Generative AI continues to advance at a rapid pace, with text-to-image generators now able to handle text and video, to an extent. One of the next frontiers is 3D, and Adobe has just announced a potentially game-changing move with the first addition of tools driven by Firefly AI in Adobe Substance 3D, its suite of 3D programs.
Firefly, Adobe's own suite of generative AI tools, is already powering text-to-image features in the likes of Photoshop and Illustrator. Now it's coming to Substance 3D Sampler and Stager in a move that Adobe says will boost efficiency and creativity in 3D workflows for industrial designers, game developers, VFX professionals and other content creators. Here's what's included.
Firefly AI tools are coming to two of the six programs in the Adobe Substance 3D Collection (Image credit: Adobe)
Adobe Substance 3D is suite of programs used to create 3D digital content. It includes Substance 3D Painter, Designer, Modeler, Sampler and Stager apps and offers a range of 3D materials a month that can be used to make 3D objects look realistic and lifelike (see our Substance 3D review).
The integration of Firefly AI involves two Substance apps for now: Substance 3D Sampler and Stager. In the former, Adobe's added a new Text-to-Texture tool, which allows creators to use written prompts to create photorealistic textures that can then be tweaked and applied to 3D objects (see the video below).
Meanwhile, Substance 3D Stager 3.0 (beta) includes a Firefly Generative Background feature. This will allow users to create detailed 3D scene backgrounds from text descriptions, with lighting automatically adjusting to the entire scene.
Adobe says that the new capabilities accelerate the creative review process, and save considerable time. It says that for industrial designers and professionals in the gaming and VFX industries, the updates mean quicker ideation, more creative freedom, and the ability to generate high-quality, realistic textures and environments at a fraction of the usual time and cost. Marketing professionals and content creators can also use the new tools to produce high-fidelity visuals and animations for brand presentations.
Sebastien Deguy, vice president, 3D & Immersive, said in the press release: "Adobe has always looked for new and innovative ways to put cutting-edge creative tools in the hands of designers and other artists. By integrating Firefly's generative AI capabilities into Substance 3D, we're not just streamlining the creative process – we're unlocking new realms of creative possibility with new generative workflows designed to unlock human imagination, not replace it."
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The new features are available in Substance 3D Sampler 4.4 and Stager 3.0 from today (18 March). Unlike most Adobe design apps, Substance 3D is not included in the Creative Cloud all-apps plan but through a separate subscription (see below for prices in your region).
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Joe is a regular freelance journalist and editor at Creative Bloq. He writes news, features and buying guides and keeps track of the best equipment and software for creatives, from video editing programs to monitors and accessories. A veteran news writer and photographer, he now works as a project manager at the London and Buenos Aires-based design, production and branding agency Hermana Creatives. There he manages a team of designers, photographers and video editors who specialise in producing visual content and design assets for the hospitality sector. He also dances Argentine tango.
