Editing A High Density Mesh

Question

I blocked out the mesh with a long neck as the tutorial states but I found a caricature was too difficult for me at this time. So I began sculpting the face with more realistic proportions and forgot to shorten the neck. Now I want to shorten the neck but in editing mode it comes to standstill.

I'm on an i3 and when I circle select with proportional editing and it's too slow to edit. Any ideas how I can shorten this neck in a way that won't bring the interface to a standstill on my slow computer?

Answer 1 · 2019-09-25T13:46:33Z

Kent Trammell replied September 25, 2019 1:46pm

I recommend a couple options:

First is the Simplify brush (the first one below the yellow brushes). That one allows you to increase your dyntopo resolution (for bigger polygons) and decrease the polygon resolution wherever you stroke. In short, the brush keeps the shape the same while increasing or decreasing the resolution of the mesh according to your dyntopo resolution.
Second, it could be the face resolution that's killing edit mode. In your wireframe the face looks super dense. In which case it would be a good time to use the decimate modifier to keep the shape of your sculpt while globally decreasing the resolution. I'll do this sometimes when a sculpt gets out of hand in terms of resolution. It's like a reset.

So I add the decimate modifier and try 0.1 or 0.2. Basically the goal is to decrease the resolution as much as possible while keeping the shapes intact.

Answer 2 · 2019-09-25T15:24:26Z

k

replied September 25, 2019 3:24pm

That simplify brush is a little tricky. I could not get it to simply at first, but with some tinkering I got it to simplify. I tested it on a default cube.

I put 'detailing' setting on 'constant detail' so I could do a detail flood fill.

I set dyntopo resolution at 15 so it would create a high density fill of the flat planes of the cube.

I changed the dyntopo detailing to relative detail.

I turned off dyntopo and tried the simplify brush but only seems to work with dyntopo on so I turned it back on.

Zoomed out in relative detail I was able to see how the brush simplifies.

Ironically, zoomed in, it created more detail. Although ironic, I think it could be useful as a sort of manual detail flood fill (since the shift key does not seem to reverse the simply brush behaviour).

In tutorials I've viewed so far manually increasing mesh density is done through use of the inflate brush. I'm wondering if the simplify brush and a detail adjustment would cause less mesh distortion. I'll have to play around with the idea as I run into situations that call for upping the resolution in specific areas.

Thanks for the answer. It has opened the door to exploring new features that will surely make sculpting more productive and enjoyable.

Answer 3 · 2019-09-26T01:25:21Z

replied September 26, 2019 1:25am

kkeenan18 There is also the Lattice Modifier that you can use with a lattice object around your mesh (or just the neck). It basically lets you shrink or fatten or distort in a non-destructive way. There are times when that is a good option. You adjust a simple lattice and the mesh follows along it. Super handy for some situations and for creative stylized concepts.

Answer 4 · 2019-09-26T17:09:15Z

k

replied September 26, 2019 5:09pm

Cool. So many tools in Blender. I will try it out. Thanks.