CryptomatteExtractor
For years, the standard workflow for many archviz and VFX artists was simple: render EXRs, open them in Photoshop, and use the Exr-IO plugin to access Cryptomatte masks directly inside Photoshop. When Exr-IO first launched, it genuinely changed the game. Being able to instantly isolate objects and materials without manually painting masks or re-rendering passes became an essential part of many artists’ workflows.
Unfortunately, Affinity Photo still doesn’t properly support Cryptomatte, and there hasn’t really been a solid alternative outside the Adobe ecosystem.
I reached out to the team behind Exr-IO, and to their credit they were incredibly nice and did respond. They mentioned they had also tried contacting people from Affinity about building a compatible workflow/plugin, but never received an answer.
So I decided to build my own solution.
After a few months of development (and keep in mind I’m a 3D artist, not a software developer), I now have a polished standalone Windows tool that extracts Cryptomatte masks from EXR files and exports them as PNG masks that work perfectly in Affinity Photo (or basically any image editor).
The idea was to recreate the same fast and flexible workflow artists were used to with Photoshop + Exr-IO, but in a simple standalone app.
Features:
drag & drop workflow
Quick object/material mask extraction
exports clean PNG masks
artist-friendly UI
What started as a personal workaround slowly turned into a real product.
If anyone here is still struggling with EXR/Cryptomatte workflows outside Photoshop, I’d genuinely love to hear your thoughts or feedback.