Marmoset releases Toolbag 5.03, introducing new text and scatter layers, support for IES light profiles, and enhanced performance for artists and studios working in game design, visual effects, and portfolio creation.
Marmoset has issued Toolbag 5.03, a free update to its real-time rendering and look development software used for games, visual effects and portfolio work. CG Channel reported that the release expands the texturing toolset with new Text and Scatter layers, while also adding support for IES light profiles, physical light units and 3Dconnexion’s SpaceMouse devices.
Toolbag is positioned as a lightweight environment for look development, compositing and final rendering. It is widely used by games artists, but Marmoset has also pushed it towards broader production use. The software lets users bring in models, build physically based materials and lighting, then either bake maps for use in other digital content tools or render stills and animation directly. Marmoset’s earlier Toolbag 5 release also introduced broader changes across baking, texturing and rendering, including UDIM support, interactive baking and a new bevel shader.
The new Text Layer is designed for projecting typography onto a model or aligning it to a mesh surface, with controls for font style, spacing and alignment. Scatter Layers go further by distributing elements such as rocks or leaves across a 3D scene, either over a surface or through 2D, 3D or decal-plane projection. The update also adds SVG import for vector graphics, along with performance work that lets users pause or disable individual UDIM tiles and uses layer caching to improve speed by about 2.7 times in an average project.
Lighting receives a notable upgrade as well. According to the release notes and CG Channel’s report, Toolbag now supports IES light profiles, which reproduce the falloff patterns of real fixtures, and physical light units for more accurate brightness settings. Other changes include viewport motion blur preview, additional controls for Procedural Skies and baking improvements such as a maximum ray distance option and better curvature maps near UV seams. Toolbag 5.03 also supports multi-select for materials and 3Dconnexion’s SpaceMouse range for viewport navigation.
Marmoset says Toolbag 5.03 runs on Windows 10 and macOS 13.5 or later, with support for AMD, Apple Silicon and NVIDIA GPUs. Perpetual licences are priced at $399 for individual artists and $1,299 for studios, while subscriptions cost $18.99 a month for individuals and $49.99 a month for studios.
Disclaimer: This content is intended for informational purposes only. Readers are advised to exercise their own judgement, conduct due diligence, or consult a qualified expert before acting on any information provided.
