Glossary

This chapter maps ZBrush terms to their SculptForge equivalents, so you can find a familiar tool quickly, and explains the terms that only SculptForge uses. "Not yet" means SculptForge doesn't have it today; see the roadmap for what is planned.

ZBrush terms in SculptForge#

ZBrushSculptForge
AlphaAlpha: built-in round, square and noise, or any grayscale image. Left shelf, Alpha palette. See Sculpting
Auto GroupsTool > Polygroups > By pieces (polygroup_by_connectivity)
BPR renderNot yet as a renderer. Headless renders and turntables with sculptforge --render (Scripting)
Brush pop-up (B)Brush picker, B, then type letters (B S T = Standard)
Clip brushesNot yet. The Trim brush shaves to a plane
Curve brushes, IMM, ZModeler, ZSpheresNot yet
Decimation MasterTool > Geometry > Decimate (decimate). See Geometry
Del HiddenTool > Visibility > Delete hidden (delete_hidden)
Del Lower, Del HigherTool > Geometry > Del Lower / Del Higher (subdiv_delete_lower, subdiv_delete_higher). See Subdivision levels
Divide (Ctrl+D), SmtTool > Geometry > Divide, Ctrl+D, with Smt beside it (subdiv_divide). See Subdivision levels
Document, 2.5D canvas, pixolsNot planned: SculptForge is a 3D sculpting app only
Draw SizeDraw Size (top shelf, S, [ / ])
DynaMeshVoxel Remesh (Tool > Remesh, remesh). See Geometry
Focal ShiftNo slider for the built-in brushes. Custom brushes have Hardness and Tip sharpness in their recipe
Ghost, TranspNot yet. Inactive SubTools are drawn slightly dimmed
GoZGoZ: .GoZ import and export and the GoZ bridge (File > ZBrush (GoZ)). See Exporting
Group MaskedTool > Polygroups > From mask (polygroup_from_mask)
Group VisibleTool > Polygroups > Merge visible (polygroup_merge_visible)
Groups By NormalsTool > Polygroups > By normals with an angle (polygroup_auto_by_normals)
Bake, Multi Map Exporter (normal / displacement / AO maps)Tool > Bake (bake): tangent and object-space normal, displacement, AO, cavity and colour maps from a high-poly SubTool onto a low-poly's UVs. See Baking
Layers (sculpt layers)Tool > Layers: sculpt layers with weights, exported as blend shapes. See Layers
LazyMouseLazyMouse stroke type (Stroke palette)
LightBoxLightBox, , (comma)
Live BooleanNot yet
Local symmetry, radial symmetryNot yet. Symmetry is X, Y and Z across the world axes
Mask by CavityTool > Masking > By cavity (mask_by_cavity)
Masking (Ctrl)Hold Ctrl to paint the mask, Ctrl+Alt to erase. See Masking
MaskLasso, MaskRectTool > Masking: pick the shape, then Ctrl+drag (add Alt to unmask). See Masking
MatCapMaterial: seven MatCaps, Sculpt the default, plus Studio (M). Custom MatCap images not yet. See Polypaint
Morph targetA sculpt layer; exported as glTF morph targets and FBX/USD blend shapes
Mrgb, M (material channel)Not yet: there is no per-vertex material channel
Polyframe (PolyF, Shift+F)PolyF on the right shelf, or Shift+F
PolygroupsPolygroups: same idea, same Ctrl+Shift gestures. See Polygroups and visibility
PolypaintPolypaint: Paint brush (P), Rgb, fills, cavity paint. See Polypaint
