Freedom251 › 3D Texturing Software
Wafer
What Wafer is
Wafer is 3D texture painting software for stylized, hand-painted, and NPR assets. Its brushes, lasso clips, gradients, wet painting, and blur tools operate directly on 3D geometry. A non-destructive layer system includes paint and fill layers, editable masks, blend modes, and opacity controls. Artists can use 2D or 3D symmetry with independently configurable pivots, paint across multiple PBR channels, or set custom channel layouts for stylized shaders. Projects can contain multiple meshes, materials, and texture sets, with configurable channel packing for export. The asset browser includes stencils, triplanar textures, brush alphas, HDRIs, decals, and stamps. The desktop download is free to try, but saving documents and exporting textures require a purchase. Indie is $45, paid once; Studio and Studio (Floating) are each $120, paid once, with one year of updates listed for each. The desktop purchase applies only to listed Windows and macOS versions; the Apple App Store and other platforms are not compatible with it.
Who it suits
Wafer suits artists painting stylized, hand-painted, or NPR assets who need layered painting on 3D geometry. Its listed tools include PBR channel painting and configurable symmetry.
What it does well
- Painting tools work directly on 3D geometry.
- Layer system supports editable masks and blend modes.
- Supports 2D and 3D symmetry.
- Projects can contain multiple meshes and texture sets.
- Asset browser includes stencils, HDRIs, decals, and stamps.
What to know first
- Saving documents and exporting textures require a purchase.
- Desktop purchase applies only to listed Windows and macOS versions.
- Apple App Store and other platforms are not compatible with the desktop purchase.
Limits
The free desktop download is for trying Wafer; saving documents and exporting textures require a purchase. Paid plans are one-time purchases with one year of updates, and the desktop purchase works only on the listed Windows and macOS versions.
Plans
| Plan | Billed and limits | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Studio | Perpetual (1 Year of Updates) · per user · Node Locked (2 Activations) · entities with $100K USD or more in annual revenue or more than 10 employees | $120, paid once |
| Studio (Floating) | Perpetual (1 Year of Updates) · per seat · Floating · entities with $100K USD or more in annual revenue or more than 10 employees | $120, paid once |
| Indie | Perpetual (1 Year of Updates) · per user · Node Locked (2 Activations) · entities with less than $100K USD annual revenue and less than 10 employees | $45, paid once |
As sparseal.com lists them, read 2 Oct 2026. The maker's own page has the final word.
Getting started
- Visit https://sparseal.com/wafer/.
- Choose a listed platform: iOS, macOS or Windows.
- Try the desktop download for free.
- Choose an Indie, Studio or Studio (Floating) purchase to unlock document saving and texture exporting.
Verdict
Wafer offers layered, multi-channel painting tools for stylized 3D assets. The free download is limited: saving documents and exporting textures require a paid plan.
Questions
Is Wafer free?
The desktop download is free to try. Saving documents and exporting textures require a purchase.
How much do the paid plans cost?
Indie costs $45, paid once. Studio and Studio (Floating) each cost $120, paid once; each plan includes one year of updates.
Which platforms are listed?
Wafer is listed for iOS, macOS and Windows. Its desktop purchase applies only to the listed Windows and macOS versions.
Does Wafer support PBR painting?
Yes. It can paint across multiple PBR channels at once and supports custom channel layouts.
Does Wafer support texture baking?
No. Texture baking is listed as unsupported.
Who makes Wafer?
Sparseal makes Wafer. Its About page identifies Pablo Dobarro and Joan Fons.
Facts from Wafer's own pages
- Asset browser
- The integrated asset browser includes stencils, triplanar textures, brush alphas, HDRIs, decals and stamps. · sparseal.com, 2 Oct 2026
- Free use
- The desktop download is free to try, but purchasing unlocks texture exporting and document saving. · platform.sparseal.com, 2 Oct 2026
- Layers
- It supports paint and fill layers, editable masks, blend modes and opacity in a non-destructive layer system. · sparseal.com, 2 Oct 2026
- Maker
- Sparseal describes its work as design and development of CGI tools and identifies Pablo Dobarro and Joan Fons on its About page. · sparseal.com, 2 Oct 2026
- Painting tools
- Its drawing tools include brushes, lasso clips, gradients, wet painting and blur that operate directly on 3D geometry. · sparseal.com, 2 Oct 2026
- PBR painting
- Users can paint across multiple PBR channels at once or define custom channel layouts for NPR and stylized shaders. · sparseal.com, 2 Oct 2026
- Performance
- The maker says Wafer supports up to 64K resolution per layer and lists OpenGL 2.0 and 256 MB RAM among its compatibility specifications. · sparseal.com, 2 Oct 2026
- Platform purchase limit
- The desktop purchase works only on the listed Windows and macOS versions; the Apple App Store and other platforms are not compatible with it. · platform.sparseal.com, 2 Oct 2026
- Platforms
- The maker lists Windows and macOS desktop downloads and links to an iPad App Store version. · platform.sparseal.com, 2 Oct 2026
- Projects
- A project can contain multiple meshes, materials and texture sets, with configurable channel packing for export. · sparseal.com, 2 Oct 2026
- Purpose
- Wafer is 3D texture painting software for stylized, hand-painted and NPR assets. · sparseal.com, 2 Oct 2026
- Support
- Sparseal offers product technical support by email and says its Discord server provides faster communication. · sparseal.com, 2 Oct 2026
- Symmetry
- It supports 3D and 2D symmetry with independently configurable pivots. · sparseal.com, 2 Oct 2026
Where Wafer stands on Freedom251
- 3D Texturing Software#19 of 29