Modeling Toolkit

To open the Modeling Toolkit, click in the ​Status line​.

Lets you initiate multiple modeling workflows from a single window.

Modeling Toolkit menus

Object
Show/Hide

Toggles the visibility of the selected object(s).

Freeze/Unfreeze

Freezes or unfreezes the selected object(s). Freezing an object makes it unselectable.

X-Ray On/Off

Toggles x-ray mode for the selected object(s), making them semi-transparent.

Tip:​ X-ray mode is useful in retopology workflows. New topology created with the Quad Draw tool
may be difficult to see when the reference surface is shaded. You can set the reference surface to
x-ray while keeping your new topology opaque. See ​Retopologize a mesh with Quad Draw​.

Show/Hide Backfaces

Toggles backface culling for the selected object(s). When Show/Hide Backfaces is turned on,
Maya hides faces with normals that point away from the camera. See also ​Backface Culling​.

Show/Hide Face Triangles

Toggles the visibility of face triangles on the selected object(s). When on, Maya shows all faces as
triangles.
Modeling Toolkit selection modes

Component selection modes

These buttons let you switch between component selection modes:

Tip:​ Ctrl-click a selection mode icon to convert your current selection to that component type.
Multi-component mode

To enter multi-component mode, click the Multi-Component button, select Select > Components >
Multi-Component from Maya's main menu, or press F7.

Multi-component mode lets you work with all three component types without changing between
selection modes. When entering multi-component mode from a single selection mode, your selection
is automatically saved.

When multi-component mode is active, the vertex, edge, and face selection mode buttons are
highlighted in the Modeling Toolkit window.

Modeling Toolkit selection options

The following options are available in the ​Modeling Toolkit​ window and let you select components in
your scene:

Pick/Marquee

Marquee select draws a rectangular box over the components you want to select. You can
interactively adjust marquee selections by dragging a marquee box, and then Alt + dragging it to a
new position.

Note:​ You can quickly toggle between the two selection styles using Tab. Holding Tab after
making a marquee selection temporarily activates Tab Drag select, letting you quickly add and
remove components from your existing marquee selection.

Drag

Drag select is like ​Paint Selection​ without a brush size. This selection style lets you drag the cursor
over components you want to select.

Drag select also lets you select components when your cursor isn't touching them, making
selections fast and easy. By default, Maya's ​preselection highlight​ and Drag select highlight the
component that is closest to the cursor.

Tweak/Marquee
Lets you tweak a component or make a marquee selection. When you drag a component, Maya
uses Tweak mode. When you drag your cursor in the empty space around the object, Maya uses
the Marquee tool. See​Move components with Tweak mode​.

Tip:​ Holding ` activates tweak mode until the key is released. Pressing ` activates tweak mode
until you press ` again.

Camera Based Selection

Highlight Backfaces

When on, backfacing components are highlighted for preselection and are selectable. When this
option is disabled, backfacing components are still selectable, but they are not highlighted for
preselection.

Highlight Nearest Component

When on, highlights the closest component to the cursor before you select it. By default, Highlight
Nearest Component is turned on in the Modeling Toolkit and the Select Tool settings. When
Highlight Nearest Component is turned off, components are only highlighted when your cursor is
placed on top of them.

Highlight Backfaces

When on, backfacing components are highlighted for preselection and are selectable. When this
option is disabled, backfacing components are still selectable, but they are not highlighted for
preselection.

Soft Selection
When Soft Select is enabled, the falloff region around your selection receives a weighted
transformation based on the falloff curve. If this option is enabled and nothing is selected, moving
your cursor over polygon components displays a preview of the soft selection. See ​Soft Select a
NURBS or polygon surface mesh​.

Tip:​ Use the b hotkey to toggle soft selection mode. Hold b and drag to resize the soft selection
falloff area.

Falloff mode

Sets the shape of the falloff region.

Volume

Extends a spherical radius around your selection and gradually influences all the vertices that are
within the spherical range.

