![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/260712_Howler2027_f.jpg\")
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Developer Dan Ritchie has begun the Howler 2027<\/a> releases, the latest annual series of updates to the hard-to-classify digital painting, animation and video processing tool<\/a>.<\/p>\n Howler 2027 itself introduces Howler 3D, a new 3D environment for importing, editing and rendering 3D models, plus an Outpaint Fill tool for removing objects from images.<\/p>\n An idiosyncratic low-cost natural media paint package with a lot of unexpected features<\/strong> Its core strength is natural media painting, but it also features basic 3D rendering capabilities, primarily for landscapes and foliage, and animation features including a timeline, onion skinning, frame repair, retiming, and an exposure sheet for lip sync animation.<\/p>\n Ritchie had originally intended to stop work<\/a> on Howler last year, aiming to raise money to release the then-current 2025 version as freeware.<\/p>\n However, he has since decided to resume active development of the software.<\/p>\n Howler 3D: a new \u2018adjacent\u2019 3D rendering environment<\/strong> Ritchie describes it as a \u201cfully embedded 3D environment adjacent to Howler\u201d: it\u2019s technically a plugin, and is accessed from the Render menu, but can run entirely as a separate process.<\/p>\n Inside it, users can import, manipulate and render 3D models, with support for PBR materials, image-based lighting and physically based rendering.<\/p>\n There is currently little information about it on the Howler website, but you can find a list of key features, supplied by Dan Ritchie, pasted in at the foot of this story.<\/p>\n Ritchie also plans to add animation capabilities to Howler 3D in future.<\/p>\n The work builds on the new 3D tools introduced throughout the Howler 2026 releases<\/a>, initially as separate web-based apps.<\/p>\n Other new features in Howler 2027: Outpaint Fill for object removal<\/strong> It works in a similar way to Content-Aware Fill<\/a> in Photoshop, replacing selected parts of an image with automatically generated areas of background.<\/p>\n It looks a pretty quick-and-dirty solution: Ritchie describes it as \u201cnot perfect \u2026 but it will extend small areas in a convincing way for many problem types\u201d.<\/p>\n Workflow improvements include new Canvas Creation and Animation Creation panels, and keyframes are now directly editable from the Timeline panel.<\/p>\n Price and system requirements<\/strong> The software has a MSRP of $56.99, but is rarely sold for full price: at the time of posting, it is available for $27.99.<\/p>\n Read a list of new features in Howler 2027<\/a><\/p>\n See more details of the new features in the PD Howler \u2013 Project Dogwaffle Facebook group<\/a><\/p>\n Have your say on this story by following CG Channel on Facebook<\/a>, Instagram<\/a> and X (formerly Twitter)<\/a>. As well as being able to comment on stories, followers of our social media accounts can see videos we don\u2019t post on the site itself, including making-ofs for the latest VFX movies, animations, games cinematics and motion graphics projects.<\/p>\n Key features in Howler 3D<\/strong><\/p>\n Core rendering features<\/strong><\/p>\n \u2022 Shadows with point, spot, distance light types and manual projection modes Modeling and layout<\/strong><\/p>\n \u2022 Import OBJ meshes with extended materials Materials<\/strong><\/p>\n \u2022 Full PBR workflow: diffuse, roughness, metallic, normal, emission, clearcoat Procedural System (L\u2011MTL)<\/strong><\/p>\n \u2022 Under\u2011the\u2011hood node system powering procedural textures \t\t\t
Originally released two decades ago, Howler \u2013 originally Project Dogwaffle \u2013 is an idiosyncratic sub-$100 digital painting and content creation tool.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/260713_Howler2027_Howler3D.jpg\")
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The main change in Howler 2027 is Howler 3D, a new 3D content creation and rendering environment.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/260712_Howler2027_OutpaintFill.jpg\")
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New features in Howler 2027 itself include an Outpaint Fill tool, shown above.<\/p>\n
Howler 2027 is available for Windows only. It is officially still a pre-order, but anyone buying the software gets Howler 2027 immediately as a \u201cgenerally stable build\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Reflections (SSR hybrid pipeline)
\u2022 Refraction with thickness, IOR, and attenuation
\u2022 Ambient Occlusion (SSAO with temporal noise reduction)
\u2022 Global Illumination\u2011style accumulation via progressive multi\u2011pass rendering
\u2022 ACES tonemapping and exposure controls<\/p>\n
\u2022 Scene layout tools for positioning, scaling, and orienting objects
\u2022 Grounding, centering, smoothing, lathe, array, bevel, extrude, and geometry utilities
\u2022 Curve primitives<\/p>\n
\u2022 Transparent and refractive materials with correct depth compositing
\u2022 Environment and image\u2011based lighting<\/p>\n
\u2022 Generators: Perlin, vector noise, brick, checker, gradients
\u2022 Operators: mix, multiply, displace, slope, incidence
\u2022 Designed for future expansion into full node\u2011graph editing<\/p>\n