Choose the viewer
Install the Windows desktop app from the product page. The native runtime supplies file watching and model import; a browser-only preview cannot provide those integrations.
Open Livery for vehicle paint, EUP for clothing, All Textures for broader material inspection, or Multi-Model to compare models.
Load the model and texture
Use the model picker to open a supported asset, then select its texture. Use .yft for vehicles and .ydd for clothing or EUP. Cortex Studio also supports .dff and its .clmesh cache; .obj is not supported.
- Choose a model you have permission to use and wait for it to load.
- Select a texture such as .png, .jpg, .dds, or .psd.
- Inspect where the texture lands on the model. Use manual targeting if the suggested material is not the one you intended.
Edit, save, and inspect
Keep the texture open in your preferred editor. Save to the same path and let Cortex Studio reload it. Orbit the model and adjust the background, light intensity, and gloss to check edges and readability.
If an editor saves through a temporary file and rename, reselect the texture or toggle reload when updates stop appearing. Confirm you are editing the same path that the viewer has loaded.
Capture the result
Use the capture tools for presentation images and choose an explicit output destination. Template Generator produces painting templates from supported geometry; PSD Variant Builder manages layer visibility and exports variant PNGs.
Native Materials is a best-effort preview, not full GTA shader parity. Check the final asset in GTA V or FiveM before treating the preview as the finished in-game result.