Polypaint layersTool > Paint Layers: Photoshop-style colour layers with blend modes. See Paint layers
Project All (ProjectAll)Tool > SubTool > Project > ProjectAll (project_all), with Dist, Mean and PA Blur; respects the mask. See Quad retopology
Projection MasterNot yet. Generate > Stamp projects an image onto the model from the view
QuickSaveQuickSave in the title strip; the last 10 are kept. See Projects
RgbRgb on the top shelf (paint while sculpting)
Rgb Intensity, Z Intensity, Focal ShiftSame names and keys: RGB Intensity (I), Z Intensity (U), Focal Shift (O) in the Draw palette and the QuickMenu
Sculptris Pro, dynamic topologyDynamic on the top shelf, with Detail (dyntopo). See Dynamic topology
Reconstruct SubdivTool > Geometry > Reconstruct Subdiv (subdiv_reconstruct)
SDiv, Lower Res / Higher Res (Shift+D / D)Tool > Geometry: the SDiv slider, Lower Res Shift+D, Higher Res D (subdiv_level). See Subdivision levels
SelectLasso, SelectRectTool > Visibility: pick the shape, then Ctrl+Shift+drag (add Alt to hide). See Polygroups
SoloSolo on the right shelf or in Tool > SubTool
SpotlightNot yet
Preferences > Performance, Preferences > MemPreferences > Performance: Antialiasing, Fast Navigation, Multithreading, the last stroke's cost and memory. See Performance
Store ConfigStore Config, Ctrl+Shift+I (Preferences > Config)
Stroke (Dots, DragRect, DragDot, Spray)Stroke types Dots, DragRect, DragDot, Spray, LazyMouse (L toggles LazyMouse)
SubToolSubTool: same idea, Alt+click to select. See SubTools
Texture Map, New From PolypaintTool > Texture Map: New Texture (1K-8K) and paint straight into it, or Polypaint > Texture. See Texture painting
Texture paletteNot yet as a palette of texture images. Tool > Texture Map > Import Texture loads an image onto the UVs
Transpose, Gizmo 3D (Move W, Scale E, Rotate R)Gizmo 3D: same keys, arrows, rings and boxes; masked parts stay, Falloff softens the joint. See Gizmo 3D
Transpose AllAll SubTools in the Gizmo 3D panel. See Gizmo 3D
UV Master (Unwrap)Tool > Texture Map > Auto UV (uv_auto). UVs that come in with a model are kept. Seams and UV editing not yet. See Texture painting
VDM brush, 3D alpha, Create VDM brush from the VDM planeThe VDM brush and Brush > Vector Displacement: built-in maps, Load VDM... (EXR), New VDM Plane, Create VDM, Export EXR.... See Vector displacement brushes
Zadd / ZsubZadd / Zsub on the top shelf; Alt flips for one stroke
ZPluginNo in-app plugin system yet. Automate with the Python module, sculptforge-cli and MCP (Scripting)
ZRemesherTool > Geometry > QRemesh (qremesh): Target Polygons, Half / Same / Double, Adaptive Size, Keep Groups, Use Polypaint, symmetry. No curve guides yet. See Quad retopology
ZScriptScript commands: the console (backtick key), script files, sculptforge-cli. See Scripting
ZTL, ZPR filesNot read directly. Convert ZTools with the ZTool Export plug-in for ZBrush (then open the .ZTL), or use GoZ, OBJ, FBX or GLB; save work as .sfproj

