What's New in Easel
August 2026
Group cutouts
Grouped shapes just got more powerful! You can now add a cutout outline to a selected group, making it easier to build complex shapes incrementally by combining primitives.
How it works
Start by creating a group from multiple volumes:
With the group selected, open the Cut Properties tab. You'll see a new option to Add Group Cutout:
When creating the outline, zero-depth volumes are excluded, while volumes with positive depth are combined into the cutout:
Enable Ignore Inner Shapes to cut only the group's outer outline while preserving the child volumes for design purposes. The 3D preview shows the difference:
Keep your inner shapes editable
The group stays intact, so you can continue refining it as you work. Double-click any inner volume to move or edit the child volume without breaking the group:
This makes it easy to build up more complex designs from simple primitives while keeping each component editable.
4 New Wavy Wall Patterns
We've added 4 new patterns to the Wavy Wall Art app!
Lattice
Terrain
Eddy
Echo
Find these new styles in the Wavy Wall Art app here:
For more details on the app, check out this overview.
July 2026
Wavy Wall Art App
We've released a new app that makes it easy to create dynamic 3D artwork for hanging on your wall.
How it Works
The 3D artwork is created by cutting and arranging a series of 2D slats against a backing. The app generates everything you need to assemble the final product.
Design
Choose between the Waves and Ripple patterns, set the minimum and maximum relief depth, and hit Shuffle until you find a composition you love — no two shuffles are alike. The app automatically nests every slat across your panel sheets, with tabs placed only on hidden flat edges.
Ripple Option
Wave Option
Images
You also have the option of incorporating an image of your choosing into the design.
Add an image and the app traces it, carves a matching piece from a third material, and recesses a registration pocket into the slats so the artwork drops into perfect alignment for gluing. Choose a flat piece on a calm pad — the waves fade to a smooth landing zone around your image — or a wave-style inlay where the artwork pieces carry the wave profile right through the design.
Backing
A slotted backing board that mounts to the wall (with an optional frame board for standoff). Each slat has hidden hooks on its back that pass through the backing's slots and drop down to lock — a french-cleat-style fit that's snug when seated but easy to assemble, with no visible fasteners anywhere on the finished piece.
Backing Workpiece
Panel Workpiece
Using the App
- Open the Apps library in the Easel editor and choose Wavy Wall Art.
- On the General tab, set the overall width and height of your piece and the relief depth range.
- Enter your Panel and Backing material dimensions — thickness and sheet size — and the app nests everything to fit.
- Pick a pattern (Waves or Ripple) and click Shuffle until the preview looks right. Assign paint colors to preview your finished palette.
- Optionally, on the Image tab, check Add image and upload artwork; adjust its width, padding, and position on the wave field.
- Click Generate. The app creates your panel sheets, backing board, and (if enabled) artwork workpieces, each ready to carve.
Note: The also app engraves a small tick on the hidden side of each panel so the slats go back together in the right order, and Drill mounting holes if you'd like hanging hardware locations cut for you.
Project Progress Tracking
Sharing and tracking your progress on your projects just got easier!
Save build photos, notes, and project settings as you go! Each step, workpiece, individual part, and the completed assembly can now be included in a project, making it easier for others to see the full story from first cut to finished piece when you publish to the Project Gallery. It’s also a great way to keep track of your own results and the changes you’ve made along the way.
Project Overview
Each project now has an overview page to view/edit the status of a project, add a description, list materials, add photos, add notes, and discuss in the comments.
This page is accessible to the left of the project's workpieces:
Post-Carve Screen
The post-carve screen has also been updated to allow you to add pictures to track the results of any new or overridden settings.
Once your project is ready, publish it to the Gallery to share what you’ve made! Everything you’ve collected along the way, your description, your materials list, photos, and notes, carries over automatically, turning your project overview into a polished showcase for other makers to explore, get inspired by, and comment on.
Save your progress, share it with the community, and inspire the next build.
V-Carve Inlay Application
V-Carve Inlays are now live with Easel Pro!
This has been one of the most requested features from our community, and we're thrilled to put it in your hands.
With the V-Carve Inlay application, Easel automatically generates two workpieces within your project that allow you to carve the perfect parts to fit together to create a multi-material inlay.
Butterfly Inlay project photos provided by Richard Campbell
Understanding the V-Carve Inlay Workflow
The V-Carve Inlay feature generates two separate workpieces:
The pocket is the part of the inlay that is hollowed out to accept the plug. It is a V-carved recess cut into the main workpiece using a V-bit. Because the carve is made with a V-bit, the walls of the pocket are angled.
Plug
The plug is the part of the inlay that is cut out and is set into the pocket. It is carved separately—typically from a contrasting wood species—and uses the same V-bit geometry so it fits tightly into the pocket.
Using the V-Carve Inlay App
Start by opening a new Easel project. Add a design element that will serve as the template for your inlay.
