The GPU GUI appears only in the active 3D viewport under the pointer. Moving to another split view hides it in the previous view, including pinned panels. Each view retains its panel positions and open state for when you return. Moving to another editor, such as the Outliner, hides the viewport GUI. Numeric values take priority over labels when space is limited.
USER MANUAL / v2.1.2
Brush the cloth. Refine the shape.
Fitting, smoothing, shape memory, selection and local shape tools. Follow the preparation and actions with current UI captures and short operation videos.
Select a clothing mesh, then open the 3D View sidebar (N) → cvELD Shell fit Brush and click the start button. Starting in Object Mode enters Edit Mode. Starting in a supported paint mode retains that mode.
To work on several garments, select their mesh objects and enter Edit Mode together. The brush paints the nearest selected surface under the pointer; Grab stays on the object where the drag began. One stroke has one Undo step. A Pin Deform pin-selection box applies to each selected mesh. For Fit, set Target to the body.
Click the brush name at the top and choose a thumbnail.
Set Size and Strength. Start with a small region and low strength.
With the Blender preset, left-drag to brush and release to commit.
Esc cancels during a stroke; Ctrl+Z undoes a completed stroke.
Check initial or customized bindings in Shortcut Settings at the left of the header. Click the activation button again or switch to another tool to finish.
The picker shows all 16 brushes in three groups: Basic Operations & Selection, Surface Fitting and Garment Finishing. Choosing a thumbnail updates the header and effect bar.
Each silent loop is at most three seconds. Frame-stepped examples show the before and after.
Shape a pressure groove and adjacent skin ridge · How to use
Brush instructions
Grab
Press, drag and release to move the initial footprint. Enable Protect Shape and cover an entire thick detail to keep it together. Enable Preserve Volume Move to slide vertices along the mesh surface captured when you press. No external target is needed. It takes precedence over Surface Snap and continues on the tangent plane beyond open edges. Volume preservation is approximate. Enable Pin X Center to keep vertices near local X=0 fixed in all directions while X symmetry is on. With X symmetry off, the option has no effect. Ordinary Grab does not retain body clearance; use Shell Fit Move to follow a target.
Start at low Strength and make short passes over tight sleeves or knees. Vertices move along their normals to add room. Check face normals if movement goes in the wrong direction.
Make short passes over bumps. Preserve Volume off relaxes toward neighboring vertices; enabling it reduces shrinkage. Repeated strokes also change fine detail. Begin at low Strength and inspect the outline from another angle.
This example enables Preserve Volume on Smooth. It softens bumps while reducing shrinkage, rather than enforcing an exact volume. Compare it with ordinary Smooth when maintaining the thickness of a sleeve or limb.
3-second operation example (frame-stepped) · Smooth: Preserve Volume
Shell Fit
Show the body or inner garment and pick Target with the eyedropper. Auto uses a nearby candidate. Gap sets clearance, initially 2 mm; Reach sets the surface search distance. Brush floating or buried cloth in short passes. Protect Shape retains thick details; compare with it off for stronger conformance of thin cloth. Inspect clearance from the side.
Set Target and Gap, then drag sideways. Gap starts at 2 mm. Movement follows reachable target surfaces and continues with a direct drag when the patch leaves the target or its reach. Enable Protect Shape to retain folds and details, or disable it for freer deformation.
Set Target, Gap and Reach, then use low Strength on small creases or crowded vertices after fitting. It relaxes shape while adjusting target clearance. Protect Shape helps retain folds and layered details. This is a beta feature: inspect a small test patch before working across thin layers or narrow gaps.
Choose Both under Direction to flatten a surface, or Vertical, Horizontal or Reference Edge to work along rows. Hold Start Plane uses one plane for the stroke; Follow Local Plane uses the original local form. Green Flow lines preview eligible surface edges or rows. Visible Faces excludes occluded vertices. Sharp Protection retains folds at or above its angle, marked sharp edges and creases. Release the fixed boundary setting when the outline should move.
