ZBrush Tip: Crease PG: Auto‑Crease PolyGroup Borders for Crisp Subdivision

Crease PG automatically assigns creases along PolyGroup borders, letting you subdivide without rounding off hard edges. It’s a fast, predictable way to keep bevels, panel lines, and part separations crisp across subdivision levels.

• Where it lives: Tool > Geometry > Crease > Crease PG
• Core idea: PolyGroups define where edges should stay sharp; Crease PG converts those group borders into crease edges in one click.

Workflow

• Create clean PolyGroups first:
  • Group by Normals (Tool > PolyGroups > Group by Normals) with a sensible threshold (45–60° is a good start for hard-surface).
  • Use Auto Groups or PolyGroupIt for complex parts to ensure logical panelization.
• Run Crease PG to assign creases on all PolyGroup borders.
• Set Crease Level (Tool > Geometry > Crease > CreaseLvl) to 2–3 to hold edges at lower subdivs, then release gradually at higher levels for a controlled bevel.
• Subdivide (Tool > Geometry > Divide with Smt on). The creased borders will remain sharp as specified by CreaseLvl.
• Refine selectively using ZModeler Edge > Crease/Uncrease on individual loops if needed.

Best practices

• After ZRemesher, enable Keep Groups, then apply Crease PG. This preserves hard edges and yields cleaner, production-ready surfaces.
• Pair with Dynamic Subdiv + QGrid for elegant control edges:
  • Enable Dynamic (Tool > Geometry > Dynamic Subdiv).
  • Turn on QGrid, set low Coverage (2–5), and adjust Bevel/Chamfer. Creases from Crease PG act as the control framework.
• For mixed hard/soft models, separate soft zones into different PolyGroups before Crease PG to avoid unwanted sharpness.
• Use PolyFrame (Shift+F) to visualize PolyGroups and creased edges while you iterate.

Troubleshooting

• Jagged or micro-faceted edges after subdividing:
  • Check for open borders (Tool > Geometry > Modify Topology > Close Holes).
  • Normalize scale (Tool > Deformation > Unify) or verify real-world size before exporting.
• Too many creases: lower the aggressiveness of your PolyGroup generation (reduce Group by Normals’ Max Angle) before running Crease PG.
• Need to relax later: increase CreaseLvl temporarily or use Uncrease All, then reapply where needed.

Speed tips

• Assign a hotkey: Preferences > Hotkeys, then Ctrl+Alt+click Crease PG and press your key.
• Batch across SubTools with consistent PolyGroups using SubTool Master, then Crease PG for uniform results.

Pipeline notes

• For baking: keep creases through final high-subdiv stages to ensure consistent shading on the high poly; don’t rely on arbitrary pinching.
• For renderers relying on Catmull–Clark, Crease PG provides predictable, CAD-like edges without dense support loops.

If you’re standardizing licenses, training, or upgrading your ZBrush pipeline, explore options through NOVEDGE. You can also find complementary hard-surface tools and plugins at NOVEDGE, and consult their team for workflow recommendations tailored to creasing and subdivision-heavy projects via NOVEDGE support.