ZBrush Tip: Isolate Masked Geometry for Focused Sculpting

Hide masked geometry to reduce visual clutter, isolate difficult areas, and concentrate on the part of a sculpt that needs attention. This simple visibility technique is especially useful when working inside mouths, beneath armor, between fingers, or around overlapping hard-surface components.

Use the following workflow:

1. Create a mask. Hold Ctrl and paint over the polygons you want to hide. Use a smaller Draw Size for tight areas, or combine masking with lasso and selection tools for faster coverage.
2. Check the mask. Rotate the model and verify that the intended area is completely masked. Because masking is painted through the visible surface only, hidden or rear-facing polygons may require additional attention.
3. Hide the masked polygons. Open Tool > Visibility and click HidePt. ZBrush hides the masked portion while leaving the unmasked geometry visible and editable.
4. Continue sculpting. Work on the remaining visible polygons without the concealed area obstructing your view.
5. Restore the model. Choose Tool > Visibility > ShowPt when you are ready to display all polygons again.

Important: hiding geometry does not delete it. The polygons remain part of the active SubTool and will return when you use ShowPt. Save a project version before performing operations that can permanently affect hidden geometry.

For cleaner and more predictable results, keep these points in mind:

• Blur the mask edge before hiding if the boundary is irregular. Hold Ctrl and click the canvas to soften the mask.
• Sharpen the mask when you need a precise border. Hold Ctrl and Alt, then click the canvas.
• Use Polygroups when the same sections must be isolated repeatedly. Polygroup-based visibility is often faster than repainting a mask.
• Inspect the visibility border before sculpting. Strong smoothing or aggressive strokes near an exposed boundary may create pinching when the hidden polygons return.
• Avoid accidental topology changes. Deleting hidden polygons, remeshing, or applying certain geometry operations may produce permanent results rather than temporary isolation.

A practical example is facial sculpting. Mask the lips, hide them with HidePt, and refine the inner mouth without constantly clipping the brush into the outer forms. The same method works for separating an eyelid from the eyeball, cleaning intersections beneath clothing, or accessing recessed mechanical panels.

Combine hidden geometry with Solo mode for maximum focus: Solo isolates the active SubTool, while HidePt isolates selected polygons within it. This two-stage approach can make dense character and product sculpts substantially easier to navigate.

Artists building or upgrading a ZBrush workflow can explore current ZBrush licensing, compatible hardware, and professional creative tools through NOVEDGE. For best results, pair good visibility habits with frequent incremental saves so experimentation remains fast and reversible.