Brush crowded mesh rows in short passes. Choose Both, Vertical, Horizontal or a Reference Edge. Row Shape follows the original, smooths the row or straightens intervals; Row Smoothing controls reshaping in Smooth Row mode. A fixed boundary stays put; Slide on Outline redistributes boundary spacing while retaining corners. Flow shows the preview; Visible Faces and Sharp Protection restrict what moves. No vertices are added and no remeshing is performed.
Use Remember Shape in Brush Settings before changing the form; an initial reference is also captured automatically when brushing begins. After editing, brush just the fold to restore. Match Original Shape restores folds; turning it off favors detail while retaining the current larger form. For firm restoration, try Strength 1 and Keep Current Form 0. To use another original mesh, set Backup Object and Remember Shape, then choose Remembered Shape or Backup Shape as the restore target. Matching vertex counts and connectivity are required.
The upper row contains shared controls and the lower row contains current brush options. Highlighted buttons show enabled options or the current choice. Toggle the originating icon to close its tool window. Drag a number or click to type; × resets it. ? opens Help and … opens Bar Items.
Control
Effect
Selection Mask
Deform only vertices selected at stroke start. Enabling it opens the selection window. Select geometry first if the selection is empty.
Protect Shape
Retain thick details during Grab or fitting. The shield-and-ribbon icon belongs to Protect Shape in Brush.
Preserve Volume
Reduce shrinkage in Smooth, Flatten and Space. Separate from Protect Shape.
Pin Boundary
Keep open borders fixed. Flatten and Space can also slide along the outline.
Visible Faces
Exclude occluded vertices. Disable it when back surfaces should also be affected.
Sharp Protection
Retain folds at or above the angle, marked sharp edges and creases. Initial angle: 45°.
Click Scope to choose. All Within Radius includes disconnected islands. Connected Only follows mesh edges from the touched surface. Intersecting Islands includes components linked by intersections at stroke start; deformation stays inside the brush footprint.
Thickness and X-Ray
Supported brushes show Thickness in the lower row. Up to 100% limits depth around the hit surface; above 100% displays ∞ and removes that limit. Hidden geometry, masks and Visible Faces remain separate restrictions. X-Ray separately controls occlusion during geometry selection. Snapping is available only on supported brushes.
Whole Island
Protect Touched Island rotates and translates the entire first connected component, including vertices outside the circle. A detail welded to cloth is part of the same island. Read the on-screen notice for unsupported partial masks, hidden geometry or deformed meshes.
3-second operation example (frame-stepped) · Choose the affected scope3-second operation example (frame-stepped) · Protect shape in the brush3-second operation example (frame-stepped) · Protect the touched island3-second operation example (frame-stepped) · Finite and infinite depth3-second operation example (frame-stepped) · Visible faces only3-second operation example (frame-stepped) · Protect sharp folds3-second operation example (frame-stepped) · Keep the outline fixed3-second operation example (frame-stepped) · Preview flow
Geometry selection
Use Selection in the upper row or Geometry Selection Brush in the picker. Paint vertices, edges or faces according to the mesh selection mode; geometry is not deformed. Choose Set, Extend, Subtract, Invert or Intersect. Invert toggles each touched element once per stroke; Intersect keeps the overlap with the original selection.
X-Ray next to Thickness enables brush selection through to the back. Box, Circle and Lasso share this X-Ray setting. Circle selection shares Size with the brush and Pin Selection, including wheel changes.
Vertical Loops and Horizontal Loops follow flow inside the painted footprint. Continuation is inferred across triangles and N-gons; inspect complex branches. Hidden elements stay excluded. Esc restores the original selection; completed operations support Undo. Sidebars and other tools remain accessible while selecting.
