Sculpt Tools tray

The following default tools appear on the Sculpt Tools tray: The following default tools appear on the Sculpting shelf and in the Mesh Tools > Sculpting Tools menu:

Tip:

Quickly select items in Mudbox trays using the number keys on your keyboard. Pressing keys 1 through 9 selects the corresponding tool in the active tray. Middle-drag your frequently used tools to the first nine positions on a tray.

Tool Name Icon Purpose

Sculpt

Builds up initial forms and moves vertices in a direction determined by the average of all normals within the boundary of the tool cursor. Use the Direction property to modify the default setting (for example, X, Y, Z and so on).

Smooth

Levels vertex positions in relation to each other by averaging the positions of vertices.

Note: Use this tool with a high Collapse Threshold value in the Tessellation settings to shrink any 'spiking' created by Dynamic Tessellation.

Relax

Averages vertices on the surface without affecting its original shape. Press Ctrl + Shift to temporarily activate the Relax tool while using another sculpting tool.

Press Ctrl + 3 to activate the Relax tool when another sculpting tool is already active.

Grab

Selects and moves vertices based on the distance and the direction you drag. Useful for making subtle adjustments to the form of the model.

Modify the Direction property to constrain the movement of the tool. For example, XY constrains vertex movement in the XY plane.

Pinch

Pulls vertices in towards the center of the tool cursor. Useful for more sharply defining an existing crease.

Flatten

Levels affected vertices by moving them toward a common plane. Useful for designing and detailing.

Imprint

Presses or imprints a stamp image into the surface. Dragging on the mesh positions and scales the stamp.

Wax

Builds up areas on a model, adding or removing material from the model surface, much like working with clay or wax.

Scrape

Useful for minimizing or removing protruding features. Quickly calculates a plane (based on the vertex positions wherever the cursor is first placed) then flattens any vertices above the plane.

Fill

Fills in cavities on the model surface by calculating a plane (based on the average of the vertices within the tool cursor), then pulling vertices under the plane towards that plane.

Smear

Moves vertices in a direction that is tangent to their original position on the surface in the direction you stroke.

Bulge

Displaces the region beneath the tool by moving each affected vertex along its own normal to create a bulge effect.

Amplify

Opposite of the Flatten tool. Useful for designing, detailing, and further accentuating existing differences in the affected vertices in relation to each other by moving them away from a common plane.

Remesh

Increases or decreases the resolution of the mesh surface as you stroke over it. Use this to add or remove detail in specific areas of your mesh.

The Remesh Tool tessellates, or increases/decreases the number of polygon triangles on your mesh surface. This lets you add or subtract detail as you sculpt. See Add or remove detail with the Remesh tool.

Note: Because Remesh needs to triangulate your mesh, it can't have sculpt layers, subdivision levels, or non-manifold edges .

If your mesh has any if these, Mudbox automatically creates an editable copy. (You can also use Mesh > Generate Tessellation Mesh in the main menu.

Reduce

Decreases the resolution of the mesh as you brush. This lets you lessen the density of the mesh in areas that do not need heavy detail. See Decrease detail with the Reduce tool.

Refine

Increases the resolution of your mesh so you can work in greater detail. See Increase detail with the Refine tool.

Related topics

Sculpting basics

Edit sculpt tool properties

Sculpt Tool properties