Make sure the design element’s dimensions accurately match the size of the inlay you want to create.
It is recommended that you have your materials and bits available while setting up the project so you can reference exact measurements.
Important: Hardwood is strongly recommended for the Inlay Generator. Softwoods and plywood may not produce optimal results.
Once you have your design at the correct dimensions, select it and click on the V-Carve inlay option on the left-hand toolbar. This will open the V-Carve Inlay application.
The application window will include configuration options on the left side and a 3D preview on the right side. Under the configuration options on the left side of the application, you will see options for:
Pocket Depth to set the depth of the inlay.
Pocket Bits to choose the bits you intend to use for the pocket cut (roughing is optional).
Plug Stock to define the material settings/dimensions for the plug. (Because the plug is imported with an offset, there is a minimum size requirement.)
Plug Bits to choose the bits you intend to use for the plug cut (Roughing bit, Detail bit, Outline bit).
[The detail bit will already be chosen, as this is the same V-bit that is chosen for the pocket.]
For a full step-by-step guide on how to use the V-Carve Inlay application, check out these instructions.
Revamped User Profiles
Your Easel profile has a brand-new look! We've updated the layout and added new customization options so you can better showcase who you are as a maker.
Add a Cover Image
Personalize your profile with a cover image that appears at the top of your profile page.
Earn & Showcase Achievements
Achievements are now displayed as badges on your profile card. Visit the All Badges page to track your progress, discover new achievements, and see what you can unlock next.
Show More About You
Help others get to know you by adding:
- Social media links
- Your interests
- The kinds of things you love to make
These details make it easier for other makers to connect with you and discover shared interests.
Share Your Profile
Ready to show off your maker profile? Use the Profile Visibility toggle to make your profile shareable and connect with your network.
Start customizing your profile today and let the Easel community see what makes you unique!
Lake Depth Maps
Search tens of thousands of popular U.S. lakes by name and carve a depth map. Easel draws the shoreline and up to five depth passes as stepped pockets, so the finished carve reads like a scale model of the lakebed. Add the lake's name as text with one checkbox, then import the whole thing as a grouped stack, ready to cut.
The depths are a real bathymetry, not a stylized outline, so Tahoe comes out deep and steep-walled, Okeechobee wide and shallow.
You can use the app now by opening "Apps" from the toolbar and selecting "Lake Map" app.
Don't see your lake? Ask for it in the feedback box and we'll add it.
June 2026
New Metadata Visibility Options
You can now temporarily hide the workpiece name and notes while designing in Easel.
Project > Show/Hide > [select an option to toggle]
Tip: You can still use the 'M' keyboard shortcut to hide measurement lines as well.
New Text Editing
Easel's Text Editing has received an update!
We’ve optimized our text editor to provide a smoother, more reliable writing experience.
Editing text fields now opens a separate text box to make it easier to read and edit. The text box also includes the ability to select Bold and Italic styles, as well as alignment options within the text field (left, center, right).
Simply Double-Click on the text field to open the Text Editor!
Double click on text in your designs and use the input field to edit the text. When you add new text to your designs, text-editing mode will already be active, so you can just start typing.
Tip: This makes editing and using rotated and vertical text easier!
Smart Values (Early Access)
You can now add smart values to your projects in Easel. These are named values that you can add, reuse, and easily adjust across an entire project. Define a dimension once, apply it to elements in your designs, and change it in one place to resize all of the elements using that smart value.
This makes it easy to adapt a design to different scales or use cases: swap in a different material thickness, resize a box to new dimensions, or rework a layout for a new workpiece without editing every shape by hand.
How to Opt-In
Smart values are currently available to users who opt in for early access. Click the button to enable the feature to start using smart values in Easel today!
Viewing & Creating Smart Values
Open Project › Smart Values, or the { x } smart values button in the toolbar.
Each smart value can be a number or a mathematical expression, and expressions can reference other smart values — so you can build dimensions like width / 2 or frame + 2 * border. Two built-in smart values are always available: the workpiece's material thickness and bit width. These values will always be set to the thickness of the material in each workpiece, and the thickness of the primary bit in each workpiece.
Using Smart Values
To use smart values in your designs, select a volume and type a smart value's name into a dimension field, or pick it from the dropdown. You can then add inline additive /subtractive math for a one-off dimension on a specific volume.
When a smart value changes, every volume that uses it updates automatically.
You can chose how the shapes are transformed when smart values are updated. Shapes can be resized from their centers, as well as any of the four corners of the blue outlines that appear on the canvas when shapes are selected. To change the direction that shapes will resize, select from the five "dot" options in the top of the Shape settings.
Share what you make!
Smart values make it easy to design, update, and remake projects in Easel. Opt in today, use smart values on your next project, and share your feedback with our team. We can't wait to see what you make with this new update!