ZBrush Tip: Mask By Features for Edge-Safe Sculpting

Use Mask By Feature to quickly protect prominent forms while you sculpt, polish, and deform.

Location: Tool > Masking > Mask By Features (toggles: Groups, Creased, Border). If you need a ZBrush license or upgrades, check NOVEDGE.

• Why it matters
  • Preserve crisp panel lines, seams, and borders during heavy smoothing or polishing.
  • Target deformations to safe areas without collapsing edges or thin parts.
  • Speed up iteration by auto-detecting features instead of painting masks manually.

Quick setup

1. Organize geometry:
   • Assign Polygroups (Tool > Polygroups > Auto Groups, Group By Normals, or Group From Mask).
   • Create edge features (Tool > Geometry > Crease > Crease PG or manually crease selected edges).
2. Open Tool > Masking and enable the relevant toggles under Mask By Features:
   • Groups to respect Polygroup boundaries.
   • Creased to protect creased edges/corners.
   • Border to guard open edges and holes.
3. Click Mask By Features to generate the mask.
4. Optional refinement:
   • Ctrl+click on empty canvas to invert the mask (affect features only).
   • Ctrl+click on the mesh to blur; Ctrl+Alt+click to sharpen the mask edge.

Core workflows

• Hard-surface cleanup: Mask By Features (Groups+Creased), then Deformation > Polish or Polish By Features. Corners and seams stay protected, large surfaces clean up evenly.
• Panel inflation: Mask By Features, invert, then Deformation > Inflate or use the Inflate brush at low intensity to pop panel borders uniformly.
• Edge-safe smoothing: With features masked, use Smooth or HPolish to unify planes without rolling over sharp breaks.
• Border integrity: Enable Border before global deforms (Scale, Bend, Taper) to reduce tearing near open edges.

Pro tips

• Use Group By Normals (set a tight angle) to auto-derive Polygroups from hard edges before running Mask By Features.
• Combine with Mask By Smoothness (Tool > Masking) to weight protection by curvature, then sharpen once to keep a crisp falloff.
• After masking, Store a Morph Target and use the Morph brush to selectively restore any accidental softening.
• For kitbash parts (IMM/InsertMesh), immediately Auto Groups and run Mask By Features to stabilize joins during polish.
• Try a light Polish By Features with the mask inverted to micro-bevel just the feature edges.

Troubleshooting

• Nothing gets masked: Ensure the mesh actually has Polygroups/creases or open borders; toggle the correct options.
• Mask too thin: Blur once, then sharpen once to widen yet keep a tight edge. Repeat as needed.
• Artifacts after polish: Check for non-manifold edges (Tool > Geometry > Modify Topology > Weld/Close Holes) before masking.
• Performance dips: Hide unneeded subtools and use lower subdivision levels for masking, then reproject details if required.

Maximize precision and speed by building clean Polygroups and creases, then letting Mask By Feature handle protection automatically. For more ZBrush tools and bundles, visit NOVEDGE.

You can find all the ZBrush products on the NOVEDGE web site at this page.