Surface

When the Falloff Mode is set to Surface, the falloff is based on a circular region that conforms to
the contours of the surface. Surface mode is useful when you want the soft selection falloff to
conform to a surface. For example, you can separate the upper lip from the bottom lip on a
characters face using the surface-based falloff mode.

Global

When Falloff Mode is set to Global, the falloff region is determined in the same way as the Volume
setting except that the Soft Selection influence will affect any mesh within the Falloff Radius,
including meshes that are not part of the original selection.

Object

When Falloff Mode is set to Object, you can translate, rotate, or scale objects in the scene with
falloff, without deforming the objects themselves.

Falloff radius

Determines the area of deformation. Enter a value in the falloff radius field to adjust the area.

Tip:​ B + middle-drag to resize the size of the falloff area.

 Falloff curve

Lets you modify the shape of the falloff. The shape of the curve indicates the shape of the falloff
around the selected components. You can add additional points to the curve by clicking on the
graph and you can modify the position of existing points by click-dragging.

Reset Curve

Resets all Soft Selection settings to their default values.

Symmetry

Turns on symmetry. See ​Symmetry Settings​.

Tip:​ Middle-click the button to toggle between the last selected Symmetry setting and Off.

Modeling Toolkit selection constraints

You can use the selection constraints to quickly preview and select a group of components.

Tip:​ Middle-click the button to toggle between the last selected selection constraint and Off.

The selection constraints in the Modeling Toolkit do not filter your selection. The following options
use propagation, expanding your selection to other components on the same mesh.

Off

Disables selection constraints.

Angle

When on, moving your cursor over a mesh automatically highlights contiguous components that
fall within the specified angle tolerance. Clicking a highlighted area selects it.

Marquee selecting when the Angle selection constraint is on selects all of the components inside
the marquee and expands the selection to all components outside of the marquee that are within
the specified angle tolerance.

Note:​ When faces are selected, the angle of each face normal is compared to determine if it falls
within the specified angle tolerance. When edges or vertices are selected, the selection is first
converted to its associated faces, and then the angle of each face normal is compared.
Border

When on, moving your cursor over a mesh automatically highlights existing borders. Clicking a
highlighted border selects it.

If you make a marquee selection and it contains border components, only border components
inside and outside the marquee are selected.

Edge Loop

When on, moving your cursor over a mesh automatically highlights edge loops. Clicking a
highlighted edge loop selects it.

Marquee selecting when the Edge Loop selection constraint is on selects the edges inside the
marquee and any associated edge loops. You can also add and remove edge loops while making
a marquee selection. See ​Add and remove components from a selection​.

Note:​ The Edge Loop selection constraint is only available when Edge selection mode is on.

Edge Ring

When on, moving your cursor over a mesh automatically highlights edge rings. Clicking a
highlighted edge ring selects it.

Marquee selecting when the Edge Ring selection constraint is on selects the edges inside the
marquee and any associated edge rings. You can also add and remove edge rings while making a
marquee selection. See​Add and remove components from a selection​.

Note:​ The Edge Ring selection constraint is only available when Edge selection mode is on.

Shell

When on, moving your cursor over a mesh automatically highlights existing shells. Clicking a
highlighted shell selects it. This option is useful for objects made from a series of individual pieces,
like meshes that are created using Mesh > Combine.

UV Edge Loop

When on, moving your cursor over a mesh automatically highlights edge loops ending at UV
texture borders.
Modeling Toolkit transform constraints

The transform constraints in the Modeling Toolkit let you slide components along the edges or
surface of the active mesh.

You can turn on a transform constraint in the ​Modeling Toolkit​ or the tool settings for any of the
transform tools.

Tip:​ Middle-click the button to toggle between the last selected transform constraint and Off.

Off

(Default) Disables transform constraints. Lets you use the transform tools to translate, rotate, or
scale your components without a constraint.

