Select and move items

An item is active for modification when you position the cursor over it in the 3D View. When you stroke a sculpt tool across the model, Mudbox automatically selects and modifies the affected vertices.

For some operations, you must explicitly select items on the model. To do this, you use tools on the Select/Move Tools tray.

The selection tools let you select faces and entire models so you can:

Translate, rotate, or scale objects (models) in the 3D View.
Specify an axis of symmetry for the Mirror and Set Topological Axis symmetry features.
Hide faces or entire models in the 3D View to improve interactive performance when working on complex models.
Export a selected model to a separate file.

Select faces

In the tool trays area, click the Select/Move Tools tab.
In the Select/Move Tools tray, click the Faces selection tool.
In the 3D View, drag on the faces you want to select.
To deselect faces, click an empty area.

Note

To select a face without exiting the current sculpting tool, press V while sculpting the selection, then release the V key when you are finished. This behavior works with all tool number hotkeys (1, 2, 3, and so on).

Select all faces on the current subdivision level

In the 3D View, position the cursor over the model at the subdivision level you want to select (use Page Up or Page Down to display the subdivision level you want), then press Shift + A.

Select objects

In the tool trays area, click the Select/Move Tools tab.
In the Select/Move Tools tray, click the Objects selection tool.
In the 3D View, click the object(s) you want to select.

Note

If you select two or more objects, the transformation tools (Translate, Rotate, Scale) transform the objects as a group around a common pivot (the pivot of the active object). Non-proportional scaling is limited to the local space of each object.

Pressing the X hotkey and dragging to transform objects works on a single object at a time, even if other objects are selected.

Deselect faces or objects

In the 3D View, click an empty area.

Create and select a selection set

You can create sets of selected components for your model so you can quickly select the items together later.

For example, you can create a selection set for faces in a particular region of a model so you can freeze and unfreeze them repeatedly as you work. A selection set lets you define this region as a custom selection.

In addition, if you’ve combined a number of polygon meshes into one model prior to importing to Mudbox, it can be difficult to select the various components. Creating a selection set lets you easily select those regions on the combined model in Mudbox.

NoteIn Autodesk Maya, selection sets are called Quick Select sets and can be exported with an .fbx or .obj file. Autodesk 3ds Max refers to these as selection sets. To preserve Quick Select sets when exporting a model from Maya, select File > Export Selection. Set the File Type to OBJexport and turn on the File Type Specific Options for Groups, then click Export Selection. Mudbox does not export selection sets when exporting using FBX. For more information on importing a model from Maya, see Import a model from Maya.

In Mudbox, selection sets appear in the Object List and are saved with the model as part of the .mud file.

In the 3D View, use the Objects or Faces selection tools to select components on the model you want contained in the selection set.
From the main menu, select Create > Selection Set.
Type a name for the selection set in the window that appears, then click OK.
The selection set appears in the list of items within the Object List.
To select a selection set, click its name within the Object List.