ZBrush Tip: Preserve Silhouette with Trim LOD Smooth

Preserve your silhouette while cleaning surfaces by switching the Smooth brush to Trim LOD mode. It keeps the outer contour crisp, flattens micro chatter, and avoids the “melted” look that normal smoothing can cause.

How to enable Trim LOD smoothing:

• Select the Smooth brush (hold Shift to access).
• Open Brush > Smooth Brush Modifiers.
• Set Weighted Smooth Mode to Trim LOD. This mode prioritizes planar stabilization and limits silhouette erosion.
• Optional: Configure Alternate Smoothing
  • Assign Trim LOD to the Alternate slot so you can toggle it on the fly.
  • Stroke trick: Start smoothing (hold Shift), begin your stroke, then release Shift while the pen is still down to switch to the Alternate smoothing mode mid-stroke.

Recommended settings for control:

• Z Intensity: 20–40 for subtle planar cleanup; 50–70 for firmer trimming on hard-surface parts.
• LazyMouse: On (Stroke > LazyMouse) with LazyStep 0.25–0.5 for consistent passes.
• Brush > Auto Masking: Enable BackfaceMask on thin shells to avoid cutting through.
• For hard edges: Combine with Mask by Polygroups or a quick edge mask to protect critical borders.

When to use Trim LOD:

• After Dynamesh or Sculptris Pro to planarize noise without shrinking the model’s outline.
• On hard-surface bevels where standard Smooth rounds corners too much.
• During stylized character cleanup to keep graphic silhouettes intact.
• Pre-export for 3D printing or baking, to remove micro bumps while preserving form readability.

Stroke strategies:

• Work tangentially along the silhouette rather than across it. Long passes parallel to the outer contour yield flatter planes with minimal shrinkage.
• Feather pressure as you approach critical edges; let Trim LOD do the flattening, not force.
• Alternate short, overlapping strokes with longer guide passes to even out large panels.

Pro workflow tips:

• Store a Morph Target first. If you over-flatten, use the Morph brush to paint back original volume selectively.
• Pair with HPolish or TrimDynamic for fast macro flattening, then finish with Trim LOD Smooth to refine.
• Use Polygroups to confine smoothing to panels—Mask by Polygroups ensures adjacent pieces stay crisp.
• If edges still soften, lower Z Intensity or reduce brush size and make more passes. Trim LOD shines with layered, controlled strokes.

Troubleshooting:

• Wavy planes: Increase LazyRadius slightly and reduce Z Intensity; make longer, steadier passes.
• Silhouette creep: Verify you’re in Trim LOD mode, enable BackfaceMask, and avoid perpendicular strokes across the outline.
• Chatter on dense meshes: Briefly ZRemesh with Keep Groups or run Polish by Features, then reapply Trim LOD smoothing.

Level up your ZBrush workflow with reliable tools and licenses from NOVEDGE. Explore ZBrush options and bundles at NOVEDGE’s ZBrush catalog, and keep your pipeline current with expert support from NOVEDGE.

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