Edge Slide

Lets you slide the selected components along the edges of the active object. You can also hold
Ctrl + Shift to activate this constraint when moving components in Component Mode. See ​Slide
polygon components​.

Surface Slide

Lets you slide the selected components on the active object's surface. See ​Move polygon
components along a surface​.

Note:​ You can also use Make Live to constrain tools to a surface. For example, you can constrain
the Quad Draw tool to the surface of the mesh you want to retopologize. Transform constraints are
disabled whenMake Live is active. For more information on retopology, see ​Retopologize a mesh
with Quad Draw​.

Modeling Toolkit transform tool settings

The transform tool settings appear in the Modeling Toolkit window only when one of Maya's
transform tools is active.
Modeling Toolkit custom shelf

The Custom Shelf area holds icons from the default shelves, so they are easily accessible from
within the Modeling Toolkit window.

To add an icon to the custom shelf

1. Ctrl + Shift + middle-drag an icon from one of Maya's shelves into the Custom Shelf area of
the Modeling Toolkit window.
2. The icon is copied from its original location and appears in the Modeling Toolkit's Custom
Shelf.

3.
4. Tip:​ To remove an icon from the Custom Shelf, right-click an icon and select Delete.

Modeling Toolkit hotkeys

Tip:​ In the Modeling Toolkit window, expand the Keyboard/Mouse Shortcuts section in the Quad
Draw Options, Connect Options, Multi-Cut Options, and Target Weld Options to see the hotkeys for
each tool.

Function

Ctrl + Tab Multi-component selection mode

 F9 Vertex selection mode

F10 Edge selection mode

F11 Face selection mode

Switch component modes Ctrl-click a selection mode icon (vertex, edge,

face).

See ​Select components with the Modeling Toolkit​.

Function

` Tweak mode. See ​Move components with

Tweak mode​.

b Soft selection mode. See ​Soft Select

components​.

d Custom pivot editing mode. See ​Change the

pivot point​.

Function

x Snap to grid intersections

c Snap to curves

v Snap to CV, vertex, pivot

Quad Draw Tool

See ​Quad Draw Tool hotkeys​.

Multi-Cut Tool

See ​Multi-Cut Tool hotkeys​.

Hotkey Function

Click an edge Insert an edge loop.

Shift + click a component Insert connecting edges between components.

Ctrl + click a component Remove components from selection.

See ​Add edges between polygon components with the Connect Tool​.

Hotkey Function

Drag Merge components.

Middle-drag Merge components to center.

Multi-Cut Tool

The Multi-Cut tool cuts, slices, and inserts edge loops. You can extract or delete edges along a cut,
insert edge loops and cuts with edge flow and subdivisions, and edit in Smooth Mesh Preview mode.
 You can access the Multi-Cut Tool via:

● The Tools section of the ​Modeling Toolkit​ window, and clicking .

● The main menu bar, by selecting Mesh Tools > Multi-Cut.
● The marking menu, by selecting Multi-Cut Tool (to open the marking menu, Shift + right-click
when an object, edge, or face is selected).

Type Manipulator
The Type Manipulator is a Universal Manipulator that allows you to transform a type mesh's
individual characters, words, or lines. It is accessible via the Type node by clicking the
corresponding button in the Text tab.

Type Manipulator Tool Settings

The Type Manipulator Tool Settings can be found in the Tool Settings Editor or via a marking menu
by Ctrl + Shift + right-clicking when the Type Manipulator is active.

Manipulator Mode

Specifies the level of object to manipulate. Options include by Character, Word, or Line.

Translate, Scale

Transforms the selected object as determined by the Manipulator Mode appropriately.

Reset Manipulations

Returns all type manipulations for the selected object back to 0. Current affects the selected object
as determined by the Manipulator Mode, while All affects the entire selected Type mesh.

Modeling Toolkit commands and tools

The following commands and tools in the Modeling Toolkit window let you create and edit polygons.

Mesh

The following commands are also available in the Mesh menu.