3-second operation example (frame-stepped) · Move only selected geometry3-second operation example (frame-stepped) · Select through with X-Ray3-second operation example (frame-stepped) · Paint vertical loops3-second operation example (frame-stepped) · Paint horizontal loops
Symmetry and brush range
Choose X/Y/Z from the symmetry icon. Axes use the object’s local coordinates and origin. Brush Range Symmetry applies equal-radius footprints at mirrored positions. Each range is processed even when vertex counts or forms differ; this does not make both sides geometrically identical.
Direction, center fixing, masks, boundaries and hidden geometry still matter. Empty ranges show a notice while other ranges can continue. Shrink also uses matching left/right bone names. Select an earlier method under range behavior if needed. Geometry Selection and Local Shape Tools use their own settings.
3-second operation example (frame-stepped) · Move both sides with X symmetry3-second operation example (frame-stepped) · Mirror the brush footprint
Finishing and stroke amount
Prepare pins or a seam in Edit Mode before deforming. Garment Bulge uses a garment opening as the reference for a body deformation.
Pin Deform Brush
Enclose the fixed vertices with Pin Selection; release to create pins automatically. Pin Selection glows red while no pins exist. Auto Pin offers an open-boundary selection or an edge loop picked by clicking a face. It then enters Move mode. Choose Move, Rotate or Scale in the bar and drag the free side. Ordinary Selection in the upper row selects geometry without pinning. The selection-method menu includes converting existing geometry to pins and X-Ray; pin X-Ray starts enabled. Strength 1 gives a linear influence transition at the root during rotation. Sidebars and other tools remain accessible while selecting.
In Edit Mode select an unbranched edge chain and Save Seam. Set Band Width and brush across the whole band. Nearby vertices follow by cross-section while endpoints and protected corners remain. Open Boundary uses mesh borders without saving a seam. Release Pin Boundary when moving a hem. Save branched selections as separate chains.
Paint a pressure groove and adjacent flesh ridges along a sock or waistband. The garment stays unchanged.
Select the body, enter Edit Mode, and choose Garment Bulge Brush from Garment Finishing in the brush picker.
Garment Reference can stay empty: the brush then uses the garment edge nearest the brush. Assign the sock or pants to use only that garment. Keep the garment visible in Object Mode.
Choose Sock Cuff, Pants Waist or Underwear Hem, then brush the body along the garment opening.
Release to commit. Esc discards the current stroke; Undo restores a committed stroke.
Sock Cuff raises exposed skin and presses down the fabric side. Pants Waist compresses a wider band with a stronger upper ridge and a smaller lower ridge. Holding the brush does not build depth indefinitely within one stroke. Release and paint again to increase the effect.
Control
Effect
Tightness
Inward pressure depth.
Bulge Height / Bulge Width
Ridge height and its reach back to unchanged skin. Set Height to zero for pressure only.
Band Width
Pressure band extending from the opening into the garment.
Edge Pull
Draw exposed skin toward the garment edge.
Upper / Lower Bias
Reduce the lower ridge beyond the band. Sock Cuff always uses one exposed ridge.
Smoothness
Blend the transitions between groove, ridge and unchanged skin.
Adapt to Body Spacing widens the band transition and ridge to reach neighboring rows on the picked skin surface. It does not add vertices. Increase Band Width for broad bra underbands; use Pants Waist for tights that reach the waist.
Tightness, Bulge Width and Band Width are fractions of the opening radius. For example, Tightness 0.03 on a 10cm radius cuff sets a 3mm reference depth. Brush strength, distance, surface orientation and face protection may reduce the actual displacement.
To isolate an opening, select its garment boundary edges first, return the garment to Object Mode, then enable Selected Garment Edges. A stroke stays bound to the opening first touched. Selection masks, hidden geometry and Pin Boundary remain available.
Solidify, Subdivision and Mirror can remain enabled. The reference uses the opening before thickness and separates openings that touch at a vertex. Closed garments and parts far from the skin are unsupported. Narrow grooves need sufficient body mesh density.
Symmetry Repair
About 9 seconds of recorded operation with English captions. In Auto, the first brushed side is copied onto the opposite side.
