Modeling Mode provides an array of tools for creating and editing geometry. These tools are organized into specific categories to help guide you through your modeling process.
The Create category can get you started with building a new mesh. To edit and inspect properties of your mesh you can use the following categories:
Select: Edit element selections.
Transform: Adjust the placement or representation of a mesh.
Deform: Sculpt or distort a mesh as a whole or in specific areas.
Model: Perform granular mesh editing.
Mesh: Mesh processing for inspecting, optimizing, and editing a mesh's geometry.
Voxel: Convert a mesh into voxels to perform volumetric operations before converting it back into a mesh.
Bake: Generate textures and vertex color data for meshes.
UVs: Edit UV coordinates of a mesh.
Attribs: Inspect and adjust the secondary properties of a mesh.
Misc: Additional utility tools such as managing LODs and volume conversion.
Each tool per category opens a specific toolset and settings in the Tool Properties panel. Refer to the categories below to learn how to implement them in your workflow.
The modeling tools are usable when you are working on various types of actors in Unreal Engine, for example, a static mesh, dynamic Mesh, or volume. These are collectively referred to as "a mesh" or "meshes", except for occasions where a tool is only usable for a specific Actor type.
Create
Build new meshes from predefined primitives, paths, or splines. The following predefined primitives are available:
Box
Sphere
Cylinder
Cone
Torus
Arrow
Rectangle
Disc
Stairs
To learn more about these preimitives, see Predefined Shapes.
Several tools, such as Extrude Polygon and Extrude Path, use a grid to draw shapes. To control the position of the grid, Ctrl + Click your desired location.
|
Tool |
Description |
|---|---|
|
CubeGrid |
Create blockout meshes using a repositionable grid. To learn more about this tool, see the CubeGrid overview. |
|
Extrude Polygon |
Draw and extrude polygons freehand or from a selection of predefined shapes. |
|
Extrude Path |
Draw and extrude PolyPaths to create new meshes such as walls and ramps. |
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Revolve Path |
Draw and revolve pathways around an axis to create a symmetrical mesh. |
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Revolve Path |
Draw and revolve 2D paths to create a new mesh. |
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Revolve Spline |
Revolve a spline to create a new mesh. |
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Draw Spline |
Draw a spline in the level. |
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Mesh Spline |
Triangulate the spline components of the selected actors to create new meshes. |
Select
Edit element selections.
Mesh Element Select must be enabled in the Modeling Mode Quick Settings.
|
Tool |
Description |
|---|---|
|
Delete |
Delte the current mesh selection. |
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Extrude |
Extrudes geometry from the set of selected faces by moving and stitching them. |
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Offset |
Offsets geometry from the set of selected faces. Mouse movement controls offset distance. Click in the viewport to complete the offset. |
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PushPull |
Faces can cut away the mesh or bridge mesh parts. |
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Inset |
Insets the current set of selected faces. Mouse movement controls the inset distance. Click in the viewport to complete the inset. |
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Outset |
Expands the set of selected faces out. Mouse movement controls the outset distance. Click in the viewport to confirm the outset distance. |
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Cut |
Triangulate the spline components of the selected actors to create new meshes. |
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Bevel |
Slants the edge loops around the selected faces. |
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Insert Loop |
Inserts a chain of edges across quads in a mesh. Edges will not be inserted on non-quad faces. |
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Clean |
Retriangulate the current mesh or mesh selection. |
Xform
Adjust the placement or representation of a mesh.
|
Tool |
Description |
|---|---|
|
Transform |
Transform different aspects of the selected mesh. |
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Align |
Repositions the selected meshes in relation to one another. |
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Merge |
Combines multiple meshes into one, keeping intersecting geometry. |
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Duplicate |
Duplicates a single mesh, creating a new actor. |
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Edit Pivot |
Edit the pivot point placement on the selected mesh. |
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Bake Transform |
Bakes the scale and rotation values into the mesh. By default scale is uniformly set to 1, while rotation is uniformly set to 0. |
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Transfer |
Transfers the data of one mesh to a target mesh or to a specific LOD used by the target mesh. |
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Convert |
Change the Output Type of a mesh between a Static Mesh, Dynamic Mesh, or Volume. |
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Split |
Takes a mesh with disconnected geometry and splits them into separate mesh. |
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Pattern |
Tile one or more selected meshes along a Line, Grid, or Circle oriented on a movable 3D plane. |
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ISMEd |
Edit instances in Instance Static Mesh Components. |
Deform
Sculpt or distort a mesh as a whole or in specific areas.
|
Tool |
Description |
|---|---|
|
Vertex Sculpt |
Sculpt the target mesh, adjusting its vertices, using various brushes. |
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Dynamic Sculpt |
Sculpts the target mesh using various brushes and dynamically adds new geometry to the mesh through remeshing. |
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Smooth |
Even out the surface of the mesh, helping remove jagged artifacts. |
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Offset |
Adjust the positioning of the mesh's vertices by a specified amount along their normal. |
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Warp |
Reshape a mesh using non-linear transforms such as Blend, Flare, and Twist. |
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Lattice |
Edit a mesh via its vertices using a structure of points. |
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Displace |
Distort the vertices of a mesh based on preset algorithms, user-generated weight maps, or texture maps. |
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Deform PolyGroups |
Opens tools to deform meshes via their PolyGroups. To learn more about this tool, see the Deform PolyGroup overview. |
Model
Perform granular mesh editing.
|
Tool |
Description |
|---|---|
|
PolyGroup Edit |
Opens tools, such as Extrude, Bevel, and Edge Loop, to edit meshes via PolyGroups. To learn more about this tool, see the PolyGroup Edit overview. |
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Subdivide |
Increase the resolution of a mesh by PolyGroups or triangles. To learn more about this tool, see the Subdivide overview. |
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Boolean |
Subtract or add mesh pairs. To learn more about this tool, see the Boolean overview. |
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PolyCut |
Cuts the selected mesh with extrude polygon and open tools to define the new mesh. |
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Plane Cut |
Cut the selected mesh on a plane. |
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Mirror |
Reflect a mesh(es) along a given plane to create new geometry. |
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Mesh Cut |
Split one mesh into parts using a second mesh. To learn more about this tool, see the Mesh Cut overview. |
|
Trim |
Trim or cut selected meshes with a second mesh. |
Mesh
Mesh processing for optimizing and editing a mesh's geometry.
