Sculpt a subdivision surface mesh

You can sculpt subdivision surfaces using the Sculpt Geometry Tool.

One advantage of sculpting with subdivision surface models is that it is possible to add finer levels of detail to regions of the mesh that require it by refining those areas of the model. The increased level of detail provides the Sculpt Geometry Tool with more information to sculpt finer detail on the model.

To sculpt a subdivision surface model using the Sculpt Geometry Tool

Select the subdivision surface or the vertices on the subdivision surface in the region you want to sculpt.
From the Surfaces menu set, select Subdiv Surfaces > Sculpt Geometry Tool >.
The Sculpt Geometry Tool Settings editor appears and the Maya cursor changes to a brush icon to indicate it is in sculpting mode. You use the options located under Sculpt Parameters to control how your brushing actions on the surface either push, pull, or smooth the vertices on the subdivision surface mesh.
In the Sculpt Parameters section, under Operation, click Push or Pull.
Do any of the following:
- Brush across the surface to push or pull vertices.
- Press b and drag left or right while pressing the left mouse button to change the brush radius.
- Press m and drag left or right while pressing the left mouse button to change the maximum displacement setting for the Sculpt Geometry Tool.
- If Push is selected, depressing changes the current operation to Pull.
- If Pull is selected, depressing changes the current operation to Push.
- In both cases, depressing changes the current operation to Smooth.
If you need to add additional detail to the surface when you sculpt the surface see To refine a subdivision surface while sculpting below.

To refine a subdivision surface while sculpting

If vertices are selected on the subdivision surface when working in the Sculpt Geometry Tool you can do one of the following:
- Select Subdiv Surfaces > Refine Selected Components from within the Surfaces menu set.
- Right-click on the subdivision surface to display the context sensitive marking menu and choose Refine Selected from the menu.
The above two methods add vertices to the subdivision surface in the localized area where the vertices were selected.
If vertices are not currently selected on the subdivision surface you must do the following to refine the subdivision surface:
- Press the right mouse button and select vertex from the marking menu that appears to display vertices for the subdivision surface.
- Choose the Select Tool from the Toolbox. (Hotkey: q)
- Select the desired vertices on the subdivision surface.
- Select Subdiv Surfaces > Refine Selected Components from within the Surfaces menu set or right-click the subdivision surface to display the context sensitive marking menu and choose Refine Selected from the menu.
Return to sculpting mode again by selecting the Sculpt Geometry Tool icon in the Toolbox. (Hotkey: y)

Subdivision surface sculpting tips

The following tips will help your subdivision surface sculpting work:

When sculpting a subdivision surface either the surface or vertices must be selected prior to opening the Sculpt Geometry Tool. Otherwise the Sculpt Geometry Tool does not work.
It is important to keep track of which display/selection mode you are currently working. For example, if the paintbrush cursor does not display on the surface when you want to sculpt it means that:
- the subdivision surface is not selected when sculpting in object mode or that vertex components are not selected when sculpting in component mode
- the current subdivision surface level you're working at does not contain vertices that can be sculpted. To sculpt finer details at that level you will need to refine the surface. Refining the surface subdivides it into smaller regions that can be sculpted to add finer detail
Refining a subdivision surface adds vertices in the selected regions of the surface and also changes the current subdivision level to one level finer as part of the Refine operation.
You can sculpt at finer and coarser levels of the surface by selecting either Display Finer or Display Coarser from the marking menu.
You can easily keep track of what subdivision surface level you're working at by selecting Display > Heads Up Display > Subdiv Details. This alphanumeric display provides information about the currently selected subdivision surface in the upper left corner of the scene view.
Note
When you sculpt at different subdivision levels on a subdivision surface the sculpt brush cursor may appear and disappear on the surface mesh while sculpting at a particular subdivision level. When the sculpt brush cursor disappears it indicates there are no details in that particular region of the mesh to sculpt.