SculptForge terms#

TermMeaning
Brush LabThe AI brush creator: describe a brush in words and it builds a recipe you can tweak. Opens from AI Brush. See Brush Lab
Brush codeOne line of text (sfbrush1:...) that holds a whole brush, for sharing in chat or a forum. Paste with Ctrl+V
Brush libraryYour saved custom brushes, loaded at every start
Brush recipeThe data that defines a custom brush (direction, depth, plane, pinch, pattern and so on): values, never code
.sfbrushA file holding one brush recipe
.sfprojA SculptForge project file: the whole scene. See Projects
Cross fieldThe directions QRemesh wants quad edges to follow at every point of the surface, smoothed over the whole model. Singularities (where three or five quads meet) appear where the field must turn
Command paletteF3: search every command, brush and setting by name and run it
Community galleryShared CC0 brushes you can install in one click (Community brushes)
ConsoleThe script console (backtick key): every action appears as a script line
Ctrl helpHold Ctrl and point at a control to see what it does, its shortcut and its command
Gaussian splatA 3D capture made of soft coloured blobs (from phone scanning apps). Load one as a reference, make it a sculptable mesh, or turn a sculpt into splats. See Gaussian splats and From scan to sculptable mesh
Falloff (Gizmo 3D)How far a gizmo move eases in from the mask's edge, as a share of the SubTool's size: a soft joint when posing. See Gizmo 3D
Generate 3DTurn an image or a description into a sculptable model. See Image and text to 3D
Gizmo 3DThe Move / Scale / Rotate handles (W E R) for placing and posing a SubTool or its unmasked part. See Gizmo 3D
LOD chainA series of lighter copies of a model (LOD0, LOD1...) for game engines. See Geometry
MCPModel Context Protocol: sculptforge-cli --mcp lets AI agents such as Claude run SculptForge commands
PivotThe point the Gizmo 3D turns and scales about. Alt+click the model to put it there. See The pivot
SubdivideOne-way subdivision without levels (Tool > Geometry > Subdivide, subdivide); Divide keeps the levels
Send to UnrealExport and import a model into a running Unreal Editor in one step (Ctrl+U)
Shelves, palettes, traysThe interface around the canvas: shelves hold the most-used controls, palettes hold everything, trays hold pinned palettes. See The interface
Studio brush folderA shared, read-only brush folder for a team (SCULPTFORGE_BRUSH_PATH). See For studios
Paint target (Vertex / Texture)Where painting goes on a SubTool that has a texture: its vertices (polypaint) or its texture. Top shelf, next to Rgb. See Texture painting
QRemeshSculptForge's automatic quad retopology (ZBrush's ZRemesher), in Tool > Geometry. See Quad retopology
Mirror plane (QRemesh)The plane QRemesh's Symmetry mirrors across: the model's own middle (the world's centre plane when the model is symmetric about it), found from the model. Like ZBrush's local symmetry. See Quad retopology
Padding (gutter)The few texels around each UV island that texture painting and baking also fill, so seams don't show. See Texture painting and Baking
BakeCapture a high-poly's detail as images (maps) on a low-poly's UVs. See Baking
Cage (front / rear distance)How far in front of and behind the low-poly the bake's rays look for the high-poly. See Baking
Displacement mapA map of how far the high-poly lies from the low-poly along its normal; mid-grey = 0. See Baking
Keep TextureRemesh option (Voxel Remesh, QRemesh): give the new surface Auto UVs and project the painted texture onto it, so the paint survives. See Texture painting
MikkTSpaceThe standard way of computing tangents that game engines share, so tangent-space normal maps look the same everywhere. See Baking
Normal mapA map of surface directions that makes a low-poly shade like the high-poly. Tangent-space maps are relative to the surface (for engines), object-space maps to the model. See Baking
TexelOne pixel of a texture. Texture painting paints texels; their 3D position on the model decides the brush falloff
UV islandA piece of the surface flattened into the texture square. Auto UV cuts the model into islands along seams
Antialiasing (AA)Smoothing the 3D view's edges with several samples per pixel (Off, 2x, 4x, 8x in Preferences > Performance). See Performance
BVHBounding volume hierarchy: the structure SculptForge uses to find the surface under the cursor and the vertices under a brush. Its update time is shown per dab in Preferences > Performance
DabOne step of a brush along a stroke. Its cost per dab decides whether a stroke keeps up with the display (under 16 ms at 60 Hz). See Performance
Fast NavigationDrawing scenes of 10 million triangles or more without antialiasing while the view moves, so it keeps up. See Performance
MultithreadingBrushes, normal and BVH updates and saving spread over every processor core; same results either way. See Performance

See also#

Also in the app: Help > User Guide (Shift+F1). Found a mistake? Edit this page on GitHub.