Forge Material Studio
Forge Material Studio is a local-first tool for making procedural PBR materials on the web or Windows.
What Forge Material Studio is
Forge Material Studio is a local-first tool for making procedural PBR materials on the web or Windows. Its node graph builds tileable materials from options such as cloud noise, Voronoi patterns, gradients, bricks, math, blends, and normal nodes. It can also convert PNG, JPEG, or WebP albedo images into editable base-color, height, normal, roughness, metallic, and ambient-occlusion maps. A live Babylon.js preview shows a material on a sphere, cube, plane, or production-style model, with full beauty and individual-channel views. Work can be done at 512, 1024, or 2048 pixels while retaining the source aspect ratio. Projects are saved in IndexedDB with recovery, generated-map caching, undo and redo, and keyboard save shortcuts. Export individual PNG maps or validated .mmpack packages containing baked maps, the source graph, a manifest, and an export report; the standalone viewer opens packages in browser memory. The app has no account system, telemetry, or material upload service. It is free under the MIT License, which allows commercial use when the copyright and license notice remain with the software.
Good
- Node graph builds tileable materials.
- Previews include full and individual-channel views.
- Exports PNG maps or validated .mmpack packages.
- Free MIT license permits commercial use with notice.
Watch out
- Image-derived metallic maps default to a dielectric value.
- Windows launcher requires Node.js, .NET 8, and a supported browser.
Who it suits
It suits artists who want browser-based or Windows tools for building tileable PBR materials or deriving maps from albedo images. Windows users need Node.js 22.13 or newer, .NET 8 Desktop Runtime, and Microsoft Edge or Google Chrome for the launcher.
Verdict
Forge Material Studio combines procedural node authoring with an image-to-map workflow and local project storage. Keep in mind its stated metallic-map limitation when deriving maps from images.
Plans and prices
From Forge Material Studio's own pricing page, checked 3 Oct 2026.
| Plan | Price | What it gives you |
|---|---|---|
| Free and open-source | Free | MIT licensed · use, copy, modify, and distribute, including commercially, with copyright and license notice |
The facts
Each one read from Forge Material Studio's own pages, with the date it was checked.
What it does
- Exports
- It exports individual PNG maps or validated .mmpack packages containing baked maps, the source graph, a manifest, and an export report.checked 3 Oct 2026
- Image maps
- It can turn PNG, JPEG, or WebP albedo images into editable base-color, height, normal, roughness, metallic, and ambient-occlusion maps.checked 3 Oct 2026
- Image workflow limit
- When generating maps from an image, metallic defaults to a dielectric value because metal cannot be identified reliably from color alone.checked 3 Oct 2026
- License
- The project is released under the MIT License, which permits commercial use provided the copyright and license notice remain with the software.checked 3 Oct 2026
- Node graph
- It builds tileable materials from nodes including cloud noise, Voronoi, gradient, brick, math, blend, and normal nodes.checked 3 Oct 2026
- Preview
- Materials can be inspected in a live Babylon.js preview on a sphere, cube, plane, or production-style model, with beauty and individual-channel views.checked 3 Oct 2026
- Privacy
- The application runs on the user's computer and has no account system, telemetry, material upload service, D1 database, or R2 bucket.checked 3 Oct 2026
- Projects
- Projects are saved in IndexedDB with recovery, generated-map caching, undo and redo, and keyboard save shortcuts.checked 3 Oct 2026
- Purpose
- Forge Material Studio is a local-first tool for authoring procedural PBR materials.checked 3 Oct 2026
- Requirements
- The Windows launcher requires Node.js 22.13 or newer, .NET 8 Desktop Runtime, and Microsoft Edge or Google Chrome.checked 3 Oct 2026
- Resolution
- The tool supports 512, 1024, or 2048 pixel work while preserving the source aspect ratio.checked 3 Oct 2026
- Viewer
- The standalone viewer opens .mmpack files entirely in browser memory.checked 3 Oct 2026
Where it runs
- Windows launcher
- The Windows release includes an unsigned open-source launcher; the maker says it does not upload projects or textures, install a background service, or continue running after its window closes.checked 3 Oct 2026
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