You can also use this feature by selecting Restore from Symmetry in the Restore Shape brush. Select From Memory to return to ordinary shape restoration. Auto, Copy Direction and Keep Asymmetric Parts share their settings with the Symmetry Repair brush.
The direction menu defaults to Auto: the first brushed side becomes the source for the entire stroke. Choose an explicit direction such as +X → -X from the same menu, or hold Ctrl at the press to reverse the source. Symmetrize Whole Mesh uses the stored explicit copy direction.
Copy one side's shape onto the other side's own vertices. No Mirror modifier is used and no geometry is added or deleted, so vertex order, UVs and weights stay as they are. Only coordinates on the receiving side change; the source side never moves.
Choose Symmetry Repair from Garment Finishing in the brush picker.
Set Copy Direction: the side whose shape is copied and the side that receives it.
Click Symmetrize Whole Mesh to repair everything at once, or brush an area to repair only that area.
Control
Effect
Copy Direction
+X → -X, -X → +X, and the same pairs for Y and Z, in object axes. +X → -X copies the +X side onto the -X side.
Keep Asymmetric Parts
On by default. When Restore Shape remembers an original shape that is almost entirely symmetric, parts that were already asymmetric in that original keep their shape. Turn it off to repair them too. A memory taken from the current shape, such as the automatic memory at the first stroke, is not used for this.
Symmetrize Whole Mesh
Repair the whole mesh at once.
Symmetrize Whole Mesh repairs every mesh being edited in Edit Mode, or the selected meshes in Object Mode. It also works in paint modes. With shape keys, the base shape is repaired and every key keeps its offset. Under an Armature pose, the undeformed mesh is repaired. Undo reverts it. It reports how many vertices were symmetrized and how many without a counterpart kept their shape.
With the brush, paint the area to repair on either side; painting the source side or the receiving side both work. The receiving side moves toward the mirrored shape with the brush falloff and Strength, and repeated dabs converge on it. Hold Ctrl at the press to reverse the copy direction for that stroke. X/Y/Z mesh symmetry and Brush Range Symmetry are ignored, because the brush already writes the other side.
Counterparts on the other side are found in three ways:
Exact positional twins, matched in the original shape remembered by Restore Shape when there is one, and in the current shape.
A walk along the topology, which pairs a mirror-symmetric part however far it has been edited.
Face-by-face growth into parts with asymmetric topology.
Where the topology differs, a vertex can use the nearest point of the mirrored surface.
Asymmetric parts are avoided automatically. A part that exists on one side only, such as a pocket or a separate button or ribbon, keeps its own shape and follows the repaired cloth around it. A separate piece resting on the cloth follows the surface under it.
Hidden vertices, selection masks, paint vertex/face masks and Pin Boundary are respected.
3-second operation example (frame-stepped) · Auto Pin to deformation3-second operation example (frame-stepped) · Rotate with pins3-second operation example (frame-stepped) · Scale with pins
3-second operation example (frame-stepped) · Pants waist3-second operation example (frame-stepped) · Underwear hem
Adjust Last Stroke
After a completed stroke, open Adjust Last Stroke in Brush Settings. Preview 0–100%: zero is the pre-stroke form and 100 is the completed result. OK commits; Cancel restores the amount at dialog opening. Unrelated edits, Undo/Redo or file loading invalidate the old record.
3-second operation example (frame-stepped) · Adjust the latest stroke
Part repair
Tidy the Edge (Beta) repairs rims disturbed during fitting. Auto uses surrounding form and moves folded rims together. Save Current Shape before deforming to use reference-based repair. Loading an original mesh requires matching vertex order and connectivity.
Choose method and direction, enable nearby-surface or body-clearance protection if needed, then brush a narrow rim at low Strength. Inspect it from the side. This beta neither adds/deletes vertices nor guarantees removal of every crossing.
Retired width, section and spacing repair presets, Fix Penetration and Paint Gap are absent from the current picker.
