Trumble

Trumble suits game artists who want browser-based painting, baking, and engine exports in one workspace. It brings those tasks together without requiring a desktop installation, but painting meshes depends on proper UVs and the product is still in early access.

Overview

Trumble combines 3D texture painting, 2D texture editing, map baking, and engine-formatted exports in a browser. That makes it a practical fit for artists who want several common texture tasks in one place, especially when their meshes are already UV-ready. Early access and regular improvements mean the product is continuing to evolve.

It runs in modern browsers on Windows, macOS, and Linux, with no account required to get started. Imported files and assets are processed in the browser, and users retain rights to content they create or upload. Google Drive integration can save projects there automatically, rather than using Trumble account storage.

Key features

• 3D texturing: Paint PBR textures directly onto meshes in the Texture tool's 3D viewport. It accepts OBJ, STL, FBX, glTF, and GLB, but models need proper UVs; this is not a way around UV preparation.
• 2D painting: The Paint tool handles texture editing as well as work on alphas, masks, and channels. That gives users a separate space for 2D adjustments alongside painting on a mesh.
• Map baking: Generate normals, ambient occlusion, curvature, and other maps in the browser without an offline renderer. Keeping baking in the same workspace is useful for artists who want fewer separate steps.
• Engine exports: Export texture packs for Unreal, Unity, Godot, and Roblox with one click. This is a clear advantage for work targeting those engines; it does not establish support for other engine presets.
• Material library: Hundreds of ready-to-use materials and textures span metal, wood, fabric, and stone, giving projects a starting point without requiring every surface to be built from scratch.
• Early-access roadmap: Planned work includes procedural materials, a trim sheet tool, more bake-map types, and additional engine export presets. These are future plans, not current tools; procedural materials are not currently supported.

Pricing

The Free plan costs $0 / forever and includes all current tools and all future tools, but the workspace has ads. It is the natural starting point for artists evaluating the workflow or who can accept ads; there is no free trial because the product already has a free plan.

Low-Poly costs $3/mo and includes everything in Free, with the stated purpose of supporting ongoing development. Pro costs $5 / month and adds an ad-free workspace and full workspace layout, making it the clearest paid choice for people who want to remove ads and use the full layout. Mid-Poly costs $8/mo and adds a vote on roadmap features to everything above. High-Poly costs $20/mo and adds early access and direct developer feedback to everything above. The higher tiers are aimed at users who value a greater role in development, rather than a different core toolset. The paid plans are monthly; no seat or usage quotas are stated.

Platforms

Trumble runs in modern browsers on Windows, macOS, and Linux. Its browser-based access and no-account start make it a fit for users who prefer not to install a desktop application.

Who it's for

Choose Trumble if you make game assets, want painting and baking together, and can supply meshes with proper UVs. Its free tier and support for four named engine exports make it especially approachable for independent artists working in those pipelines. Look elsewhere if you need procedural materials now, or if your workflow depends on painting meshes before UV preparation.

Pros and cons

• Pro: 3D painting, 2D texture work, baking, and engine exports share one browser workspace, reducing the need to split these tasks across separate tools.
• Pro: The free plan includes all current tools, while Google Drive auto-save avoids using Trumble account storage.
• Pro: The Texture tool accepts five common mesh formats, and exports cover Unreal, Unity, Godot, and Roblox.
• Con: Meshes must have proper UVs to be painted, limiting its usefulness for models that are not ready for texturing.
• Con: The Free workspace includes ads, and the product remains in early access.
• Con: Procedural materials are not yet available, despite being part of planned future work.

Alternatives

For a broader category comparison, browse 3D Texturing Software.

• Mixos Paint is another freemium choice with a free plan, but its free tier caps the 2D texture view at 512px and limits cloud storage to 100 MB.
• Surface Labs is worth considering if a free early-access product is your priority and you want its listed Android and iOS support.
• InstaMAT is a desktop alternative for Linux, macOS, and Windows; its free Pioneer License is limited to users with revenue or total funding under $100,000 and requires attribution.
• Mari offers a free non-commercial plan with a free trial for its paid offering, making it an alternative to consider for non-commercial work on Linux or Windows.
• Marmoset Viewer is a free option included with Toolbag versions 2.07 and newer.
• LigidPainter is a free desktop alternative for Linux, macOS, and Windows.
• Material Maker is a free desktop option with Windows, macOS, and Linux downloads; its Itch.io download is name your own price.
• Forge Material Studio is a free, open-source web and Windows alternative under the MIT license.

Verdict

Trumble is a strong starting point for game artists who want browser-based texture painting, baking, and exports for Unreal, Unity, Godot, or Roblox without paying for the core tools. Its main reasons to look elsewhere are the requirement for properly UV-mapped meshes and the early-access state; choose another workflow if either is a blocker.