Which shading mode should I paint in?

Unlit, the default. It shows your colours flat, without lighting, so what you paint is what you get. Switch to Textured to check how the model looks with light.

What does the texture size change?

How much detail your paint can hold. Higher sizes look sharper up close but need more from your graphics card. You can change it any time without losing layers.

My model is lying on its side. How do I fix it?

Open Rotate the model in the view bar and turn it in 90° steps around X, Y or Z until it stands upright. Your paint turns with the model.

Texture Painter Workspace: Every Panel Explained

This page explains every part of the Texture Painter screen, so you always know where to look. The numbers in the picture match the list below it.

The Texture Painter workspace with twelve numbered markers on its zones — The Texture Painter workspace with the numbered zones explained below.

Sessions opens the start screen: your sessions, samples and ways to start something new.
Session name and save status. The dot and word show whether your work is saved. Click it for the session menu.
Undo and Redo.
Credits, Import, Texture size, Export and Help.
Tool rail: Brush, Eraser, Image brush, Decal, Eyedropper and Fill.
Options bar: the settings of the selected tool, like Size, Opacity and Hardness.
3D view: where you paint and look at the model. The corner marks show What the AI sees.
View bar: shading, framing, turntable, model rotation, the AI capture frame and view settings.
2D view: the selected layer on the model, the texture map, or what the AI sees.
Layers: everything you paint or generate, one layer per row.
Generate with AI: describe a change and let the AI paint it.
Colours: the main colour with the second colour behind it, and Swap colours below.

Top bar

Control	What it does
Sessions	Opens the start screen with all your sessions. See Saving and sessions.
Session name	Click to rename the session, see the save status, open Version history or Time-lapse video, or Save now.
Undo / Redo	Step back and forward. `Ctrl+Z` and `Ctrl+Shift+Z` (`Cmd` on Mac).
Credits	Your credit balance. Click it to get more credits.
Import	Opens a GLB, glTF, FBX or OBJ file. You can also drop a file on the 3D view.
Texture size (for example 4K)	How sharp your paint can be. See below.
Export	Download the model or its textures. See Export.
? (Help)	Tutorial, tour, shortcuts, controls, what's new and these docs.

Save status

The word next to the session name tells you where your work is:

Status	Meaning
Autosave	Nothing to save yet. Your work will save on its own.
Edited	Saving when you pause.
Saving…	Your latest changes are being saved.
Saved	Everything is in the cloud (paid plans).
On device	Saved in this browser (free plan, or when cloud saving is paused).
Offline	Safe in this browser; syncs when you are back online.
Not synced	Safe in this browser; the painter retries shortly.
Read-only	Someone else is editing this session. Your changes stay in this browser.

The session menu under the session name with the save status and menu items — The session menu: rename the session, see where it is saved, and open All sessions, Version history or Time-lapse video.

Texture size

The texture size button sets how sharp your paint can be. Changing it keeps all your layers and takes a few seconds.

Size	Best for
1K	Fastest, for blocking out colours
2K	Good for most models
4K	Sharp up close. The default and recommended size.
8K	Finished work. Needs a strong graphics card.

The Texture size menu with 1K, 2K, 4K and 8K — The Texture size menu. 4K is the default.

The export size is separate: you can paint at 4K and still download at 8K or 12K. See Export.

The tool rail on the left holds the six tools. The options bar above the 3D view changes with the tool: for the brush it shows Size, Opacity and Hardness, and the More brush settings button for hidden areas and edge fade.

The tool rail with six tool icons — The tool rail: Brush, Eraser, Image brush, Decal, Eyedropper, Fill.

The brush options bar with Size, Opacity and Hardness — The options bar for the Brush.

Every tool is explained in Painting tools.

The 3D view and the view bar

You paint and look at the model in the 3D view. Drag the model to paint, drag the background to turn it, and scroll to zoom. All the ways to move are in Moving around the model.

The corner marks show the square the AI receives when you generate, labelled What the AI sees · 2K. The small coloured axes at the top right show which way the model faces.

The view bar at the bottom of the 3D view holds:

Control	What it does
Parts	For models with several parts: paint, hide or isolate one part. Shown only when the model has more than one part.
Textured / Unlit / Clay / Normals	Shading. Unlit (the default) shows flat colours, best for painting. `Z` switches between them.
Frame model	Fits the whole model in view (`Shift+F`).
Turntable	Slowly spins the model. Any navigation stops it.
Rotate the model	Turns the model in 90° steps around X, Y or Z. Use it when a model lies down or faces away. Your paint turns with it.
AI capture frame	Shows or hides the corner marks of what the AI sees. On by default.
View settings	Lighting, material and navigation settings.

The view bar with Textured, Unlit, Clay and Normals and five icon buttons — The view bar: shading modes, then Frame model, Turntable, Rotate the model, AI capture frame and View settings.

Shading modes

The wolf in Textured shading with soft lighting — Textured: your texture with lighting.

The wolf in Clay shading, all grey — Clay: a plain grey shape, to judge the form.

The wolf in Normals shading, in blue, pink and green — Normals: surface directions in colour, to spot seams.

You can only paint in Textured and Unlit. In Clay or Normals, the 3D view shows a note with a Switch to Unlit link, and dragging the model turns the view instead.

View settings

The gear icon at the right end of the view bar opens View settings.

Setting	Options	Default
Lighting (used in Textured shading)	Studio Small, White Studio, Brown Photo, Wooden Studio, Pergola, Bell Tower	Studio Small
Exposure	20 to 300%	120%
Environment	0 to 400%	180%
Light direction	0 to 359° (or `Shift` + right-drag in the 3D view)	160°
Roughness	0 to 100%	90%
Metalness	0 to 100%	0%
Floor grid	On / off	On
Rotate around	Point under cursor, Model centre	Point under cursor
Zoom to cursor	On / off	On
Navigation input	Auto, Mouse, Trackpad	Auto

The navigation settings are explained in Moving around the model.

The View settings popover with lighting presets, sliders and navigation options — View settings: lighting and material for Textured shading, the floor grid, and navigation.

The right side: 2D view, Layers and Generate with AI

2D view shows the selected layer on the model, the flat texture map, or what the AI sees. Open or close it with the 2D view button in the options bar or \. See The 2D view.
Layers lists everything you paint or generate. See Layers.
Generate with AI turns a description into a new AI layer. See AI painting.

Fold Layers or Generate with AI with the arrow next to its title. Drag the dividers between panels to resize them; double-click a divider to reset it.

Help

The ? at the top right opens Help:

Item	What it does
Watch the tutorial	Opens the video tutorial on YouTube.
Show the tour again	Replays the three-step tour.
Keyboard shortcuts	Opens the shortcut sheet (`?`).
Controls	Rotate, pan and zoom with a mouse, trackpad, touch or pen.
What's new	Recent updates and fixes.
Docs	Opens these docs.

The Help menu with six items — The Help menu.

The tour card Paint by hand next to the tool rail — The first step of the tour, Paint by hand.

The Texture Painter Workspace