Wafer
What it is
Wafer is 3D texture-painting software for stylized, hand-painted, and NPR assets. Its brushes, lasso clips, gradients, wet painting, and blur tools act directly on 3D geometry. A non-destructive layer system includes paint and fill layers, editable masks, blend modes, and opacity. Artists can use 2D or 3D symmetry with configurable pivots, paint across multiple PBR channels, or create custom channel layouts for stylized shaders. Projects can contain multiple meshes, materials, and texture sets, with channel packing set for export. The integrated asset browser includes stencils, triplanar textures, brush alphas, HDRIs, decals, and stamps. The desktop download is free to try, but saving documents and exporting textures require a purchase. Listed one-time desktop plans are $45, paid once for Indie, and $120, paid once for Studio or Studio (Floating); each includes one year of updates. The desktop purchase applies only to the listed Windows and macOS versions, and is not compatible with the Apple App Store or other platforms. Wafer is listed for iOS, macOS, and Windows.
For and against
For
- Painting tools work directly on 3D geometry.
- Layer system includes editable masks and blend modes.
- Supports 2D and 3D symmetry.
- Projects can include multiple meshes and texture sets.
- Free desktop download is available to try.
Against
- Saving documents requires a purchase.
- Texture exporting requires a purchase.
- Desktop purchase is limited to listed Windows and macOS versions.
- No texture baking is listed.
The verdict
Wafer provides a broad set of direct 3D painting tools, layers, symmetry, and project controls for stylized assets. The free tryout does not include document saving or texture exporting, and the desktop purchase has platform limits.
Who it suits
Wafer may suit artists making stylized, hand-painted, or NPR 3D assets who want direct painting on geometry and layered editing. Its channel and symmetry options may also fit artists working with PBR or custom stylized shaders.
Plans and prices
Indie
Node Locked (2 Activations) · entities with less than $100K USD annual revenue and less than 10 employees
Read 2 Oct 2026 · platform.sparseal.com
Studio
Node Locked (2 Activations) · entities with $100K USD or more in annual revenue or more than 10 employees
Read 2 Oct 2026 · platform.sparseal.com
Studio (Floating)
Floating · entities with $100K USD or more in annual revenue or more than 10 employees
Read 2 Oct 2026 · platform.sparseal.com
On the record
- Asset browser
- The integrated asset browser includes stencils, triplanar textures, brush alphas, HDRIs, decals and stamps.sparseal.com · read 2 Oct 2026
- Free use
- The desktop download is free to try, but purchasing unlocks texture exporting and document saving.platform.sparseal.com · read 2 Oct 2026
- Layers
- It supports paint and fill layers, editable masks, blend modes and opacity in a non-destructive layer system.sparseal.com · read 2 Oct 2026
- Maker
- Sparseal describes its work as design and development of CGI tools and identifies Pablo Dobarro and Joan Fons on its About page.sparseal.com · read 2 Oct 2026
- Painting tools
- Its drawing tools include brushes, lasso clips, gradients, wet painting and blur that operate directly on 3D geometry.sparseal.com · read 2 Oct 2026
- PBR painting
- Users can paint across multiple PBR channels at once or define custom channel layouts for NPR and stylized shaders.sparseal.com · read 2 Oct 2026
- Performance
- The maker says Wafer supports up to 64K resolution per layer and lists OpenGL 2.0 and 256 MB RAM among its compatibility specifications.sparseal.com · read 2 Oct 2026
- Platform purchase limit
- The desktop purchase works only on the listed Windows and macOS versions; the Apple App Store and other platforms are not compatible with it.platform.sparseal.com · read 2 Oct 2026
- Projects
- A project can contain multiple meshes, materials and texture sets, with configurable channel packing for export.sparseal.com · read 2 Oct 2026
- Purpose
- Wafer is 3D texture painting software for stylized, hand-painted and NPR assets.sparseal.com · read 2 Oct 2026
- Support
- Sparseal offers product technical support by email and says its Discord server provides faster communication.sparseal.com · read 2 Oct 2026
- Symmetry
- It supports 3D and 2D symmetry with independently configurable pivots.sparseal.com · read 2 Oct 2026
