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manual/sculpt_paint/sculpting/introduction.rst

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Introduction Introduction
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*Sculpt Mode* is similar to *Edit Mode* in that it is used to alter the shape of a model, *Sculpt Mode* is similar to *Edit Mode* in that it is used to alter the shape of a model,
but Sculpt Mode uses a very different workflow: but Sculpt Mode uses a very different workflow:
instead of dealing with individual elements (vertices, edges, and faces), instead of dealing with individual elements (vertices, edges, and faces),
an area of the model is altered using a brush. an area of the model is altered using a brush.
In other words, instead of selecting a group of vertices, In other words, instead of selecting a group of vertices,
Sculpt Mode manipulates geometry in the brush region of influence. Sculpt Mode manipulates geometry in the brush region of influence.
.. figure:: /images/sculpt-paint_sculpting_introduction_example.jpg .. figure:: /images/sculpt-paint_sculpting_introduction_example.jpg
Sculpting Mode Example. Sculpting Mode Example.
Sculpt Mode is selected from the mode menu of the 3D Viewport header. Sculpt Mode is accessed from the mode menu of the 3D Viewport header.
Once Sculpt Mode is activated, the Toolbar of the 3D Viewport will change to Once inside Sculpt Mode, the Toolbar and Tool Settings of the 3D Viewport will change to
Sculpt Mode specific panels. A red circle will appear and Sculpt Mode specific panels. The cursor will change to a circle, to indicate the size of the brush.
follow the location of the cursor in the 3D Viewport.
.. note:: .. note::
To have a predictable brush behavior, apply the scale of your mesh. To have a predictable brush behavior, :doc:`apply the scale </scene_layout/object/editing/apply>` of your mesh.
The Brush The Brush
========= =========
Sculpt Mode uses a similar brush to the other :doc:`painting modes </sculpt_paint/brush/introduction>`, Sculpt Mode uses a similar brush to the other :doc:`painting modes </sculpt_paint/brush/introduction>`,
but it is slightly more advanced. All the normal brush controls still apply, but it is slightly more advanced. All the usual brush controls still apply,
and it functions exactly the same, yet the brush for sculpting is displayed in 3D. and it functions exactly the same, yet the brush for sculpting is displayed in 3D.
This means that the brush will follow the contours of the mesh and the radius is displayed This means that the brush will follow the contours of the mesh and the radius is displayed
by orienting the brush to match the topology :term:`Normal`. by orienting the brush to match the topology :term:`Normal`.
How closely the cursor follows the curvature of the mesh can be changed in How closely the cursor follows the curvature of the mesh can be changed in
the :doc:`Brush Settings </sculpt_paint/sculpting/tool_settings/brush_settings>`. the :doc:`Brush Settings </sculpt_paint/sculpting/tool_settings/brush_settings>` with “Normal Radius”.
The brush can also change depending on the currently active :doc:`tool </sculpt_paint/sculpting/tools/index>` The brush is also used depending on the currently active :doc:`tool </sculpt_paint/sculpting/tools/index>`
to better display how that tool works. to better display how that tool works.
For example, the :doc:`Box Trim </sculpt_paint/sculpting/tools/box_trim>`
and :doc:`Lasso Trim </sculpt_paint/sculpting/tools/lasso_trim>` tools are able to use the current brush radius
for how deep geometry is trimmed or added.
There are many brushes to choose from but the most common brushes for general sculpting are
:doc:`Draw </sculpt_paint/sculpting/tools/draw>`, :doc:`Draw Sharp </sculpt_paint/sculpting/tools/draw_sharp>`,
:doc:`Clay Strips </sculpt_paint/sculpting/tools/clay_strips>`,
:doc:`Inflate </sculpt_paint/sculpting/tools/inflate>`, :doc:`Crease </sculpt_paint/sculpting/tools/crease>`,
:doc:`Pinch </sculpt_paint/sculpting/tools/pinch>`, :doc:`Smooth </sculpt_paint/sculpting/tools/smooth>`,
:doc:`Scrape </sculpt_paint/sculpting/tools/scrape>`, :doc:`Grab </sculpt_paint/sculpting/tools/grab>`
and :doc:`Snake Hook </sculpt_paint/sculpting/tools/snake_hook>`.
Usage Visibility, Masking & Face Sets
===== =========
Portions of the mesh can be hidden in Sculpt Mode to improve the viewport performance.
Because hidden faces cannot be sculpted, hiding can also make it easier to isolate what you want to work on.
