3D Paint - Morph - Model - Blacksmith3D - 3D Painting, Morphing and Modeling Application

This software package was designed to be a powerful 3D object detailing package
Mainly designed to edit existing 3D objects via texturing, morphing and (new) modeling tools
The 3D painting feature is extremely powerful, and allows you to paint textures directly onto an object instead of going back and forth between your 2D paint and 3D modelling applications (e.g Photoshop and 3D Studio Max)
The modeling tools are very powerful and allow you to make geometric edits to 3D models while preserving their morph targets (although complex objects can be constructed starting with primitive objects (the Dragon model in the startup screen started off as a simple cube).

Target Audience

Previous versions of this sofwtare were primarily targeted towards the hobbiest 3D market.
This version was designed to be powerful enough for the 3D professional yet still acessible to the hobbiest.
This duality is reflected in the pricing, making it accessible to the hobbiest without undervaluing the product.
Blacksmith3D-Paint-Freeware can be used by anyone and everyone free of charge and can be a very useful tool in itself. (obviously, if more power is required, then the registered version is recommended).

Interface Design and Workflow

Since the various 3D applications have radically different interfaces and workflows, we designed the software to be more familiar to all 3D artists.
By making the software "feel" like a 2D paint application, it should be immediatly familar to most graphic artists.

Concepts

Nomenclature

UV Mapping - The unwrapping of a 3D model's surface into a 2D plane. Think of a map of the world as the UV mapping of the globe.
UV Seam - When two neighboring polygons share the same edge on the surface of the 3D model, but do not share the same edge in the UV mapping, a discontinious UV seam is created. Think of the left and right edges of the map of the world as being UV seams. They are on opposite sides of the map, while on the globe, they are together (a line down then middle of the Pacific ocean).
Map - In this sofware, a texture 'map' is an image file that is wrapped around a 3D object. 'How' that image is wrapped is defined by the object's UV mapping (see above).
Selections - When vertices or polygons are flagged to be edited. Many tools in this software require at least a portion of the object's surface to be selected.
Soft Selection - Rather than a vertex or polygon being selected or not, they can have a range of selection values between 0 and 100 percent. Generally, the greater the selection value, the more it will be affected by the tool.
Highlight - Not to be confused with selections on the object, the term 'highlight' is used when an item in the 'Manager' has been chosen. This distinction has been deliberate to avoid confusion.
Smooth - The vertices of an object can be smoothed to provide a curvier, organic feel.
Soften - A selection can be 'softened' for an even transition between selected and unselected vertices/polygons . The term 'Soften' was deliberately chosen to avoid confusion with 'Smoothing', which is used for deforming vertices.
Harden - The opposite of soften, a selection can be made to be more rigid.
Morph Target - For each vertex in an object, a morph target provides a displacement vector. Morph targets can be blended together in a variety of ways. It is important to note the linear nature of morph targets. Morph targets not remember 'how' they were created. Just the beginning and end points are relevent. Therefore morph targets that were created using rotational deformations may not behave as expected when the morph's strength is varied.
Deformation - The act of displacing vertices using one of the deformation tools. If the 'Morph' tab is selected, then the deformation will be applied to the current morph target. If the 'Model' tab is selected, then the deformation will be applied to the base vertices. Therefore, it is important to understand what you are deforming. For typical morph projects, you should not use the modeler because any change to the base vertices will "mess things up".

Symmetry

Dealing with symmetric objects is a huge part of this software package
Almost every tool can act symmetrically on a symmetrc object.
Some allowances are made for objects that are not 'perfectly' symmetrical, but in general, the object should be constructed symmetrically before using the symmetry option.
For an object to be 'perfectly' symmetric the following conditions apply...

The object should be split by a center line. Polygons that straddle the center line may not behave as expected during symmetric operations.
If the axis of symmetry for the object is X, then the vertices on the center line should be at X=0, or a constant offset which can be defined in the 'Objects' section of the Manager. The constant offset is provided because many models are build by artists who lined up the center line 'close enough' to X=0.
Each vertex on one side if the model should have a corresponding vertex on the opposite side.
The polygon structure on both sides should be identical.

It is important to note that for 3D painting, as long as there is a definite center line on the object, it does not have to be perfectly symmetric. By turning off the 'Per Vertex Symmetry' option, painting symmetrically on non-symmetrical objects is possible.

UV Mapping

The unwrapping of a 3D model's surface into a 2D plane.
Cannot be done in the generic case without creating UV seams.
Traditionally, UV mappings are created by an artist to minimize the number of UV seams, so a texture can easily be created in a 2D paint application. Depending on the complexity of the object, this can be a labor intensive process.
It is important to note that the more you try to minimize the number of UV seams, the more texture stretching will result
Painting complex textures across UV seams is extremely difficult to do in 2D paint applications
This software was designed to paint across UV seams with ease.
With that in mind, for many projects, UV seams can be now considered a non-issue since they are not noticible when moderate to high resolution maps are used, and appropiate UV mapping is applied.
The 'Paint Setup Wizard' allows you to UV map just about any 3D object with the click of a single button.
Of course, traditional UV mapping methods can still be used.
For projects that require low resolution texture to be used (e.g. 256x256) then texture seams may become apparent due to the lack of resolution. In this case, traditional UV mapping techniques should be employed.
The bottom line.. if you want to paint on an object and don't care for UV mapping it manually, use the 'Paint Setup Wizard' to do it instantly.

Soft Selections

Rather than verticies or polygons being either selected or not, they can have a selection value ranging between 0 and 100 percent
Deforming with a partial 'soft' selection will result in a smooth, organic deformation while using a 'hard' selection will result in rigid deformation.
Painting on a soft vertex selection will result in nice transition between the painted and unpainted areas.
Painting on a hard polygon selection will have the opposite effect, where a definite edge between the painted and unpainted areas
Painting on a soft polygon selection is not recommmend in general, since it will result in a 'stepped' effect.
Most modeling operations consider a vertex or polygon to be simply selected or not, using a minimum selection value as a cutoff point.

Vertex vs. Polygon Selections

For most operations, vertex and polygon selections can be used interchangably.
Deformations use vertex sellections, but if a polygon selection is used, the vertex selection value will be deduced by the average selection value of the attached polygons.
Modeling operations like 'Extrude' use polygon selections, but again, the selection value can be deduced by the selection values of the attached vertices.
There are cases where a different result will occur depending on whether a vertex or polygon selection is used, so it is best to become familiar with both.
The following cases work best with vertex selections...

All Deformations
Painting on a soft selection where a smooth transition is desired
Modeling operaions like 'Merge Vertices', 'Split Edge', etc.

The following cases work best with polygon selections...

Modeling operations like 'Extrude', 'Subdivide', etc.
Hiding, Locking polygons
Assigning polygons to layers
Assigning polygons materials or groups
Painting on selections where a hard edge at the boundary of the selection is desired.

Morph Targets

A morph target defines and 'alternate shape' for the object.
For each vertex in the object, there is a corresoponding displacement vector.
A morph target must have the same number of vertices as the object that it is applied to, and the vertex ordering should be identical. These two facts cause the most confusion when importing/exporing morph targets between applications.
Morph targets can be blended together by changing their strength values (e.g. 50% of morph 'A' mixed with 75% of morph 'B'

Menus

File Menu
- Contains a number of file related options such as Open, Save, Import, Export, etc.

New Project
- Clears the current project and creates new (empty) one.

Open Project
- Opens a previously saved project.

Save Project
- Saves the current project to a file.
- Please note that maps are saved directly in the project file, so there is no need to locate missing maps, etc.

