Installation

1. Download zsculpt-1.0.0.zip. Don't unzip it.
2. In Blender, open Edit → Preferences → Get Extensions, click the ▾ menu at the top right and choose Install from Disk…
3. Pick the zip. ZSculpt is enabled right away.
4. Enter Sculpt Mode and press N. The ZSculpt tab has the master switch, the most-used options and a Shortcuts cheat sheet.

To update, install the new zip the same way. To remove it, go to Preferences → Add-ons → ZSculpt → ▾ → Uninstall.

Quick start

• Drag on empty space to orbit. Alt-drag to pan, then release Alt to zoom.
• Sculpt with Alt held to carve (ZSub). Hold Shift to smooth, hold Ctrl to mask.
• Ctrl-drag from empty space to lasso-mask. Ctrl-click empty space to invert the mask.
• Ctrl+Shift-drag to isolate part of the mesh. Ctrl+Shift-click empty space to show everything.
• Scrub the bar at the top of the viewport to go back in time.

Controls (Sculpt Mode only)

Navigation

• Drag on empty space: rotate (hold Shift while rotating to snap to an axis)
• Alt + drag on empty space: pan (release Alt to zoom)
• RMB drag: rotate · Alt+RMB: pan · Ctrl+RMB: zoom · RMB click: sculpt menu
• F: frame the mesh · P: perspective / orthographic

Brushes

• Alt + stroke: invert (ZSub)
• Hold Shift / Ctrl: Shift brush (Smooth) / Ctrl brush (Mask)
• Hold Shift or Ctrl + pick a brush (or Shift+B / Ctrl+B): set the Shift / Ctrl brush
• S: draw size · U: intensity · Shift+U / Ctrl+U: intensity of the Shift / Ctrl brush
• Space: brush menu · B: brush shelf · X: X symmetry · Shift+F: wireframe

Masking

• Ctrl + stroke: paint mask (+Alt: unmask)
• Ctrl + click on the mesh: blur mask (+Alt: sharpen)
• Ctrl + drag from empty space: lasso or box mask (+Alt: unmask)
• Ctrl + click on empty space: invert mask
• Ctrl + drag that encloses nothing: clear mask
• Ctrl+A: mask all · Ctrl+I: invert (Blender default)

Visibility

• Ctrl+Shift + drag: keep only the inside (+Alt: hide the inside)
• Ctrl+Shift + click a face set: isolate it (+Alt: hide it)
• Ctrl+Shift + click empty space: show all
• Ctrl+Shift + drag that encloses nothing: invert visibility
• Ctrl+W: new face set from the mask, or from everything visible

Subdivision & tools

• D / Shift+D: Multires level up / down · Ctrl+D: divide (adds Multires when needed)
• SDiv slider in the sidebar: jump to any level
• Q / W / E / R: Brush / Move / Scale / Rotate tool
• Alt+R: voxel size (visual) · Ctrl+R: voxel remesh (Blender default)

Undo History bar

• Click: jump to a step · Drag: scrub · Esc while dragging: go back · Mouse wheel over the bar: one step
• Hover a segment to see the step's name and time

Face Set Layers (sidebar → ZSculpt → Face Set Layers)

• Eye: hide / show a face set · Solo: isolate it (click again to show all)
• Show All / Invert buttons · Double-click a name to rename it (saved with the mesh)
• With the Face Set Paint brush, Shift relaxes face set borders (Blender's own behavior)

Preferences

These are in Preferences → Add-ons → ZSculpt. Most are also in the sidebar tab.

• ZSculpt (master switch): turns every feature on or off
• Navigate on Empty Space, Right-Drag Navigation, Shift Snaps While Rotating, Invert Drag Zoom
• Ctrl Masking & Ctrl+Shift Visibility: Mask marquee (Lasso / Box), Select marquee (Box / Lasso)
• Camera Based Masking / Selection: off (default) = marquees go through the whole mesh, like ZBrush; on = only faces facing the camera are affected
• ZBrush-Style Hotkeys, Subdivision Keys, Q W E R Tools
• ZBrush-Style Shift / Ctrl Brushes
• Undo History Slider: range (this sculpt session or everything) and bar width
• Suspend 'Emulate 3 Button Mouse' in Sculpt Mode

Compatibility & notes

• Requires Blender 5.2 or newer.
• The Undo History bar works on Windows and Linux. On macOS the bar is unavailable, and everything else works.
• Emulate 3 Button Mouse (Alt) turns Alt+click into a middle-click before add-ons can see it. ZSculpt switches it off only while you are in Sculpt Mode and turns it back on when you leave. You can disable this in Preferences.
• With Camera Based Selection on, "keep inside" hides the far side in a second pass, so it takes two undo steps.
• Unified Strength: keep it off if you want separate intensities for the Shift and Ctrl brushes.
• NVIDIA App: Alt+R opens NVIDIA's statistics overlay by default. Change that shortcut in the NVIDIA overlay (Alt+Z → Settings → Keyboard shortcuts), or use the Remesh panel for voxel size.
• Keys ZSculpt takes over, in Sculpt Mode only: S, U, B, X, F, P, D, Q, W, E, R, Space, Shift+F, Shift+B, Shift+U, Ctrl+A, Ctrl+B, Ctrl+D, Ctrl+U, Ctrl+W, Alt+R, and the mouse behavior described above.

License

GPL-3.0-or-later, which is required for Blender add-ons. ZSculpt is not affiliated with or endorsed by Maxon. ZBrush is a trademark of Maxon.