Hiding is shared between all modes, except Object Mode (i.e. hiding/showing of faces in one mode affects the other mode too).
Unlike `Selection Masking` in other painting modes, Sculpt Mode primarily uses Masks and Face Sets to easily control
the mesh visibility and which faces can currently be edited.
The exception is the `Clipping Region`, which can be used in any mode.
.. seealso::
More information at `Show & Hide`.
A mask is used to control which vertices of the mesh are influenced by sculpting and painting.
The mask can for example be created via the Mask Brush, Mask Gesture Tools and Mask by Color.
.. seealso::
More information at `Mask Menu`
Face Sets are used to group your object into differently colored geometry which can then be quickly `hidden or shown`.
They can also be used for fast mask creation via the `Expand Mask` and `Expand Face Set` operators.
Otherwise Face Sets can be created with the `Draw Face Sets` brush and `Face Set Gesture Tools`.
They can also be edited with the `Edit Face Set` tool.
.. seealso::
More information at `Face Sets`
Auto-Masking is also a fast way of only editing specific geometry without having to manually create a new mask or hide geometry.
The mask and face sets display can be toggled as a `viewport overlay`. In the overlay popover,
the opacity of the mask overlay can be adjusted to make it more or less visible on the mesh.
.. note::
When Xray shading is enabled, masks and face sets will not be displayed.
Filters
=========
Filters are tools which provide an alternative way of sculpting, because they do not rely on a brush radius.
Instead they will affect any faces which are not masked.
They are also more interactive than menu operators,
because the strength is controlled with click & drag from left to right.
The position of the cursor can be used to only affect specific areas, if `auto-masking` is used.
.. seealso::
More information at `Mesh Filter`, `Color Filter` and `Cloth Filter`.
Transforming
=========
Transform tools to `move`, `rotate` and `scale` are also available in Sculpt Mode,
but with an important difference. Sculpt Mode uses its own pivot point,
which can be `manually set via operators` or automatically positioned with `Mask Expand`.
This ensures that the pivot point can be more freely positioned and always moves with the transformed geometry.
TIP: For even more control, assign a shortcut to the `Set Pivot to “Surface”` menu operator.
Optionally instead of keeping the transform tools active, you can enable the `viewport gizmos` to have access to the gizmo at all times.
.. note::
The gizmo can in some cases block areas from being sculpted on.
In that case move the pivot point somewhere else to be able to click on the desired surface.
Apart from the transform tools there are also special brushes to move,
rotate and scale the topology like `Pose`, `Boundary` and `Elastic Deform`.
Painting
=========
Sculpt Mode also allows painting your geometry via `Color Attributes` such as Vertex Colors.
This ensures that the most common actions related to the sculpting workflow are contained in the same mode,
without excessive mode switching.
Other sculpt mode features such as face sets, masking and filters can also be used with painting tools.
The painting functionality in Sculpt Mode is limited to a `Paint` and `Smear` brush,
as well as a `Color Filter` and `Mask by Color` tool.
.. note::
Once any painting tool is executed, the viewport color shading is switched to “Attribute”.
This ensures that color attributes are shown on all objects once painting is needed.
Working with Multiple Objects
=========
Unlike Edit Mode, there is no multi-object editing supported for Sculpt Mode.
Since sculpting often involves editing many separate objects,
it is recommended to use the `Transfer Mode` operator via the shortcut :kbd:`Alt Q` to quickly switch objects.
.. seealso::
More information at `Switching Objects`.
Objects can also be `joined` so there is no need to switch objects.
In the case that `Face Sets` were already used,
joining objects or creating new geometry in Edit Mode will automatically assign new Face Sets.
This makes it immediately possible to target each new geometry via `auto-masking`.
If no Face Sets are created, use the `Initialize Face Sets` operators to create them.
Face Sets and Masked geometry can also be `extracted` or `sliced` into a new object.
Adaptive Resolution
=========
In order for sculpting to give accurate and predictable results, Blender needs enough geometry.
Instead of starting off with a highly subdivided mesh, add geometry dynamically
by using either of the following adaptive sculpting methods.
Voxel Remesher
-------------------
"Voxel remeshing" uses OpenVDB to rebuild the geometry with a perfectly even distributed topology.
Depending on the `defined resolution`, this will lead to a lower or higher resolution.
This technique is especially useful to block out the initial shape of an object.
It also has the advantage of removing any overlapping geometry and creating a manifold volume as a result.
