ZBrush Tip: ZBrush Trim Brushes for Crisp Hard‑Surface Planes

Quick tip: use Trim brushes to turn rough volumes into crisp, production-ready hard-surface planes fast.

Core brushes and when to use them:

• TrimDynamic: Levels and averages surfaces; perfect for establishing clean planes on blockouts.
• HPolish: Tightens and clarifies those planes for a machined look; great after TrimDynamic.
• TrimSmoothBorder: Cleans noisy borders while preserving form transitions.
• Planar/PlanarCut: Forces a plane with more aggression than TrimDynamic; ideal for faceting.
• TrimCurve: Cuts away geometry on one side of a curve and closes the mesh—use for decisive, straight hard cuts.

Setup for surgical results:

• Use a Square alpha and set Focal Shift around -80 to -100 for crisp edges.
• Enable LazyMouse (L) with LazyStep ~0.25, LazySmooth ~8–12 to stabilize strokes.
• Turn on BackfaceMask (Brush > Auto Masking) when working on thin parts to avoid wrap-around damage.
• Work at a lower subdivision for broad trimming, then step up to refine with HPolish.

TrimCurve precision tips:

• Drag to position the curve; Spacebar repositions the entire curve before releasing.
• Alt + click along the curve to add sharp corners; Shift constrains to straight directions.
• Remember: TrimCurve removes geometry and rebuilds the border; ClipCurve only projects vertices (faster but can fold topology).

Fast hard-surface workflow:

• Block volumes (Dynamesh or Sculptris Pro).
• Pass with TrimDynamic using large Draw Size to establish planes.
• Sharpen with HPolish; use DamStandard sparingly to accent panel breaks.
• For decisive cuts, use TrimCurve, then Deformation > Polish by Features (low value) to de-jitter borders.
• Run ZRemesher (Keep Groups) to consolidate topology; add Crease PG before subdividing for controlled edges.

Quality and control nuances:

• If edges look soft, reduce Z Intensity slightly and lower Focal Shift; then do a final HPolish pass.
• Protect features using Mask by Features (peaks/valleys) to avoid rounding panel perimeters during polish.
• On thin shells, always enable BackfaceMask and trim from the visible side only.
• For planar alignment, use Gizmo 3D with Align to Surface (gear icon) to set a custom working plane before polishing.

Troubleshooting:

• Wavy planes: Increase Draw Size and do longer, lighter TrimDynamic strokes; finish with low-intensity HPolish.
• Jagged cuts: After TrimCurve, run Polish by Features (2–3) or a quick ZRemesher pass.
• Topology pinching from ClipCurve: switch to TrimCurve for destructive but cleaner cuts.

Pro move: combine TrimDynamic for primary planes, TrimCurve for decisive separations, then HPolish to unify the machining language. This trio yields sharp, believable hard-surface results with minimal cleanup.

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