Save Project As
- Saves the project file to a new location.

Quick Save Maps

Import
Available file formats are...
- OBJ (Wavefront OBJ file)
- SelSet (Blacksmith3D selection set)
- MorSet (Blacksmith3D morph set)
- LaySet (Blacksmith3D layer set)
- CR2 (Character File, limited support)
- Image maps can be imported via the "Edit->Maps->Import..." menu option

Export
Available file formats are...
- OBJ (Wavefront OBJ file)
- SelSet (Blacksmith3D selection set)
- MorSet (Blacksmith3D morph set)
- LaySet (Blacksmith3D layer set)
- CR2 (Character File, limited support)
- Image maps (JPG, PNG, etc.)
- Image maps can be individually exported via the "Edit->Maps->Export..." menu option.

General Options
- Shows the general options window, which includes various technical settings.

Exit
- Exits the program after prompting the user to confirm.

Edit Menu
- Contains undo/redo commands for regular editing operations
- Various sub-menus for editing morphs, selections, image maps, etc.
- Separate undo/redo commands for navigation
- Hide/Unhide and Lock/Unlock surface commands

Undo
- Undo most operations
- Multiple undos are available and are limited by the "Undo Limit" as defined in the General Options window.

Redo
- Redoes (most) operations that were previously undone.
- Currently, modeling operations are not redo-able. They must be redone manually.

Undo Navigation
- Undo the last viewport navigation action such as move, zoom, rotate, etc.
- Deliberately separated from the main 'undo' command for work flow purposes.

Redo Navigation
- Redo the previously undone navigation action such as move, zoom, rotate, etc.
- Deliberately separated from the main 'redo' command for work flow purposes.

Objects Menu
- Contains options for managing the objects in the project.

Create Object Folder
- Creates a new folder for organizing objects.
- Objects can be dragged and dropped into folders.

Rename
- Renames the item highlighted in the Manager.

Delete
- Delete the selected item in the manager.

Select Menu
- Contains options for editing the current selection and managing the preset selections in the Manager window.

Create Selection Preset
- Stores the current selection as a preset for future reuse.

Create Selection Folder
- Creates a new folder for organizing selections.
- Selections can be dragged and dropped into folders.

Apply Selection(s)
- Apply the highlighted preset selection(s) to the object(s)
- The applied selections will be added to the current selection

Rename
- Renames the item highlighted in the Manager.

Replace Selection
- Replaces the contents of the highlighted preset selection with the current selection (as seen in the viewport).

Delete
- Delete the selected item in the manager.

Duplicate Selection
- Create a duplicate of the highlighted selection preset.

Select All
- Selects all available surfaces in the project (includes multiple objects)
- Locked or hidden geometry is not selected

Clear All
- Clears the selection on all available surfaces in the project (includes multiple objects)

Soften Selection
- Softens the current selection to ensure an even transition from fully selected (hot) to not selected (cold).
- Holding the SHIFT key results in an outward softening, while holding the ALT key results in an inward softening.

Harden Selection
- Hardening the selection makes the current selection rigid (either fully selected or not at all).
- Holding the ALT key results in a partial hardening of the selection increasing it's rigidness.

Grow Selection
- Causes the current select to grow.
- Each vertex or polygon selection will get the maximum value of all it's neighbors.

Shrink Selection
- Causes the current select to shrink.
- Each vertex or polygon selection will get the minimum value of all it's neighbors.

Normalize Selection
- Rescales the selection such that the strongest part becomes full strength (100).
- Good for strengthening weak selections.

Invert Selection
- Inverts the current selection in the viewport.
- Surfaces that were selected at 100 will become 0, 0 will become 100, 25 will become 75, etc.

Morphs Menu
- Contains options for editing the current morph and managing the morphs in the Manager window.

Create New Morph
- Creates a new morph target

Create Morph Folder
- Creates a new folder for organizing morphs.
- Morphs can be dragged and dropped into folders.

Rename
- Renames the item highlighted in the Manager.

Delete
- Delete the selected item in the manager.

Duplicate Morph
- Creates a duplicate of the current morph.

Spawn Morph
- Creates a new morph target which combines all of the current morphs (with their relative strengths).
- If the project contains multiple objects, then you must highlight the objects in the manager that you want to be affected.

Bake Morphs
- Transfers the morph deformations with their current strength settings to the base vertices of the object, effectively making the deformations permanent.

Maps Menu
- Contains options for managing the image maps in the project.

Create New Map
- Creates a new texture map.

Import
- Import an image file to be used as a texture map.

Export
- Exports the highlighted maps as image files.

Resize
- Resizes the highlighted image map to the specified dimensions.

Rename
- Rename the highlighted image map.

Clear
- Clear the highlighted image maps to the secondary color.

Delete
- Deletes the highlighted image maps from the project.
- Warning, this cannot be undone.

Copy
- Copies the image map to the clipboard.
- Can be pasted into another map, as a new map, or into another software package.

Paste
- Pastes the contents of the clipboard into the selected map (if possible).
- If an existing map is selected, it will be replaced.

Paste New Map
- Pastes the contents of the clipboard to create a new texture map.
- The resulting texture map will appear in the 'Maps' window, but will not be assigned to any objects or materials until manually assigned.

Invert Colors
- Inverts the colors in the map, such that black becomes white and white becomes black.

Normalize Map
- This option is only recommended for greyscale images.
- Rescales the image in such a way that the darkest color in the image becomes black, and the lightest color becomes white, and the intermediate shades are adjusted accordingly.
- Useful for editing bump or displacement maps.

Convert To Greyscale
- The selected maps will be converted to greyscale
- Pixel intensity is determined by averaging the RGB values.

Create Alpha Mask
- Creates an alpha mask (alpha channel) for the selected map(s)
- Resulting maps will become RGBA

Delete Alpha Mask
- Deletes the alpha mask (alpha channel) from the selected maps (if they exist)
- Resulting maps will become RGB

Layers Menu
- Provides options for creating, deleting, displaying and manipulating layers.
- Not to be confused with layers found in most 2D paint application, these layers define groups of polygons.

Create New Layer
- Creates a new polygon layer.
- Layers can be hidden, locked or have their display properties changed.
- Very useful for dealing with complex objects.
- Not to be confused with image layers found in 2D paint applications.

Rename Material
- Renames the material that is highlighted in the manager.

Delete Layer(s)
- Deletes the highlighted layer(s)

Shading Options
- Contains various options for drawing the objects in the viewport, such as smoothing, wireframe, stippling, etc.

Use Viewport Settings
- Uses the viewport's shading options and ignores custom setting in this layer.
- When disabled, the custom settings in the layer(s) will override the viewport settings.

Smooth
- Draws the polygons with smooth shading (when lighting is enabled)

Stippled
- Draws the polygons with the stippling effect.
- Stippling is a process where every other pixel is drawn, creating a pseudo-transparent effect.

Wireframe
- Draws the outline of the polygons and leaves the interiors transparent

Wireframe Overlay
- Draws the outline of the polygons over the solid rendering.

Vertex Overlay
- Draws the vertices over the solid rendering.

Use Lighting
- Simple lighting will be applied to the surface.
- Useful to turn lighting off for layers containing reference images, so they are always bright, regardless of the viewing angle.

Texture Filtering
- Renders the texture maps using linear texture filtering.
- Disabling this feature lets you see individual pixels.

Layer Operations
- Contains options for manipulating layers (add/remove selection from layer, etc.)

Add Selection to Layer(s)
- Add the selected surface to the highlighted layers.
- Works best using polygon (as opposed to vertex) selections since it is more obvious which polygons will be affected.

Remove Selection from Layer(s)
- Removes the selected surface from the highlighted layers.
- Works best using polygon (as opposed to vertex) selections since it is more obvious which polygons will be affected.

Add Object(s) to Layer(s)
- Adds the current object to the highlighted layers, including all hidden and locked geometry.
- In addition, any object that is highlighted in the Manager will be added as well.

Remove Object(s) from Layer(s)
- Removes the current object from the highlighted layers, including all hidden and locked geometry.
- In addition, any object that is highlighted in the Manager will be removed as well.

Select Layer(s)
- Selects all of the surfaces assigned to the highlighted layers.

Unselect Layer(s)
- Unselects everything that is assigned to the highlighted layers.

Materials Menu
- Provides options for creating, deleting, and editing materials.

Create New Material
- Creates a new material and assigns the currently selected polygons to it.

Assign Selection Polygons To Material
- Assigns the selected polygons to the highlighted material (in the manager).
- Polygons can only belong to one material at a time, so they will be removed from
their previous material(s)

Rename Material
- Renames the material that is highlighted in the manager.

Delete Material
- Deletes the material(s) that are highlighted in the manager

Copy Material
- Copies the material that is highlighted in the manager

Paste Material
- Pastes the previously copied material to the highlighted material(s) in the manager.

Groups Menu
- Provides options for creating, deleting, and editing polygon groups.

Create New Group
- Creates a new polygon group based on the current selection.
- Please note that a polygon can only belong to one group.

Assign Selected Polygons To Group
- Assigns the selected polygons to the highlighted group (in the manager).
- Polygons can only belong to one group at a time, so they will be removed from
their previous group(s)

Rename Group
- Renames the group that is highlighted in the manager.

Delete Group
- Deletes the group that is highlighted in the manager.

Hide Selected Surface
- Hides all of the selected surfaces.
- Hidden surfaces will not be affected by most operations (painting, deformations, etc.)
- Works best using polygon (as opposed to vertex) selections since it is more obvious which polygons will be affected.

Unhide All
- Unhides all surfaces that were previously hidden with the 'Hide Selected Surface' option.
- If there are hidden layers, the use will be prompted to unhide those as well.

Lock Selected Surface
- Locks the currently selected surfaces.
- Locked surfaces will not be affected most operations (painting, deformations, etc.)
- Works best using polygon (as opposed to vertex) selections since it is more obvious which polygons will be affected.

Unlock All
- Unlocks all surfaces that were previously locked with the 'Lock Selected Surface' option.
- If there are locked layers, the use will be prompted to unlock those as well.

Viewports Menu
- Contains various options relating to the 3D viewports

Configuration
- Displays viewport configuration options.
- One to four viewports can be used.

Four Viewport (One Large)
- Uses four (one large, three small) viewports to view and edit the model

One Viewport
- Uses only one viewport to view and edit the model.

Two Viewports (Tall)
- Uses two tall viewports to view and edit the model.

Two Viewports (Wide)
- Uses two wide viewports to view and edit the model

Three Viewports
- Uses three viewports to view and edit the model

Four Viewports
- Uses four (equally sized) viewports to view and edit the model

Shading Options
- Contains various options for drawing the objects in the viewport, such as smoothing, wireframe, stippling, etc.

Smooth
- Draws the polygons with smooth shading (when lighting is enabled)

Stippled
- Draws the polygons with the stippling effect.
- Stippling is a process where every other pixel is drawn, creating a pseudo-transparent effect.

Wireframe
- Draws the outline of the polygons and leaves the interiors transparent

Wireframe Overlay
- Draws the outline of the polygons over the solid rendering.

Vertex Overlay
- Draws the vertices over the solid rendering.

Use Lighting
- Simple lighting will be applied to the surface.
- Useful to turn lighting off for layers containing reference images, so they are always bright, regardless of the viewing angle.

Texture Filtering
- Renders the texture maps using linear texture filtering.
- Disabling this feature lets you see individual pixels.

Framing Menu
- Contains options for framing the viewport(s) around objects and selections
- Also contains options for centering and "zeroing" viewports.

Frame Selection
- Adjusts the zoom and position of the viewport to fit the currently selected portion of the surface.

Frame Object
- Adjusts the zoom and position of the current viewport to fit the current object.

Frame All
- Adjusts the zoom and position of the current viewport to fit all of the objects in the current project.

Center Viewport
- Centers the viewport for each of the X, Y and Z dimensions individually.

Zero Viewport
- Zeros the current viewport (world coordinates) of the X, Y and Z dimensions individually.
- This option is especially useful in conjunction with the "Mirror" options, for precise lining up of the viewport.

General Viewport Menu
- Provides various options that determine how the viewports are displayed.

Change Background Color
- Changes the background colors for the background grid. For a solid color, make both 'Background Color 1' and 'Background Color 1' the same.

Change Wireframe Color
- Changes the color of the wireframe overlay.

Always Display Hot Selection
- The current selection will be always be drawn, illustrating the relative vertex/polygon selection strengths.
- When painting textures, it is a good idea to keep this option disabled so the underlying textures is not obscured.
- When it is disabled, the hot selection will only appear while you are making a selection and for a brief moment afterwards.

Display Selection Marquee
- A black and white marquee will be drawn around the boundaries of the current selection.
- This option is especially useful when "Always Display Hot Selection" is not enabled, so you can see what areas of the surface are selected, without the hot wireframe obscuring the surface below (very useful while painting textures).

Force Wireframe Overlay For Modeler
- When the Model tab is active, the current viewport will display a wireframe overlay, regardless of the viewport or layer settings.

Display XYZ Axis
- Markers displaying the directions of the X, Y and Z unit vectors will appear in the viewport.
- They will appear at the origin {0,0,0} if it is in view, or be clamped to closest position near the edge of the viewport.
- The X axis is red, the Y axis is green and the Z axis is blue. If the origin is out of view, then a yellow line will point towards it.

Display Selection Quickly
- Selection overlay is displayed quickly when selecting, deforming or navigating.
- Speeds up the drawing time significantly.

Render
- Performs quick render of the objects in the viewport, allowing you to see the result of the applied transparency, bump, displacement, etc. maps.
- Please note that this is not a high quality renderer and it is not designed to create a final product.

Copy Current Viewport
- Copies the state of the current viewport.

Paste Current Viewport
- Pastes the previously copied state into the current viewport.

Copy All Viewports
- Copies the state of all of the viewports.

Paste All Viewports
- Pastes the previously copied states to all of the viewports.

Maximize / Restore Viewport
- Maximizes or restores the the current viewport.

Help Menu
- Various help related options

Online Help
Having trouble? Access the latest online help pages here.

http://www.blacksmith3D.com/help.htm

Please note help is provided for most tools in Blacksmith3D via the hint panel.

Tutorials
-Access the on-line tutorials that will illustrate how to use Blacksmith3D.
- The tutorials show you step by step instructions to get you familiar with the most common features of Blacksmith3D-Suite

Click here to enter your serial number and activate or upgrade the product Since the serial number is quite long, you should copy and paste it in here, rather than typing it in manually

Submit OpenGL info to BlacksmithD Quality Control
This option allows you to send us some information that will allow us to keep track of which video cards that Blacksmith3D - Suite is compatible with.

About
- Displays the "About" window.

Tools

Navigation Tools
- The navigation tools are used to change the viewing position, angle and zoom level.

