Before integrating Psoft Pencil 4 into your workflow, it's essential to ensure compatibility and follow the recommended installation procedures:
This workflow was especially popular on equipped with Quadro or high-end GeForce cards, paired with a Cintiq or Intuos tablet. The plugin’s low latency (often below 15ms pen-to-pixel) made it a joy for organic concept design—something 3ds Max users would traditionally abandon Photoshop or SketchBook Pro to achieve.
: If you are just testing, you can find free demo versions on the PSOFT Download Page. Note that demo versions cannot be converted to full versions without a fresh installation. 3. Installation Steps
Customize line thickness and color in the Brush section. Use Reduction settings to make lines thinner or more transparent as they recede from the camera. 3. Specialized Tools and Optimization PSOFT Pencil+ 4 for 3ds Max
Dramatically speeds up character blocking and asset staging phases. 2. Advanced Material Penetration
| Feature | PSOFT Pencil+ 4 | VRayToon | finalToon | Corona 13 Toon Shading | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | | Dedicated, industry-standard NPR renderer for cel and pencil styles. | A simple atmospheric effect to add cartoon outlines. | A full-blown "True Line Renderer" (TLR). | A toon shading and outline override for the Corona renderer. | | Line Quality | Excellent - Offers rich, highly stylizable lines (sketchy, uniform, inked, etc.). | Basic - Provides uniform, simple outlines. | Very High - Focuses on crisp, fast outlines for technical/illustration styles. | Good - A solid addition for Corona users, but not as feature-rich as dedicated tools. | | Material Control | Extensive - Full material system for cel shading, highlights, and hatching. | None - Does not affect materials, only adds outlines. | Limited - Mainly a line renderer, but works alongside standard shaders. | Good - Basic toon ramp, color quantization, and outline overrides. | | Performance | Excellent (v4) - Multithreaded line rendering is incredibly fast. | Good - Very lightweight effect. | Good - Optimized for fast interactive updates. | Good - Leverages Corona's efficient rendering engine. | | Workflow Integration | Deep - Integrates as a dedicated material and renderer within 3ds Max. | Simple - Added as a simple effect in the Environment panel. | Deep - Adds custom materials, lights, and render elements. | Integrated - Seamlessly works within the Corona material system. | | Best For | Artists and studios needing authentic 2D anime, manga, or illustration styles. | Users wanting a quick and easy way to add outlines to any V-Ray scene. | Technical illustrators and architects who need perfect, crisp line art from 3D models. | Corona users who want to add stylized looks without switching renderers. |
: Modify multiple parameters across complex line sets and materials at the same time using a unified grid interface.
: Fine-tune how the toon shader reacts to lighting changes in your 3ds Max scene. High-Performance Line Rendering
The plugin is built around four core components designed to give artists complete control over the "hand-drawn" look of 3D models:
Pencil+ 4 is highly regarded for its ability to handle complex scene data, allowing for intricate, artistic output in both television animation and film production. Top Features of Pencil+ 4 for 3ds Max
Enables real-time previews of shading directly inside the 3ds Max viewport, significantly speeding up the look-development process.
Note: PSOFT has released newer versions (4.2.6, 4.2.7) that target Max 2023–2027. For the 2015–2018 bracket, you may need to access the "Legacy Downloads" section of the PSOFT User Page.
For compositing, Pencil+ 4 allows you to output materials and lines to separate files. It also supports EPS output for line art, making it extremely friendly for integrating into 2D pipelines like After Effects.
Mastering NPR in 3ds Max: A Deep Dive into PSOFT Pencil+ 4 (2015-2018)
Unlike grease pencil tools in Blender or annotation tools in Revit, PSoft Pencil 4 operated on a model. Each stroke was a 3ds Max SplineShape object, but with critical differences:
