ZBrush Tip: Inflate Along Normals to Preserve Volume

When smoothing starts to collapse your forms, inflate along surface normals to preserve volume and silhouette.

• Why it works: Inflate moves vertices outward (or inward) along their own normals, counteracting the mass loss that typical smoothing introduces. This is ideal for muscles, eyelids, lips, cloth rolls, and any convex detail that tends to deflate under repeated smoothing.

Brush-based workflow (local, art-directable):

• Select the Inflate brush: B → I → N.
• Set ZIntensity low to moderate (5–20) for subtle, controllable passes; adjust Draw Size to match the feature width.
• Enable BackfaceMask (Brush > Auto Masking > BackfaceMask) when working on thin shells to prevent the opposite side from inflating.
• Cycle “inflate a little, smooth a little”: a light Inflate pass, then a low-intensity Smooth pass (Shift) to keep edges clean without losing mass.
• Hold Alt with Inflate to gently deflate if you overshoot.
• Try a slightly negative Focal Shift (e.g., -10 to -30) to concentrate the effect and avoid spreading into neighboring planes.

Global and precise options (uniform, non-destructive):

• Tool > Deformation > Inflate: Use small values (1–5) to restore overall thickness after broad smoothing or remeshing operations. Great for clothing shells and creature bodies.
• Gizmo 3D > Gear icon > Deformers > Inflate: Apply with falloff for controlled regional volume adjustments—excellent when preserving silhouette on a limb or helmet while keeping nearby areas unchanged.
• Use Layers: Create a new Layer before inflating so you can dial the effect up or down later.
• Masking control: Mask the area you want to protect, invert the mask, then Inflate for clean transitions. Combine with Mask by Cavity for edge-aware thickening.

Keep forms crisp after inflating:

• HPolish or TrimDynamic to reassert primary planes without shaving off the just-restored volume.
• Polish by Features (Deformation) for hard-surface objects to even out surfaces while respecting edges.
• If you remesh (DynaMesh/ZRemesher), Project All at high resolution to retain your inflated mass before final polish.

Troubleshooting and pro tips:

• If spikes or micro-lumps appear, run Smooth Peaks lightly to clean artifacts without flattening forms.
• If inflation “balloons” too much, reduce ZIntensity or Draw Size, and check model scale; extreme scale can amplify deformation strength.
• Work at a lower subdivision for big, even inflation, then step up to refine. This keeps the mass consistent while you add detail.
• For stylized work, combine Inflate with DAM_Standard creases, then gently smooth to lock in sharp volumes that won’t collapse.

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