Pan View
- Moves the viewing position left, right up and down by clicking and dragging in the viewport.
- Hold the SHIFT key to lock the motion in the horizontal or vertical directions.

Direction
- Determines which direction(s) the tool can affect.
- Direction is relative to the viewport space

Zoom View
- Zooms the view in by clicking on the viewport, or by clicking and dragging a box around the area you would like to frame.
- To zoom out, hold the ALT key while clicking.
- Use the "Continuous Zoom" option for a more traditional 3D zoom.

Continuous Zoom
- By default, the zoom tool behaves like that found in most 2D paint applications. - When this option is enabled, the zoom tool behaves like that in many other 3D applications, where dragging the mouse up and down adjusts the zoom level in a continuous manner.

Rotate View
- Rotate the viewing angle by clicking and dragging in the viewport.
- Can rotate in the horizontal, vertical and tilt directions

Direction
- Determines which direction(s) the tool can affect.
- Direction is relative to the viewport space

Transformation Tools
- Used to orient the objects in the 3D space
- Please note that these transformations are different from the Move, Rotate and Scale deformers.
- They do not affect the base vertices or morphs, rather they are used simply to orient the objects in the scene

Move Object
- Move the selected objects in the 3D space without affecting the base vertices
- Used for arranging objects in project space and not to mistaken for the 'Move' deformer or the 'Pan View' tool.

Direction
- Determines which direction(s) the tool can affect.
- Direction is relative to the viewport space

Reset Transformations
- Resets the position scale and/or rotation of the selected objects
- Please note that these transformations are different from the Move, Rotate and Scale deformers
- They do not affect the actual vertices or morphs, rather they are used simply to orient the objects in the scene

Rotate Object
- Rotates the selected objects in the 3D space without affecting the base vertices
- Used for arranging objects in project space and not to mistaken for the 'Rotate' deformer or the 'Rotate View' tool.

Direction
- Determines which direction(s) the tool can affect.
- Direction is relative to the viewport space

Reset Transformations
- Resets the position scale and/or rotation of the selected objects
- Please note that these transformations are different from the Move, Rotate and Scale deformers
- They do not affect the actual vertices or morphs, rather they are used simply to orient the objects in the scene

Scale Object
- Scale (resize) the selected objects in the 3D space without affecting the base vertices
- Used for arranging objects in project space and not to mistaken for the 'Scale' deformer or the 'Zoom View' tool.

Direction
- Determines which direction(s) the tool can affect.
- Direction is relative to the viewport space

Reset Transformations
- Resets the position scale and/or rotation of the selected objects
- Please note that these transformations are different from the Move, Rotate and Scale deformers
- They do not affect the actual vertices or morphs, rather they are used simply to orient the objects in the scene

Selection Tools
- Tools for selecting object surfaces in whole or in part
- Many tools require a selection (e.g. Deformers).
- Paint stokes will only affect the selected surfaces (if a selection exists).
- Blacksmith analogy... Selection tools "heat up" portions of the object. Hotter portions (fully selected, yellow) deform more than cooler portions (half selected, red), while cold portions (not selected) do not deform at all.

Picker
- Click on object's surface in the viewport.
- "Type" option determines what is to be picked (object, material, etc.)

Type
- Determines what is to be "Picked"
- Supported types are Object, Material, Map, Group, and Element.

Strength
- Determines the how much the tool will select the surface.
- For most operations, the selection strength of a particular vertex or polygon determines how much it will be affected.

Popup Material Window
- When picking a material, a window containing the material's attributes (colors, maps, etc.) will pop up.
- Makes it easy to quickly locate materials

Box Select
- Selects portions of the surface by clicking on the viewport and dragging out a box.
- To add to your current selection, hold the SHIFT key. To subtract from it, hold the ALT key.
- To select everything in the box equally, set the "Hardness" parameter to 100.

Strength
- Determines the how much the tool will select the surface.
- For most operations, the selection strength of a particular vertex or polygon determines how much it will be affected.

Hardness
- Determines how hard (or soft) the edges of the tool will be.

Lasso Select
- Selects portions of the surface by clicking on the viewport and dragging the cursor around the desired area.
- To add to your current selection, hold the SHIFT key. To subtract from it, hold the ALT key.
- To select everything in the box equally, set the "Hardness" parameter to 100.

Strength
- Determines the how much the tool will select the surface.
- For most operations, the selection strength of a particular vertex or polygon determines how much it will be affected.

Hardness
- Determines how hard (or soft) the edges of the tool will be.

Selection Brush
- Selects portions of the surface via brush strokes.
- To add to your current selection, hold the SHIFT key. To subtract from it, hold the ALT key.
- Change the shape of brush by choosing one of the preset shapes provided in the box to the lower left corner of the window.

Direction
- Determines which direction(s) the tool can affect.
- Direction is relative to the viewport space

Size
- Determines the size of the tool in the current viewport.

Strength
- Determines the how much the tool will select the surface.
- For most operations, the selection strength of a particular vertex or polygon determines how much it will be affected.

Hardness
- Determines how hard (or soft) the edges of the tool will be.

Selection Touch-up
- Adjusts the current selection with a variety of methods like Soften, Harden, Grow, Shrink, etc.
- Provides a few options for selecting special vertices, like ones that are open, or have a texture seams, etc.

Direction
- Determines which direction(s) the tool can affect.
- Direction is relative to the viewport space

Type
- Determines the type of selection 'touch-up' to be performed (e.g. Soften, harden, grow, etc.)

Size
- Determines the size of the tool in the current viewport.

Strength
- Determines the how much the tool will select the surface.
- For most operations, the selection strength of a particular vertex or polygon determines how much it will be affected.

Hardness
- Determines how hard (or soft) the edges of the tool will be.

Selection Eraser
- Erases portions of the current selection.
- Most selection tools can erase selections by holing the ALT key while clicking.

Direction
- Determines which direction(s) the tool can affect.
- Direction is relative to the viewport space

Size
- Determines the size of the tool in the current viewport.

Strength
- Determines the how much the tool will select the surface.
- For most operations, the selection strength of a particular vertex or polygon determines how much it will be affected.

Hardness
- Determines how hard (or soft) the edges of the tool will be.

Paint Tools
- Used to edit the texture maps by painting directly on the objects in the 3D viewport
- Very similar to the paint brushes found in most 2D paint applications
- Note that the 'Touch-up' brush contains many 'Type' settings (e.g. Blur, Smudge, Hue Up, etc.)

Paint Brush
- Standard paint brush for painting color on your texture maps.
- Please note the shape and texture boxes to the lower left of the interface which determine how the paint stroke will appear.

Direction
- Determines which direction(s) the tool can affect.
- Direction is relative to the viewport space

Size
- Determines the size of the tool in the current viewport.

Strength
- Determines the amount of paint that will be applied to the surface.
- When the strength is at 100 percent, each brush stroke will add the most amount of paint.
- When it is set at 50 percent, the paint may seem somewhat thin (like watercolor paint), etc.

Hardness
- Determines how hard (or soft) the edges of the tool will be.

Spacing
- Determines the spacing between each impression of the brush tip for a brush stroke.
- The smallest value of 0 yields a very smooth, continuous brush stroke.
- Larger values result in a noticeable gap between each impression of the brush tip.

Density
- Determines density of the brush

Touch-up Brush
- Although the touch-up brush is presented as a single tool, it offers a wide variety of effects, such as Blur, Smudge, Lighten, Darken, etc.
- Choose the type of touch-up by clicking on "Type" and choosing one from the list.

