements, cost and performance cannot be assessed from the update announcement alone. Testing with an asset from a real project first would be a more reliable approach.
Frequently asked questions
What does cage painting do in Substance 3D Painter 12.2?
It lets artists adjust baking cage distance by painting directly on the model. Polygon Fill can also be used to set cage offsets per object.
What new features have been added to Polygon Fill in Painter 12.2?
Polygon Loop and Partial Loop tools, along with selection previews, have been added. The update also changes selection behavior.
Have the price and system requirements for Substance 3D Painter 12.2 been announced?
The source does not provide pricing or system requirements.
