Project configuration

Last update: Tue Mar 10 2026 00:00:00 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)

The project setting window allows to modify a few properties related to the current project, such as the reloading of a new mesh.

3D mesh

The File and Select button allows to update the current project’s 3D model at any moment. This allows to:

Update the 3D model topology
Update the UVs
Add or Remove Texture Sets

Parameter

Description

3D mesh

Indicates the path to the 3D model file. The select button allows to change the mesh of the project.

Reimport mesh

If enabled, the mesh file will be re-imported when clicking OK at the bottom of the interface. This parameter is disabled if the Select button is used to specify a mesh file.

NOTE

If the materials changed or have been renamed when loading a new 3D model, the previous Texture Sets in the project can become disabled. This can be fixed with the Reassignment Window from the Texture Set List.

Project Settings

This sections control several settings related to the project:

Setting

Description

Normal Map Format

Defines the format of the normal map used for the mesh in the viewport. This parameter only affects the shaders in the viewport and mesh maps in the bakers. The layer stack is independent.Recommended value for common applications:

Unity: OpenGL
Unreal Engine: DirectX
Maya: OpenGL
3DS Max: DirectX
Blender: OpenGL

Compute Tangent Space Per Fragment

Determines how to compute and display normal maps in the viewport for shading and lighting. If enabled, the tangent and binormals of the mesh will be computed per pixels instead of per vertex.Recommended value for common applications:

Unity: Disabled (Enabled if using HDRP)
Unreal Engine: Enabled

NOTE

Changing the normal format or the tangent computation requires to re-bake the mesh maps to ensure that the look in the viewports is correct.

File type-specific settings

When a USD mesh format is selected, other file type-specific settings become available.

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Parameter

Description

Scope and variants

Allows to select a specific part of a USD file. By default, it is set to ‘Root’, which means the entire USD file will be used in the Painter project. Change… opens a new window that displays the content of the USD. If variants are detected, it is possible to select a specific variant to load in the project.Note that -

Only the modeling variant selection will have any impact.
Variants nested within variants are not currently detected.

Subdivision level

Applies to geometry that has subdivision. It allows to specify how much you would like to subdivide your mesh for texturing in Painter. If subdivision is explicitly set to ‘none’ within the USD file, this setting is grayed out. Subdivision is applied after UV unwrapping, so it would not alter the shape of the mesh’s UVs.

Frame

Applies to USDs in which animation is detected. It allows you to select the frame which will be used to load a Painter project. If there is no animation in the selected USD file, this setting is grayed out.

UV Tiles settings

This section indicates if the current project is using any of the UV Tiles/UDIM texture workflow in the current project. For more information see the UV Tiles documentation.

Import settings

These settings control how the selected mesh will be imported:

Setting

Description

Import Cameras

If enabled, cameras present in the mesh file will also be imported and available in the 3D viewport as new point of view.

Preserve strokes positions on mesh

This setting controls how brush strokes will be recomputed after importing a new 3D mesh. It is recommended to keep this setting enabled in most cases. For more details see the UV Reprojection documentation.

Auto-Unwrap

Automatic UV Unwrapping. Click on the Option button to configure the process. For more information see the dedicated documentation.

Color management settings

This section controls the settings regarding how to convert colors. For more information see the Color management documentation.

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