Depth Mask/Brush Depth Curve options?

[Half_Life]

These controls in the Brush menu are somewhat difficult to understand exactly why things are happening when applied to various brushes (standard, move elastic, etc.)

For instance when assigned to the standard brush the CTRL key is the modifier and when assigned to the Move elastic the ALT key is the modifier… and even then it is unclear precisely what the modifiers are doing to the curve.

The gravity option in itself seems to be fairly straightforward but when you combine it with the curve and modifier keys unexpected results occur…

I looked in the documentation but these features seem to be mostly undocumented – potentially it looks to be a powerful tool for hardsurface work (witnessed by Move2, MoveRing and MoveThin examples)… but without some clear idea of exactly what these settings do to the curve it seems rather hit or miss.

Any links, advice, or hints would be very appreciated

Best,
Jason.

[Half_Life]

Maybe I need to be more specific – I’ll start simple… how do I get rid of the “virtual mask” created by the “depth mask” settings when I don’t want it there anymore?

Best,
Jason.

[Half_Life]

I got alot of views and no replies, So I guess it’s safe to say I’m playing in undiscovered country with these brush settings then… I have a better handle on it from playing with it for 20+ hours, but I still am only collecting anecdotal evidence without some real insight into the behind the scenes mechanics of what this is doing.

It’s a terrible shame because it seems to be quite a powerful feature, but hard to predict or control.

Best,
Jason.

[PixoPaul]

Hello Jason

Not sure what you mean by the Standard brush having a CTRL key modifier. The CTRL will switch the brushes to masking brushes. CTRL key will not do anything with the Standard brush.

The ALT key for Move brushes allows you to move the mesh only along the normals.

To turn off the DepthMask you just need to turn the button off.

Please let me know if you have any further questions?