Sculpting >
Sculpting basics

Sculpting in Mudbox is as easy as loading a model, subdividing it, and stroking on the model with a sculpt tool.

1. With a model loaded in the 3D View, click the Sculpt Tools tab to display the Sculpt Tools tray.
2. In the Sculpt Tools tray, select a sculpt tool.
3. In the 3D View, position the cursor on the model and click a few times in the same location without moving the tool cursor across the surface of the model.
   NoteIf the following message appears: The mesh you are trying to sculpt is too coarse for the size of your brush, you’ll need to either increase the resolution of your model or increase the size of your sculpt tool. For more information, see Increase a model's resolution and Edit sculpt tool properties.

   The vertices on the model move slightly outwards in that region. Each click moves the vertices within the tool cursor upwards. How far the vertices move depends on the Strength property combined with the Falloff setting. The Size property is represented by the circular tool cursor that appears whenever it is over the model.

4. Click-drag the tool cursor across the surface of the model.

   The vertices on the model move slightly outwards along the path you dragged. This path is called a stroke. A stroke appears continuous but is actually made up of many stamp impressions that overlap each other. You can adjust how much the stamps overlap by adjusting the Stamp Spacing property.

   NoteNot all sculpt tools move vertices outwards by default.
5. To reverse the sculpt direction for any sculpt tool, press the Ctrl key and click-drag the cursor across the surface of the model.

6. To create smoother strokes, turn on Steady Stroke in the Properties window.

NoteWhen you select a tool in any tray, the tool properties display in the Properties window. You can change a sculpt tool’s properties (like Size and Strength) in this window, or using hotkeys.
TipQuickly modify a sculpt tool’s falloff value by selecting a preset from the Falloff tray. For more information, see Sculpt Tool properties.

Related topics

Sculpting overview

Prepare a model for sculpting

Sculpt Tools tray

Edit sculpt tool properties