Digital sculpting basics

Step-by-step

1. 1

   Enter Sculpt Mode

   Select a mesh and switch the mode dropdown to Sculpt Mode. The toolbar on the left lists every brush — Draw, Clay Strips, Crease, Grab, Smooth and more.
2. 2

   Enable Dynamic Topology

   Press Ctrl + D to turn on Dyntopo. Blender now adds and removes polygons as you sculpt, so you never run out of resolution. Set 'Detail Size' lower for finer detail.
3. 3

   Block out the form

   Start with Clay Strips at a large radius to build broad volume. Hold Shift while sculpting to smooth. Don't worry about detail yet — focus on silhouette.
4. 4

   Refine with smaller brushes

   Lower the brush radius (F) and strength (Shift + F). Use Crease for hard wrinkles, Grab to reposition large areas, and Inflate to puff volume out.
5. 5

   Add fine detail

   Switch to a Standard brush with Alpha textures for skin pores or scales. Use the Mask brush (M) to protect areas you don't want to disturb.

Keyboard shortcuts

Watch the tutorial