Material Forge
Material Forge is a web-based AI tool for creating PBR materials for Unreal Engine 5.
What Material Forge is
Material Forge is a web-based AI tool for creating PBR materials for Unreal Engine 5. Users can guide generation with a surface photo, concept frame, or sample image, then select base color, normal, roughness, metallic, or emissive maps. The interface shows a cost of 20 credits per selected map. Material settings include tint, brightness, desaturation, metallic, roughness, normal intensity, clearcoat, and opacity, alongside UV scale, rotation, offset, panner, emissive, and edge-glow controls. Users can preview the 3D material and save a complete setup in a local browser gallery. A ZIP export includes a JSON configuration, generated texture maps, a preview PNG, and a reference image when supplied. For UE5, a plugin connects through a local listener and places assets in the project’s MaterialForge folder; setup requires enabling the Python Editor Script Plugin and placing two downloaded files in the project’s Content/Python folder. The page also describes a UEFN listener workflow. The free plan includes 100 monthly credits and one concurrent generation.
Good
- Image references can guide map generation
- Offers five types of material maps
- Includes a 3D material preview
- ZIP export includes maps and configuration
- Free plan has 100 monthly credits
Watch out
- Each selected map costs 20 credits
- Free plan allows one concurrent generation
- UE5 setup requires plugin configuration
- AI workflows may send uploaded data to a model provider
Who it suits
Material Forge suits creators, indie teams, and developers building stylized characters, creatures, prototypes, or game assets for Unreal Engine workflows. It may also suit users who want to guide material generation with an image and export the result as a ZIP.
Verdict
Material Forge combines image-guided map generation with adjustable material controls and a UE5 workflow. Its credit allowance and setup steps are worth considering before starting a project.
Plans and prices
From Material Forge's own pricing page, checked 4 Oct 2026.
| Plan | Price | What it gives you |
|---|---|---|
| Free | Free | 1 concurrent generation · 100 monthly credits |
The facts
Each one read from Material Forge's own pages, with the date it was checked.
What it does
- Additional effects
- The tool includes UV scale, rotation, offset and panner controls, plus emissive and edge-glow settings.checked 4 Oct 2026
- AI data handling
- The privacy policy says prompts, uploaded images, or texture data may be sent to the configured model provider when users run AI texture workflows.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Export
- The Material ZIP export contains material_config.json, generated texture maps, a preview PNG, and a reference image when present.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Intended users
- AnimateMesh describes its audience as creators, indie teams, and developers building stylized characters, creatures, prototypes, and game assets.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Local gallery
- The tool can save a full material setup to a local gallery in the browser interface.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Maps
- The page offers generation options for base color, normal, roughness, metallic, and emissive maps.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Material controls
- Material properties include tint, brightness, desaturation, metallic, roughness, normal intensity, clearcoat, and opacity controls.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Privacy and security
- AnimateMesh says it uses authenticated sessions, provider-managed infrastructure, and access controls as safeguards, while noting that absolute security cannot be guaranteed.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Purpose
- Material Forge is an AI-powered PBR material creator for Unreal Engine 5.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Reference images
- Users can add a surface photo, concept frame, or sample image to guide material-map generation.checked 4 Oct 2026
- UE5 setup
- UE5 setup requires enabling the Python Editor Script Plugin and placing two downloaded files in the project's Content/Python/ folder.checked 4 Oct 2026
- UEFN integration
- The page describes a UEFN listener script workflow and says imported assets land under /<ProjectName>/MaterialForge/.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Unreal Engine integration
- A UE5 plugin connects through a local listener at 127.0.0.1:7842 and places materials and textures in /Game/MaterialForge/.checked 4 Oct 2026
Money
- Credit cost
- The interface shows 20 credits for one selected map and 20 credits each.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Free credits
- AnimateMesh pricing lists a free plan with 100 monthly credits and one concurrent generation.checked 4 Oct 2026
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