Direction
- Determines which direction(s) the tool can affect.
- Direction is relative to the viewport space

Type
- Determines what type of touch-up is to be performed.
- Include Blur, Smudge, Lighten, Darken, etc.

Size
- Determines the size of the tool in the current viewport.

Strength
- Determines the amount of paint that will be applied to the surface.
- When the strength is at 100 percent, each brush stroke will add the most amount of paint.
- When it is set at 50 percent, the paint may seem somewhat thin (like watercolor paint), etc.

Hardness
- Determines how hard (or soft) the edges of the tool will be.

Spacing
- Determines the spacing between each impression of the brush tip for a brush stroke.
- The smallest value of 0 yields a very smooth, continuous brush stroke.
- Larger values result in a noticeable gap between each impression of the brush tip.

Density
- Determines density of the brush

Clone Brush
- Hold ALT and click on the reference point in the viewport
- Then paint in the viewport to clone the part around the reference point.

Direction
- Determines which direction(s) the tool can affect.
- Direction is relative to the viewport space

Size
- Determines the size of the tool in the current viewport.

Strength
- Determines the amount of paint that will be applied to the surface.
- When the strength is at 100 percent, each brush stroke will add the most amount of paint.
- When it is set at 50 percent, the paint may seem somewhat thin (like watercolor paint), etc.

Hardness
- Determines how hard (or soft) the edges of the tool will be.

Spacing
- Determines the spacing between each impression of the brush tip for a brush stroke.
- The smallest value of 0 yields a very smooth, continuous brush stroke.
- Larger values result in a noticeable gap between each impression of the brush tip.

Density
- Determines density of the brush

Shape Brush
- Draws geometric shapes
- Currently includes Rectangle, Ellipse and Polygon

Type
- Determines the type of shape to be drawn (rectangle, ellipse, etc.)

Strength
- Determines the amount of paint that will be applied to the surface.
- When the strength is at 100 percent, each brush stroke will add the most amount of paint.
- When it is set at 50 percent, the paint may seem somewhat thin (like watercolor paint), etc.

Line
- Click in the viewport to create each point in the connected line.
- If 'Freehand' is disabled, press Enter after last point has been added

Thickness
- Determines the thickness of the line.

Strength
- Determines the amount of paint that will be applied to the surface.
- When the strength is at 100 percent, each brush stroke will add the most amount of paint.
- When it is set at 50 percent, the paint may seem somewhat thin (like watercolor paint), etc.

Close Path
- The last point will be connected to the first point

Freehand
- Each mouse motion results in a pointed being added to the path.
- When disabled, each click in the viewport adds a single point, ended by pressing the ENTER key

Flood Fill
- Very similar to it's counterpart in 2D paint applications.
- Please note that the color matching takes place in viewport and not in the original map. In this way, the flood fill can pass over UV seams.

Strength
- Determines the amount of paint that will be applied to the surface.
- When the strength is at 100 percent, each brush stroke will add the most amount of paint.
- When it is set at 50 percent, the paint may seem somewhat thin (like watercolor paint), etc.

Tolerance
- Determines how close a color has to be to the original color clicked on to be considered a match.
- If the tolerance setting is 0, the flood fill will only spread to identical colors
- If the tolerance setting is 100, the flood fill will only spread everywhere.

Bleed UV Seams Brush
- Spills the color at the edge of the UV seam outwards for continuous texture filtering in other applications
- Ideal for preparing the textures for mipmap (trilinear) filtering

Direction
- Determines which direction(s) the tool can affect.
- Direction is relative to the viewport space

Size
- Determines the size of the tool in the current viewport.

Strength
- Determines the amount of paint that will be applied to the surface.
- When the strength is at 100 percent, each brush stroke will add the most amount of paint.
- When it is set at 50 percent, the paint may seem somewhat thin (like watercolor paint), etc.

Hardness
- Determines how hard (or soft) the edges of the tool will be.

Spacing
- Determines the spacing between each impression of the brush tip for a brush stroke.
- The smallest value of 0 yields a very smooth, continuous brush stroke.
- Larger values result in a noticeable gap between each impression of the brush tip.

Inner Radius
- Starting distance from the UV seam.
- The value of '1' is recommended unless there are issues with the UV mapping.
- When the value is '0', the transition across the UV seam may not be quite as smooth as originally painted, but it may help fill in problem areas.

Outer Radius
- Ending distance from the UV seam.
- Larger values will result in a longer computation time, but yield better results when the maps are used with mipmapping (trilinear) filtering in other applications.
- Press the ESC key to cancel the operation if it is taking too long.

Bleed RGB Channels
- When this option is enabled, the RGB color channels will be bled beyond the UV seams.
- It is recommended that you only disable this option for special cases, when you want to bleed the Alpha Mask exclusively.

Bleed Alpha Mask
- When this option is enabled, the Alpha Mask channel will be bled beyond the UV seams.
- It is recommended that you only disable this option for special cases, when you want to bleed the RGB color channels exclusively.

Bleed Highlighted Maps
- Bleeds the color and/or alpha mask from a UV seam outwards starting from the 'Inner Radius' to the 'Outer Radius' for the maps that are highlighted in the 'Map Manager'
- Set the 'Inner Radius' to '1' to preserves Blacksmith3D's automatic smooth UV seam transition, while bleeding outwards. Ideal for preparing textures to be used with mipmap (trilinear) filtering, etc.
- Set the inner radius to '0' to yield a more reliable bleed, but not quite as smooth as Blacksmith3D's automatic UV seam transition. Ideal for fixing textures painted in other applications, or for strange UV mapping situations.

Paint Eraser
- Erases the portions of the alpha mask in the texture maps.
- If no alpha mask is present, then the eraser will simply paint with the secondary color (white by default).
- To create alpha masks, select the maps in the 'Map Manager', right click on one of them and choose 'Create Alpha Mask'.

Direction
- Determines which direction(s) the tool can affect.
- Direction is relative to the viewport space

Size
- Determines the size of the tool in the current viewport.

Strength
- Determines the amount of paint that will be applied to the surface.
- When the strength is at 100 percent, each brush stroke will add the most amount of paint.
- When it is set at 50 percent, the paint may seem somewhat thin (like watercolor paint), etc.

Hardness
- Determines how hard (or soft) the edges of the tool will be.

Spacing
- Determines the spacing between each impression of the brush tip for a brush stroke.
- The smallest value of 0 yields a very smooth, continuous brush stroke.
- Larger values result in a noticeable gap between each impression of the brush tip.

Density
- Determines density of the brush

Color Picker
- To pick a color from the viewport, click anywhere on the object.
- Hold the ALT key while clicking to set the secondary color.

Pick Unlit Colors
- The color/texture picking tools will get the colors from the viewport before lighting is applied.

Pick Texture
- To pick a portion of the viewport to use as a brush texture, click and drag out a box or freehand loop.

Feather
- Creates a soft edge around the edge of the picked texture.
- Value is a percentage of the total size of the texture.

Freehand
- Each mouse motion results in a pointed being added to the path.
- When disabled, a rectangular region will be used to pick the texture

Pick Unlit Colors
- The color/texture picking tools will get the colors from the viewport before lighting is applied.

Paint Setup Wizard
- Quickly and easily configures object(s) for painting.
- If the 'Auto-UV Map' box is enabled, then a new UV mapping will be created for the object.
- For each texture channel that is enabled (color, bump, etc.), a new map will be created and assigned to all selected materials in the object.
- This tool is designed to setup objects that only have one UV region. For more complex objects, you should manually setup the maps using the material manager.