Open Object Mode → Sidebar → cvELD Shell fit Brush → Local Shape Tools. Use a single-user rest mesh with active viewport modifiers disabled. Cyan lines show a separate preview; the source stays unchanged until application.
Local Rescue
Pick a closed body as Rescue Body.
Put fixed vertices in RescueFixed and set the radius and clearance.
Start Local Rescue Brush and left-drag over the penetration.
Wait for a completed preview, inspect it and press Enter to apply. Esc discards the interaction.
Ambiguous inside/outside input, such as an open body or overlapping double surface, is refused. Input with shape keys is unsupported.
Protected Resize
Paint hard parts in the same mesh at weight 1 in ShapeProtect.
Set local X/Y/Z Resize Scale. (1.2,1,1) widens X by 20%.
Preview Protected Resize, inspect and apply.
Connected hard parts translate without reshaping; flexible intervals absorb the resize. Infeasible compression is refused. Body clearance is not maintained.
Curved Cage
Select the target and Create Curved Cage to make 26 controls.
Bend the cage in Edit Mode without adding, deleting or reordering controls.
Return to Object Mode, select the original target, then preview and apply the cage deformation.
A box-shaped rest cage bends six curved patches. Reapplication uses the recorded original binding. If calculation does not converge, review padding or maximum integration resolution (initially 64).
Apply Preview or Enter commits; Esc, right-click or Discard Preview cancels. Completed interactions support Undo. For relative shape keys, select Basis and set values to zero to inspect the rest form (except Local Rescue, which refuses shape keys). Absolute keys, shared or linked meshes and active viewport modifiers are unsupported.
3-second operation example (frame-stepped) · Resize while protecting hard parts3-second operation example (frame-stepped) · Preview and apply a curved cage3-second operation example (frame-stepped) · Paint, inspect and apply Local Rescue
Body Shrink
Shrink the body toward bone axes while retaining its position along each axis. Results are recorded in an owned shape key.
Select an armature-linked body, enter Edit Mode and choose Shrink.
Auto Bone uses nearby deform bones. Click its button to choose a bone from the list, or use the eyedropper in the viewport. Ctrl-click also picks a bone; repeat at the same position to cycle overlaps.
Set Min Diameter and Shrink Amount, then brush. The first stroke prepares an owned key.
Choose Restore Shape to remove the local shrink displacement. Choose another brush from the picker to switch tools.
Diameter and symmetry
Min Diameter starts at 2 mm. A 6 mm value stops 3 mm from the axis; zero allows collapse onto the axis. Already thinner areas are not expanded. Symmetry uses paired bone-name rules such as .L/.R. Check the counterpart bone and weights.
Recording and cancellation
The default name is Shrink_{bone}{index}, with Auto used for bone in automatic mode. Changing the picked setup creates a new owned key and retains existing ones. Customize naming in Preferences. Masks, hidden vertices, boundary and symmetry direction remain available. Esc cancels a stroke; committed strokes support Undo/Redo.
Matching bone weights narrow the candidates. Without bone-named weights, all deform bones in the armature are candidates and the nearest axis is used. Turn off Show Only Shape Key. After changing body-shape keys or connectivity, choose a non-Shrink key such as Basis to prepare a new reference.
3-second operation example (frame-stepped) · Restore a Shrink region
Using paint modes
Select a mesh in Weight, Vertex or Texture Paint and start ShellFitBrush. Refine its geometry, then finish to return to painting. These brushes change shape rather than painting weights or colors.
UVs, weights, vertex colors and images are retained, although deformation can stretch the appearance of patterns. Paint vertex/face masks and hidden geometry are respected. Relative shape keys receive the same displacement to retain their offsets. Modifier-generated vertices are not independently editable.
Native Sculpt Mode and the Image Editor are unsupported. Prepare geometry selection, roots, seams and shape references in Edit Mode.
Shortcuts and Pie
Open the leftmost header settings button → Shortcut Settings, or Preferences → ShellFitBrush → Shortcuts. The four presets configure this add-on, not Blender’s global keymap.