Combine

Combines the selected meshes into a single polygon mesh. Many polygon editing operations can
only be performed between two separate mesh shells once they have been combined into the
same mesh.

See ​Combine polygon meshes​.

 Separate

Separates disconnected shells in a mesh into separate meshes. You can separate all of the shells
at once, or you can specify the shells you want separated by first selecting some faces on the
shells you want separated.

See ​Separate polygon shells into separate meshes​.

Smooth

Smooths the selected polygon mesh by adding divisions to the polygons on the mesh.

See ​Smooth a mesh by adding new polygons​.

Boolean

Performs a boolean Union, combining the volume of the meshes you select. The original two
objects are preserved minus the intersection.

See ​Booleans​.

Components

The following commands are also available in the Edit Mesh menu.

Extrude

Lets you pull new polygons out from existing faces, edges, or vertices.

See ​Extrude command​ and ​Extrude a polygon face, edge, or vertex​.

Bevel

Lets you chamfer vertices or round the edges of a polygon mesh. A Bevel expands each selected
vertex and edge into a new face.

See ​Bevel command​ and ​Bevel polygon edges​.

Bridge
 Lets you create a bridge (additional faces) between two groups of faces or edges on an existing
polygon mesh.

See ​Bridge command​ and ​Bridge between border edges​.

Add Divisions

Splits selected polygon components (edges or faces) into smaller components. Add Divisions is
useful when you need to add detail to an existing polygon mesh in either a global or localized
manner. Polygon faces can be divided into three-sided (triangles) or four-sided (quadrangles)
faces. Edges can be subdivided so that the number of sides on a face is increased.

See ​Divide polygon edges​.

Tools

The following tools are also available in the Mesh Tools menu.

Multi-Cut

Lets you cut, slice, and insert edge loops. You can extract or delete edges along a cut, insert edge
loops and cuts with edge flow and subdivisions, and edit in Smooth Mesh Preview mode.

See ​Multi-Cut Tool​, ​Split polygons with the Multi-Cut Tool​ and ​Multi-Cut Tool Options​.

Target Weld

Lets you merge vertices or edges to create a shared vertex or edge between them. Components
can only be merged if they belong to the same mesh.

See ​Target Weld Tool​, ​Merge polygon components​, and ​Target Weld Tool Options​.

Connect

Lets you connect vertices and/or edges via other edges.

See ​Connect Tool​, ​Connect polygon components​ and ​Connect Tool Options​.

Quad Draw
 Lets you model in a natural and organic using a streamlined, one-tool workflow for retopologizing
meshes. The manual retopology process lets you create clean meshes while preserving the shape
of your reference surface.

See ​Quad Draw Tool​, ​Retopologize a mesh with Quad Draw​ and ​Quad Draw Tool Options​.

You can combine two or more polygon meshes into one polygon object using the Combine feature.
The Combine feature assembles the meshes as polygon shells in the new polygon mesh node that
gets created. The topology of the combined meshes is not modified in any other way.

In general, you must combine separate polygon meshes before you can perform many types of
polygon editing operations. For example, if you wanted to merge the edges/vertices of two halves of
a character, you must first Combine the meshes into one object.

To combine two or more polygon meshes into one mesh

1. Select the meshes you want to combine into a single object.

2. Select Mesh > Combine or click in the ​Modeling Toolkit​.

3. The meshes are combined as separate polygon shells into a new polygon mesh node.

4.
5. The new object is named after the first selected object and increments by 1. For example, if
you select pSphere1 and combine it with pCube1, the combined mesh will be named
pSphere2.
6. Tip:​ Combining meshes can result in non-manifold geometry, where the normals of adjacent
faces are pointing in opposite directions. To avoid this, use Mesh Display > Conform to flip
all normals in the combined mesh to the same side.
7. Tip:​ Make sure you're aware of where the pivot of your newly combined mesh is located, as
it will affect future transforms you apply to it. You can control the location of the pivot upon
combination via the​Combine Options​.