Auto-UV map
- A UV mapping will be automatically created for each object.
- Useful for quickly setting up objects to texture.
- Image maps created from the resulting UV mapping can only be effectively edited in a 3D paint program such as this. Only image wide edits (like brighten, RGB balance, etc.) can be effectively edited in other 2D paint applications).

Quality

- The quality setting determines how "flat" each patch of the UV mapping has to be.
- When the quality setting is 100, then the patches are flattest, yet more UV seams result.
- When it is set to 0, there will be less UV seams, but more texture stretching will result.

Selection Magnifier
- Gives priority to surfaces with higher selection values.
- Fully selected surfaces will be this times as large as non selected portions in the UV mapping space.

Clear Existing Maps
- All references to existing image maps will be cleared from the materials.

Make Grid in Color Map
- The color map will be filled with a colorful grid.
- Useful for visualizing the UV layout in the 3D viewport.
- Resulting map can be later cleared to a solid color or simply painted over.

Display UV Mapping
- A 2D representation of the UV mapping will be displayed in the current viewport.

Execute Paint Setup Wizard
- Configures the selected surfaces for painting based on the settings.

Brush Tile Setup
- This tool contains setting that determine how the brush texture is applied

Direction
- Determines which direction(s) the tool can affect.
- Direction is relative to the viewport space

Tile Repeat
- When the "Tile Brush Texture " option is enabled, then the "Tile Repeat " will determine how large or small the tiles will appear.

Auto Align With Viewport
- Aligns the tiling such that it is always facing the current viewport
- Extremely useful for maintaining the relative size of the texture at various levels of zoom.

Rotate Horizontally
- Rotates the tile reference horizontally by 90, -90 or 180 degrees

Rotate Vertically
- Rotates the tile reference vertically by 90, -90 or 180 degrees

Tilt
- Tilts the tile reference by 90, -90 or 180 degrees

Absolute Zeroing
- Sets the position of the tile reference to zero in absolute coordinates.

Deformation Tools
- Deformation tools are used to reshape the selected portions of the model's surface.
- Mostly used for creating morph targets, however they can be used to deform the base vertices of the model as well.
- Auto-Select feature makes the deformer double as a selection tool as well. The selection will be auto-generated based on the location of the cursor.

Move
- Click and drag up in the viewport to move the selected surface (in the plane defined by the viewing angle.
- Hold shift to restrict the motion to the horizontal or vertical directions, depending on the initial mouse motion.

Direction
- Determines which direction(s) the tool can affect.
- Direction is relative to the viewport space

Strength
- Determines the how much the tool will select the surface.
- For most operations, the selection strength of a particular vertex or polygon determines how much it will be affected.

Rotate
- This tool rotates the selected surface.
- The center of rotation is determined by the point that the user initially clicked on.
- The Direction controls determines the axis of rotation.
- 'Horizontal' and 'Vertical' rotations can be done simultaneously while the 'Tilt' direction is exclusive.

Direction
- Determines which direction(s) the tool can affect.
- Direction is relative to the viewport space

Strength
- Determines the how much the tool will select the surface.
- For most operations, the selection strength of a particular vertex or polygon determines how much it will be affected.

Calculate Depth By
- In addition to the {x,y} coordinates from a user's click, some tools require a depth value {z}.
- This option auto calculates the depth value by the center, closest, farthest or variable points.
- Disabled when 'Snap To Closest Vertex' is enabled, since the depth will be calculated from the closest vertex

Scale
- Scales the selected surface in one, two or three dimensions.
- Dragging the mouse up causes the selection surface to expand while dragging down causes it to shrink.
- Please note that the point click on becomes the center of the scaling.
- The depth component of the scaling center will be automatically calculated (see "Calculate Depth By..." option).

Direction
- Determines which direction(s) the tool can affect.
- Direction is relative to the viewport space

Strength
- Determines the how much the tool will select the surface.
- For most operations, the selection strength of a particular vertex or polygon determines how much it will be affected.

Calculate Depth By
- In addition to the {x,y} coordinates from a user's click, some tools require a depth value {z}.
- This option auto calculates the depth value by the center, closest, farthest or variable points.
- Disabled when 'Snap To Closest Vertex' is enabled, since the depth will be calculated from the closest vertex

Bulge - Dent
- Click and drag up in the viewport to bulge the selected surface.
- Click and drag down in the viewport to dent the selected surface.

Strength
- Determines the how much the tool will select the surface.
- For most operations, the selection strength of a particular vertex or polygon determines how much it will be affected.

Geometric Shaper
- Morphs the selected surface into the geometric shapes (sphere, box, etc.)

Direction
- Determines which direction(s) the tool can affect.
- Direction is relative to the viewport space

Type
- Determines the type of shape to deform the selected vertices into (e.g. Sphere, box, plane, etc.)

Strength
- Determines the how much the tool will select the surface.
- For most operations, the selection strength of a particular vertex or polygon determines how much it will be affected.

Calculate Depth By
- In addition to the {x,y} coordinates from a user's click, some tools require a depth value {z}.
- This option auto calculates the depth value by the center, closest, farthest or variable points.
- Disabled when 'Snap To Closest Vertex' is enabled, since the depth will be calculated from the closest vertex

Touch-up Deformer
- Includes smooth, flatten and unmorph types
- Auto-Select option allows the deformer to be used like a brush (no pre-selecting required)

Direction
- Determines which direction(s) the tool can affect.
- Direction is relative to the viewport space

Touch-up Type
- Determines what kind of touch-up is performed (e.g. Smooth, flatten, etc.)

Strength
- Determines the how much the tool will select the surface.
- For most operations, the selection strength of a particular vertex or polygon determines how much it will be affected.

Auto-Select
- Makes the deformer double as a selection brush.
- The selection will be auto-generated based on the location of the cursor.

Modeling Tools
- Modeling tools are used to add, subtract and otherwise modify the geometric structure of an object.
- Designed for modifying existing objects and is not intended to replace a full modeling software package.
- Most (if not all) modeling operations preserve existing morph targets.
- Do not use the modeling tools for "typical" morphing projects since the vertex and polygon structures will change.

Subdivide
- Increases the resolution of the selected surface by subdividing the polygons.
- Objects can be subdivided in whole or in part based on the current selection.
- Take care when subdividing a model, since the polygon count can add up quickly, requiring more memory and processor speed to process.

Iterations
- Determines how many times the subdivision procedure will be performed.
- Take great care when setting this value greater than 1, since the number of polygons in the resulting mesh can quickly become too large for any practical purposes.

Smoothing Strength

- Determines how much the resulting subdivided surface will be smoothed.
- To subdivide the surface with no smoothing, set this value to 0. For full smoothing, set it to 100.
- If additional smoothing is required, please use the 'Smooth' deformer.

Maximum Polygons
- Represents the largest number of polygons that the resulting object is allowed to have.
- It is provided here as a safety since the polygon count can very quickly become too large for any practical purpose.

Normalize Subdivision
- Limits how the selected polygons get subdivided, by subdividing larger polygons more and smaller ones less, resulting in a more evenly distributed mesh.

Subdivide All Objects
- Subdivides all objects in the project, regardless if they are selected or not.
- Hidden and locked surfaces will be affected as well, so use with caution.
- Only 'Reference Objects' are omitted.

Subdivide Current Object
- Subdivides the current object, regardless if it is selected or not.
- Hidden and locked surfaces will be affected as well, so use with caution.