When using the following tools for optimization, it is helpful to change the View Mode and enable Mesh Edges under Show > Advance.
|
Tool |
Description |
|---|---|
|
Tri Select |
Quickly select triangles to edit a mesh and adjust secondary properties. |
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Triangle Edit |
Opens tools to edit the mesh via triangles. |
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Fill Holes |
Fills any holes in your mesh. |
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Weld |
Automatically combines disconnected edges of the selected mesh within a given tolerance. |
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Union |
Combines multiple meshes into one, resolving self intersections. |
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Jacket |
Removes hidden triangles from the selected meshes. |
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Simplify |
Attempts to reduce the triangle density of the selected mesh. |
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Remesh |
Retriangulate and increase triangle density on the selected mesh. |
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Project |
Map or Re-mesh one mesh onto the targeted mesh (the second selected mesh). |
Voxel
Convert a mesh into voxels to perform volumetric operations before converting it back into a mesh.
|
Tool |
Description |
|---|---|
|
Voxel Wrap |
Wrap a selected mesh using voxels—helping remove holes as well as removing self-intersections and hidden triangles. |
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Voxel Blend |
Blend selected meshes using voxels. |
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Voxel Offset |
Offset or inset the surface of the selected meshes using voxels. |
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Voxel Boolean |
Perform boolean operations on selected meshes and then wrap the result with voxels. |
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Voxel Merge |
Merges selected meshes then voxelates the result. |
Bake
Generate textures and vertex color data for meshes.
For proper baking, the source mesh(es) and target mesh need to be overlapping.
|
Tool |
Description |
|---|---|
|
Bake Textures |
Bake the source mesh's details to a target mesh as textures. |
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Bake All |
Bake textures for a single mesh from multiple source meshes. |
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Bake Vertex Colors |
Bake a source mesh's details to a target mesh as vertex colors. |
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Bake RC |
Bakes textures for a target mesh from multiple source meshes via a virtual photo or render capture. |
UVs
Edit the UV coordinates of a mesh, changing how textures are mapped to the surface.
|
Tool |
Description |
|---|---|
|
AutoUV |
Automatically unwrap and pack UVs for the selected mesh. |
|
UV Unwrap |
Recompute UVs for existing UV islands or PolyGroups, helping minimize stretched and squashed areas. |
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Project UVs |
Creates UVs from casting a predefined shape or point onto your mesh. |
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Edit UV Seams |
Interactively separate edges in the Viewport to create seams. |
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Transform UVs |
Interactively scale, rotate, and translate UV islands in the Viewport. |
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Layout UVs |
Transform, stack, or repack existing UVs. |
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UV Editor |
Launch a dedicated Editor for creating and editing UVs. |
Attribs
Inspect and adjust the secondary properties, such as normals and PolyGroups, of a mesh.
|
Tool |
Description |
|---|---|
|
Inspect |
Inspect mesh attributes. |
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LOD Manager |
Opens the LOD Manager to define and create LODs for the selected Static Mesh Asset. |
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Normals |
Recomputes the normals and opens tools to set Normals calculations by toggling options on and off and setting the Normals Topography. |
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Tangents |
Edit the mesh's lines and tangents. |
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Generate PolyGroups |
Generates PolyGroups for your mesh. |
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Paint PolyGroups |
Paint PolyGroups onto a mesh using brushstrokes. |
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Edit Attributes |
Edit the mesh's different attributes, including UVs, and add new attributes as well. |
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Edit Materials |
Assign multiple materials and new material elements to triangles selected via brushstrokes. |
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Paint Vertex Colors |
Paint on specific Weight Map Layers, which first need to be generated with the AttrEd tool. |
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Paint Maps |
Paint on specific Weight Map Layers, which first need to be generated with the AttrEd tool. |
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Inspect Collision |
Inspect physics geometry for the selected mesh. |
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Simple Collision Editor |
Edit the simple collision shape of the selected mesh. |
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Mesh To Collision |
Convert the selected mesh(es) to Simple Collision Geometry for the last selected mesh. |
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Collision To Mesh |
Converts Simple Collision Geometry to a new mesh Actor. |
Misc
Additional utility tools such as managing LODs and volume conversion.
|
Tool |
Description |
|---|---|
|
AutoLOD |
Opens a toolset to generate and define Static Mesh LOD Assets. |
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Pivot Actor |
Add an actor to act as a pivot for the child components. |
|
Revolve Boundary |
Revolves the mesh boundary loops to create a new shape. |
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Volume To Mesh |
Define and convert a Volume Actor to a Static or Dynamic Mesh Actor. |
|
Mesh To Volume |
Defines the conversion of a mesh to a new Volume. |
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Convert BSPs |
Convert Binary Space Partitioning geometry to a mesh. |