Shared brush actions. Alt+Left/Middle/Right rotate, pan and zoom. S: size; U: strength.
Softimage
Retains the legacy bindings for further customization.
Custom
Start with add-on actions unassigned.
Click a displayed binding and enter a new input. Each preset retains its edits. In a customized setup, the displayed bindings take precedence. Assign inputs to unassigned actions.
Pie and backup
Set each ring position under Preferences → Pie Menu. Export Shortcuts + Pie saves all four presets and ring assignments to JSON; Import restores them. Export the current setup before importing. Switching presets does not require rebuilding your custom ring.
Settings and persistence
Use … → Bar Items for visibility, simple icons and upper-row order. Middle-drag upper items to reorder. Reset Order restores ordering; Reset All Layout restores the initial visibility and layout.
Keep frequent actions visible. Toggle tool windows from their originating icons, pin them open or drag them to a useful position. Notices use the opposite side of the viewport from the bar.
Preference persistence follows Blender’s Save Preferences setting. Save the .blend as well for mesh-specific pins, seams and remembered shapes.
Artwork screenshots
Examples from the creator’s recordings
Cropped from the original recordings around each action and its result. Playback speeds follow the creator’s edit. Silent automatic loops.
Slide clothing along the surface
Fit floating clothing to the body
Pose the arm with Pin Deform
Adjust an asymmetric collar with Pin Deform
Make room inside clothing with Shrink
Shape the skin around a clothing edge
Restore a deformed sock
Artwork screenshots
Existing artwork screenshots, retained as supplied. If an older UI is visible, use the current instructions and effect-bar captures for controls.
Artwork before shape restorationArtwork after shape restoration
Active mesh → tool active → empty selection mask → hidden geometry → Pin Boundary → Size and Strength.
No fitting
Target and visibility → Fit Reach → ambiguous nearby targets → Offset → shape preservation and protections.
Another part moves too
Choose Connected Only or a selection mask. Use depth limits to exclude layers behind the hit.
Corners stay after unpinning
Flatten and Space outline sliding retains corner protection. Check sharp-edge protection and row selection.
Restore has no effect
Check remembered/backup shape compatibility. Reprepare references after vertex-count or connectivity changes.
No choices or hover help
GPU Help Cards → auto-hide → active strokes or other dialogs. Scope choices open on click.
No local shape preview
Object Mode → single-user rest mesh → modifier/key restrictions → completed calculation and result notice.
A shortcut does not work
Current preset and displayed binding → unassigned actions or conflicts. Check Object/Edit activation bindings separately.
Penetration and gap classification is per vertex; crossings through large face interiors are not guaranteed to be removed. Inspect narrow gaps, layered cloth and thick details from the side. Use Esc or Undo and try a smaller region when needed.
If the back cannot be selected, enable X-Ray. Infinite Thickness removes a depth limit; it does not toggle occlusion. For missing flow lines, place the pointer on the mesh and check Flow, Direction, Visible Faces and masks. For pin deformation, create pins and choose Move, Rotate or Scale.
Install and update
Blender 4.5.0 or newer, below 5.3. Checked on Windows with 4.5.0 and 5.2.2. Other cvELD add-ons are not required.
Drag the unextracted ZIP into Blender, or choose Edit → Preferences → Add-ons → Install from Disk.
Enable cvELD ShellFitBrush.
Select a mesh and open the 3D View sidebar.
Before updating, save the .blend and export customized Shortcuts + Pie. Restart Blender after the update. Replace the same product rather than enabling a legacy and extension copy together. This product is not started as a native Sculpt brush.
Author: Land-Y. GPL-3.0-or-later. Open support and the manual from the icons at the top right of Preferences.
Release history
2.1.0 2026-10-30
Added Symmetry Repair. In Auto, the first brushed side is copied onto the opposite side.
The same feature is available as Restore from Symmetry in Restore Shape.
Combined the direction settings into one menu. Auto is the default; explicit X/Y/Z copy directions are also available.