Polygon Reduction
- Reduce the number of polygons in the selected surfaces.
- Manually reduce polygons by clicking on vertices or edges in the viewport.
- Automatically reduce the selected polygons based on the "Importance" and "Constraints" parameters.

Reduction Amount
- The resulting object will have approximately this much less polygons/vertices than the original
- Boundaries and constraints may limit the amount that an object can be reduced

Importance
- Determines how important certain factors are when reducing polygons in the object.

Angle
- Determines how important the angles between polygons are when deciding to reduce them or not.
- When sharp detail is more important then even distribution, set this value higher.

Size
- Determines how important the size of the polygons are when deciding to reduce them or not.
- When even distribution is more important than detail, set this value higher.

Constraints
- Constrains impose hard limits on which polygons can be reduced.

Maximum Angle
- Determines the maximum angle between two polygons (surface normals) that can be reduced.

Maximum Size
- Determines the maximum size (in percent) of polygons that can be reduced.
- Polygons larger than this size will not be reduced further.

Boundaries
- Polygon reduction will not occur across the set boundaries.
- e.g. If 'Material' is checked, then only polygons that have the the same material will be joined together.

Additional Options
- Additional options that do not fit in the other categories.

Simplify Result
- Only applies to manual polygon reduction (directly clicking in the viewport)
- Deletes some vertices that may be considered redundant.
- Disable this option for more control over the manual polygon reduction.

Preserve Open Edges
- Prevents open edges (edges with only one polygon attached) from being reduced.

Reduce Polygons
- Automatically reduces the selected surface(s) based on the above settings.

Extrude
- Extruded the selected surface.
- Very simple, but powerful modeling tool.

Direction
- Determines the direction of the extrusion (auto, horizontal, vertical, etc.)

Length
- Represents the length of the extrusion
- Value is a percentage unless 'Relative to' is set to 'Absolute Length', in which case it represents the actual length in the object's units.

Relative to
- Determines how the length of the extrusion is calculated.
- Examples...
- 10013412766220f the average edge length
- 504547650f the maximum edge length
- 1.2 absolute length
- etc.

Extrude
- Performs the extrusion on the selected polygons

Touch-up Modeler
- Contains many options for manipulating the existing the object surface(s)
- "Direct Click In Viewport" allows you to perform operations directly on the object surfaces without having to select them first.

Direct Click In Viewport
- Allows you to perform touchup modeling operations by clicking directly in the viewport.
- e.g. To split a four sided polygon, click on one of it's vertices and drag the cursor to the vertex on the opposite side.

Touch-up Modeler Type
- Determines what operation will be performed by a direct click in the viewport

Perform on Selection
- Performs modeling operations on the selected surfaces
- Some operations may require a specific selection type (e.g. vertices only)

Merge Vertices
- Merges the selected vertices into one.
- If symmetry is enabled, then each side will be merged separately.
- Works on a per object basis. Vertices from one object will not merge with those of another.

Split Polygons
- Splits one polygon into two by creating an edge between the selected vertices.
- Works on polygons with four or more points.

Split Edge
- Creates a new vertex between between two selected vertices
- When clicking in the viewport, the new vertex will be positioned closest to where the mouse clicked.
- If ALT is held while clicking in the viewport, the new vertex will be positioned at the midpoint of the edge.

Cycle Polygon Winding
- Changes the order of the vertices in the selected polygons.
- For polygons with four or more points, the vertex order can affect the shape of the rendered polygon
- When rendering, the polygon will be decomposed into triangles fanning out from the first vertex.

Delete Polygons
- Deletes the selected polygons
- Works best with polygon selections (as opposed to vertex selections)
- Can also directly click on polygons to delete them.

Delete Vertices
- Deletes the selected vertices.
- After deleting vertices, resulting polygons that have less than three remaining points will be deleted as well.

Additional Utilities
- Additional tools that may not fit in the other categories are placed here.

Delete Unused Vertices
- Deletes all vertices that are not attached to a polygon in the selected objects.

Symmetry Utilities
- Contains options for creating/editing/fixing symmetric objects
- Note... and object's axis of symmetry can be set in the manager in the "Objects" section

Create Symmetric Half
- Duplicates the surface on the "Master" side of the object, mirrors and attaches it to create a symmetric object.
- If surfaces exist on the "opposite" side, the user will be prompted to delete them first. Failure to do so may result in duplicate polygons, so proceed with care.
- Symmetry direction can be changed in the "Mirror And Symmetry" panel in the "Tool" window.

Snap To Center
- Forces all of the selected vertices to the axis of symmetry.
- e.g. If the axis of symmetry is the X axis, then the X values will all be set to the 'Symmetry Offset', which is zero by default.
- For off center objects, see the 'Symmetry Offset' value in the 'Object Properties' section in the Manager.

Shift To Center
- Select at least one vertex on the center line
- Click this button to shift the entire object so the center line is at the origin (x = 0, y = 0, or z = 0, depending on the axis of symmetry)
- The 'Symmetric Offset' value for the object will be reset to 0 as a result.

Select Center
- Selects the vertices along the center line of symmetry.
- Mainly intended for trouble shooting symmetry problems.
- If there are multiple objects with symmetry enabled in the project, they must be highlighted in the manager

Make Polygon Winding Consistent
- Makes the polygon winding on the symmetric side consistent with the master side.
- Affects how the polygon is triangulated when rendered.

Merge Objects
- Merges two or more objects in the project into a single object.

One Material Per Object
- Creates only one material per source object.

Auto-Rename Materials
- Renames the materials so they also contain the source object's name.
- If there is only one material in the source object, then the material name will be the same as the object's name.
- If there are multiple materials, then the material name will be like (Object Name)-(Material Name).

One Group Per Object
- Creates only one group per source object.

Auto-Rename Groups
- Renames the groups so they also contain the source object's name.
- If there is only one group in the source object, then the group name will be the same as the object's name.
- If there are multiple groups, then the group name will be like (Object Name)-(Group Name).

Merge Selected Objects
- Merge the highlighted objects.
- You can highlight multiple objects in the 'Manager' by holding the ALT or SHIFT keys while clicking on them.

Additional Utilities
- Additional tools that may not fit in the other categories are placed here.

Weld Vertices

This tool is essential for Poser(R) or DAZ Studio users who wish to create a morph target that spans multiple body parts. Choose this tool and then click on the "Weld" button in the tool window. All of those unsightly seams will now be welded together.

Also note, that when exporting OBJ file(s), the groups are saved UNWELDED by default. You need not worry about using this tool to unweld the object beforehand, unless you have a specific situation that requires you to.

Technical note - All of the vertices that are discarded from the welding process are kept in sync with morphing process. This is essential for morph targets that span multiple body parts (full body morphs). So, when the object is unwelded, the formerly discarded vertices will have the same positions as those that they were welded to.

Precision
- Determines how close that two points should have to be considered for welding.
- Typically, a value of '8' is best, but if the seams fail to weld properly, you may wish to lower the value to '7' or '6'.
- Lower values may yield unexpected and undesirable results.

Weld
- Weld the vertices

Unweld
- The "Unweld" button reverses the welding process, revealing any seams that were originally in the object.
- Please note that modeling operations make the welding permanent, so unwelding is not possible.

Tool Boxes

Control
- Provides options that alter the way the current tool behaves.
- Directional controls and culling options are the most common
- Some options may be disabled if not supported by the current tool

Select
- Determines the selection mode.
- Can select Vertices or Polygons
- Most tools will work with all selection types and some require a specific type.
- Operations that specifically operate on polygons (e.g. Hide Selected Surface, Add Selection to Layer, Extrude, etc.) work best with polygon selections since it is more obvious which polygons are to be considered and which are not.

