arjun988 Sculpting
High-frequency surface detail pass. Know when to sculpt vs model vs bake.
When to Sculpt
| Sculpt | Don't Sculpt |
|---|---|
| Organic wrinkles, pores | Hard surface panel lines |
| Creature skin detail | Modular kit pieces |
| Damage, wear, dents | Anything needing clean UVs directly |
| Character likeness refinement | Lowpoly style assets |
| Hero asset micro-detail | Background props |
Workflow
Base Mesh → Multires or Dyntopo → Primary Forms → Secondary Detail
→ Tertiary/Micro → Bake Maps → Retopology (if game asset)
Dyntopo vs Multiresolution
| Method | Use When | Avoid When |
|---|---|---|
| Multires | Controlled detail levels; bake workflow | Need to preserve base topology exactly |
| Dyntopo | Freeform exploration; damage pass | Need predictable polycount |
| Voxel Remesh | Reset topology mid-sculpt | Fine detail already established |
Default: Multires for production; Dyntopo for exploration passes only.
Brush Selection
| Brush | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Draw | General buildup |
| Clay Strips | Muscle/form definition |
| Crease | Wrinkles, folds, hard lines |
| Grab | Large form adjustments |
| Inflate/Deflate | Volume control |
| Scrape | Planar flattening (hard surface sculpt) |
| Dam Standard | Sharp damage, scratches |
| Layer | Non-destructive detail (if available) |
Detail Pass Order
- Primary — Major form corrections (Grab, Clay)
- Secondary — Muscle, folds (Clay Strips, Crease)
- Tertiary — Skin texture, scales (Draw, Alpha)
- Micro — Pores, fine scratches (Alpha, Dam Standard)
Alpha Workflow
- Use tileable alphas for skin, leather, rock
- Stamp at consistent scale for texel coherence
- Combine alphas with different brush strengths
- Bake alpha detail to normal map for game assets
Hard Surface Sculpting
- Scrape brush for planar surfaces
- Crease for panel line softening
- Dam Standard for impact damage
- Trim brushes for precise cuts (if addon available)
- Always retopologize or rebake after hard surface sculpt
Damage & Wear
| Damage Type | Technique |
|---|---|
| Scratches | Dam Standard, light strokes |
| Dents | Inflate negative + smooth |
| Chipped edges | Scrape + Crease |
| Rust bubbles | Small Draw buildup |
| Fabric wear | Crease along stress points |
Performance
- Hide unrelated objects during sculpt
- Use matcap for fast feedback
- Subdivide only active area (face, hands)
- Bake and reduce multires for viewport performance
MCP Integration
- Duplicate base mesh to sculpt collection via MCP
- Add multires modifier via MCP
- Query polycount at each subdivision level
- Export high-poly for bake handoff
- Keep sculpt mesh separate from game mesh
Handoff to Retopology
Before retopo handoff provide:
- Final sculpt at highest multires level
- Decimated version for retopo reference
- List of deformation zones requiring clean loops
- Baked maps if bake-before-retopo workflow
Constraints
MUST DO
- Start from clean base mesh with good topology
- Work largest to smallest detail
- Duplicate before sculpt destructive changes
- Bake detail for game assets
- Match detail level to camera distance
MUST NOT DO
- Sculpt lowpoly-style assets
- Skip retopology for animated game characters
- Subdivide entire mesh to level 6+ uniformly
- Leave dyntopo mesh as final game asset
- Sculpt without reference
Reference Guide
| Topic | Reference | Load When |
|---|---|---|
| Brush settings | references/brush-guide.md |
Detail pass |
| Bake workflow | ../texture-workflow/SKILL.md |
Game asset handoff |