Reaching vertex counts of 20 million should still be achievable with this technique, depending on the used hardware.
.. note::
This technique will not work on objects that do not have an enclosed volume.
Make sure to fill any holes in the mesh before remeshing.
Or avoid any holes in the mesh/volume that are larger than the defined voxel size.
To more easily access this feature, use the shortcuts :kbd:`Shift-R` to define the resolution,
and :kbd:`Ctrl-R` to execute the remeshing.
.. seealso::
More information at `Remesh`.
Dyntopo
-------------------
Dynamic topology (aka Dyntopo) is a dynamic tessellation
sculpting method that automatically adds and removes topology under the brush.
Unlike the Voxel Remesher, this makes it possible to sculpt complex shapes without thinking about the resolution or topology.
It also allows to define a different resolution wherever necessary.
Much more complex base mesh sculpting is especially useful with this technique.
The disadvantages of this technique are a slower performance and limited support for `some sculpt mode features`.
Custom attributes like Color Attributes, UV Maps and Face Sets are also lost or corrupted when using Dyntopo.
To more easily access this feature, use the shortcuts :kbd:`Ctrl-D` to enabled Dyntopo
and :kbd:`Shift-D` to define the resolution.
..
Reference simplify, snake hook and clay strips.
.. seealso::
More information at :doc:`Dyntopo </sculpt_paint/sculpting/tool_settings/dyntopo>`.
Multiresolution
-------------------
..
Mention Quadriflow as well and link to more info
The Multiresolution Modifier can be used for subdivision based sculpting.
This means the object will be subdivided, similar to the `Subdivision Surface Modifier`,
only that the subdivisions can be freely sculpted for very high resolution detailing.
.. note::
For this technique it is highly recommended to use on a clean topology base mesh.
This means the base mesh should be only made of quads
and avoid non-manifold faces, as well as poles with two connected edges.
This technique has the advantage of sculpting with multiple resolutions.
Meaning you have the ability to sculpt on any level of subdivision.
This allows to add a much higher resolution of details for rendering and sculpting,
while also displaying lower resolutions for better viewport performance.
Meanwhile it also allows sculpting on lower resolutions for broader changes.
As an example, you can sculpt general proportions in subdivision level 1,
add high resolution details in level 4 and switch back to subdivision 1 to correct the shape further.
The disadvantages are that you may end up with some mesh distortions because the topology is not dynamic.
The topology should also not be changed once already subdivided,
since any edits to the base mesh will result in corrupted subdivision details.
.. tip::
Pay attention to the topology that you sculpt and how much it gets stretched.
If more resolution is needed you can always subdivide another time,
but there will be worse performance and slower level switching once more than 5 subdivisions are used.
.. Also mention Multires brushes, and link to apply base and rebuild subdivisions.
Here are general shortcuts to use the feature.
- Step up one multires level :kbd:`PageUp`
- Step down one multires level :kbd:`PageDown`
- Set multires level / Create multires modifier :kbd:`Ctrl-0` to :kbd:`Ctrl-5`
.. seealso::
More information at :doc:`Multiresolution Modifier </modeling/modifiers/generate/multiresolution>`.
Cloth Sculpting
=========
Instead of sculpting cloth manually, there are various tools that offer a simplified
:doc:`Cloth Physics Simulation </physics/cloth/index>` directly in sculpt mode.
This has various advantages but is especially useful for base mesh creation and larger clothing shapes.
Detailing is possible, but the slower performance on high resolution meshes and simplified cloth physics
might not lead to desireable results.
The resolution of the topology is the mainly responsible for the size of the folds
and detail level of the simulation. So an optimal and evenly distributed topology is important.
Many sculpting features are supported, so for example :ref:`Masked <sculpt-mask-menu>` vertices
are :doc:`pinned </physics/cloth/settings/shape>` in the simulation.
The sculpt mode :ref:`gravity <bpy.types.Sculpt.gravity>` factor is also applied on the cloth physics.
Limiting Brush Interactions The main brushes and tools for this feature are the `Cloth Brush` and `Cloth Filter`,
--------------------------- but other transform brushes like `Pose` and `Boundary` also support cloth sculpting.
While sculpting, areas might be hidden behind parts of the mesh or they might be too close to other parts. A demo file for trying out the various brushes and tools is available `here <https://www.blender.org/download/demo-files/#sculpting>`_.
To work through these, it is useful to isolate parts of a mesh to sculpt on.
This can be done by either completely hiding parts of the mesh
or by masking areas that can not be sculpted on.