Fade By Angle
- Causes the strength to become weaker as the angle between the surface and the viewing plane is greater.
- Helps prevent 'stretch marks' from appearing while painting textures.

Falloff
- Determines how quickly the paint stroke or selection will fade as the angle (between the surface and the viewport plane) increases.
- As the value approaches 0, the effect is hardly noticeable.
- The value of 100 gives the most drastic results.

Extra Soft
- Makes each selection extra soft.
- Works best for moderate to high polygon models and not so good for low polygon models.
- Not recommended for precise editing.

Anti-Alias
- The paint strokes will be anti-aliased, yielding a smoother, less 'pixelated' brush stroke.

Lock X,Y,Z
- Prevents any deformation from acting in the X, Y and/or Z directions.
- Please note that this takes place in the coordinate space of the object, and not the relative space of the viewport.

Snap To Closest Vertex
- The reference point for the current tool will be snapped to the closest vertex in the viewport

Culling
- Culling is the process in which portions of the surface are omitted from a painting or selection operation.

None
- No culling occurs. Paint brush strokes and selections go 'through' the object.

Backface
- Only the polygons that are facing away from the viewer are omitted.
- Please note that if an object's "Draw Double Sided" option is enabled (see "Object Properties" in the Manager),and "Backface" is enabled, backfacing surfaces that are visible to the user can be edited. This is done to avoid confusion, since the user should be able to edit the geometry they can see.

Per Vertex
- Each vertex is tested for it's visibility. If the vertex is obscured by another portion of the surface, then it is culled.

Per Pixel
- Only relevant to painting tools, will cull any pixel (on the texture maps that you are painting on) based on it's visibility.
- Please note that for "Per Pixel" culling, it is assumed that the UV mapping has little or no overlapping geometry. If two different polygon overlap the same section of a texture map, and one of those polygons is visible in the viewport while the other is not, then the overlapping pixels will NOT be culled. So, if you are getting unexpected results, check to see if the UV mapping of the object is good.

Mirror and Symmetry
- Contains options for creating symmetric selections and paint strokes. It is important to note the difference be mirror and symmetric options.

Mirror - When using the mirror options, each brush stroke, selection, etc. will be duplicated horizontally and/or vertically on the opposite sides of the viewport. It is therefore important to take note of the positioning and orientation of the viewport.

Symmetry - If the objects in your project have been constructed to be symmetrical, then you can edit one side of the object, and the operation will be duplicated on the other side, regardless of the viewport's position and orientation. The symmetry axis is the "X" axis by default, but that can be changed in the "Object Properties" section in the Manager. Some allowances are given for objects that are not perfectly symmetrical, however, unexpected results may occur if the object is not very symmetric.

Not all tools can be used with mirror and/or symmetry. The options will be disabled if they are not compatible with the current tool.

Mirror Horizontally
- Selection/brush strokes will be mirrored in the horizontal direction.
- Effect is relative the the viewing position and angle.
- Not to be confused with the symmetry options, which are independent of the viewing position and angle.

Mirror Vertically
- Selection/brush strokes will be mirrored in the vertical direction.
- Effect is relative the the viewing position and angle.
- Not to be confused with the symmetry options, which are independent of the viewing position and angle.

Use Symmetry
- Performs symmetric operations (if the current tool supports it)
- For selections, deformations and modeling operations, the vertex/polygon structure of the object must be designed symmetrically with a definite center line
- Symmetric painting operations are possible on non symmetric objects, however a good center line in the object is recommended.
- Specific symmetry settings (e.g axis of symmetry, offset, etc.) are located in the 'Object Properties' section of the 'Manager'

Left To Right Symmetry
- By default, the symmetry goes from the right side of the object to the left side.
- When this option is enabled, the symmetry direction will be reversed, from left to right.
- Please note that we use the terms "Left" and "Right" loosely here since the object's true left and right depends on which angle you are viewing the object from.

Per Vertex Symmetry
- For paint tools only. All other tools use 'Per Vertex Symmetry' exclusively.
- When it is enabled, the object has to have been created symmetrically for it to work properly.
- Morphed objects will still remember their 'original' symmetry.
- When this option is disabled, symmetric painting on non-symmetric objects is possible, however the symmetry calculations take place "after" the morphs are applied.

Brush Image Symmetry
- When enabled, the applied brush image will appear symmetric on the object(s).
- When disabled, even though the brush stroke itself is symmetric, the applied brush image will not be.

Right To Left (for selection)
- Copies the right side of the selection to the left side.
- Please note that we use the terms "Left" and "Right" loosely here since the object's true left and right depends on which angle you are viewing the object from.

Left To Right (for selection)
- Copies the left side of the selection to the right side.
- Please note that we use the terms "Left" and "Right" loosely here since the object's true left and right depends on which angle you are viewing the object from.

Swap Left and Right (for selection)
- Swaps the left and right sides of of the current selection, resulting in a "mirror image" of the original.

Right To Left (for morph)
- Copies the selected portions of the right side of the current morph to the left side.
- Please note that we use the terms "Left" and "Right" loosely here since the object's true left and right depends on which angle you are viewing the object from.

Left To Right (for morph)
- Copies the selected portions of the left side of the current morph to the right side.
- Please note that we use the terms "Left" and "Right" loosely here since the object's true left and right depends on which angle you are viewing the object

Swap Left and Right (for morph)
- Swaps the left and right sides of the current morph, resulting in a "mirror image" of the original.
- Swaps the whole or partial morph, based on the current selection.

Tablet
- Contains options using a pressure sensitive drawing tablet.

Sensitivity (Tablet)
- Determines how sensitive the pressure read from the drawing tablet should be.
- Please note that this setting is different from the sensitivity setting that may be associated with your hardware driver.

Low Cutoff
- Represents the minimum pressure (in percent) required for applying paint to an object.
- Especially useful for preventing accidental paint strokes while gliding the pen across the tablet, which can cause short but distracting delays.

Size (pseudo)
- The input pressure varies the apparent size of the brush stroke.
- This only works with brushes shapes that have a smooth gradient (like the default round brush).
- The advantage of this method is that it gives the appearance of varying size, while at the same time, it preserves the relative position of each peak in the brush's intensity (very useful for complex brush shapes).
- For brush shapes that are mostly monotone, this option will behave more like it's varying the Strength.

Strength
- The input pressure varies the strength of the brush stroke.

Hardness
- The input pressure varies the hardness of the brush stroke.

Density
- The input pressure varies the density of the brush stroke.

Mouse Wheel
- Contains options for assigning actions to the mouse wheel, like viewport zoom, brush size, etc.

Sensitivity (Mouse Wheel)
- Determines how sensitive the changes made by the mouse wheel are.
- e.g. if the mouse wheel is set to adjust the tool strength, a lower sensitivity setting will result in a greater change in the strength for each mouse wheel 'tick' while a greater value results in a smaller change for each 'tick'.

Zoom (with the mouse wheel)
- Using the mouse wheel will result in the viewport zooming in or out.

Size
- The mouse wheel will increase or decrease the 'Size' parameter of the current tool (if applicable).

Strength
- The mouse wheel will increase or decrease the 'Strength' parameter of the current tool (if applicable).

Hardness
- The mouse wheel will increase or decrease the 'Hardness' parameter of the current tool (if applicable).

Density
- The mouse wheel will increase or decrease the 'Density' parameter of the current tool (if applicable).

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