[Blender Add-on] Organize meshes with Volume Preserving Smoothing

Sculpting in Blender

Sculpting is a method of creating 3D models, and it is characterized by the fact that it can be done like kneading clay.
The function is very easy to use, but it can also cause polygon clutter if you use sculpting to create a lot of deformation and organic models.

The add-on introduced in this article, “Volume Preserving Smoothing,” is useful in such cases.

This add-on was created by bartoszstyperek, whose add-on “Hair Tool” was previously introduced in STYLY MAGAZINE.

Let’s take a look at how to use it in detail.

Download and install Volume Preserving Smoothing

You can download it from Gumroad.
Please refer to our past articles for download instructions.

As of March 2022, the price is $8.00.
Set the price to $8 or more when you download.

After entering the required fields, a file called vps_smoothing_2.52.zip will be downloaded.

Then open Blender and click on Preferences from the icon in the upper left corner of the screen to go to the settings screen.

Make sure the Add-on section is set and click the Install button.

Select the downloaded ZIP and click Install Add-on to complete installation.

The screen will automatically switch to show Volume Preserving Smoothing.
Please remember to check the checkbox and make sure it is activated.

Let’s try Volume Preserving Smoothing!

It is easy to use.
First, prepare a model with disparate vertex positions.
Click the Object Mode button in the upper left corner of the screen to switch to Edit Mode.It is easy to use.
First, prepare a model with disparate vertex positions.
Click the Object Mode button in the upper left corner of the screen to switch to Edit Mode.

Select multiple vertices to be fixed.
It is convenient to use the circle selection method.

Press the [C] key to display a circle around the cursor, and click and move the mouse to select all vertices in the circle at once.
The size of the circle can be changed with the mouse.

When all vertices are selected, right-click to cancel the circle selection function.

Once selected, right-click and select the function you want to use from Mesh Smoothing at the bottom of the menu list.

Mesh Smoothing Function List

Inflate Smoothing

Smooth Amount	Amount of smooth applied
Iterations	Number of times the process is repeated
Inflate	Roughness of the surface
Normal Smooth	Normal Smooth
Tension  ・Uniform ・ Inverse to edge length  ・Proportional to edge length	Tension ・Uniform ・Inverse to edge length ・Proportional to edge length
Sharp edge weight	Vertex repositioning
Freeze border	Do not apply to model edges

Laplacian Smooth

Smooth Amount	Amount of smooth applied
Iterations	Number of process iterations
Origin Influence	Influence of the vertex position before processing
Tension  ・Uniform  ・ Inverse to edge length  ・Proportional to edge length	Tension ・Uniform ・Opposed to edge length ・Proportional to edge length
Sharp edge weight	Vertex repositioning
Freeze border	Do not apply to model edges

Volume Smoothing (slower)

Smooth Amount	Amount of smooth applied
Iterations	Number of iterations
Tension  ・Uniform  ・ Inverse to edge length  ・Proportional to edge length	Tension ・Uniform ・Opposed to edge length ・Proportional to edge length
Sharp edge weight	Vertex repositioning
Freeze border	Do not apply to model edges
Normal Smooth	Normal smooth
Inflate	Surface roughness

Detailed description of functions

Iterations

After selecting one of the functions, you can apply smoothing by increasing the value of Iterations in the menu at the lower left of the screen.
As shown in the comparison below, with a value of 9, each vertex is moved to an equal position.

Sharp edge weight

This function can be used when the edge of a three-dimensional object is determined by the Make Sharp function.
To use the Make Sharp function, first click the edge selection icon in the upper left corner of the screen, then select an edge of an object such as a cube.

Then right-click and select Make Shape from the menu to create the edges of the model.

In this state, use [A] key to select all → Mesh Smoothing and increase the value of Sharp edge weight to move the vertices located in the edge-like shape applied to the Shape.

Freese border

If this item is checked, it will not be applied to the edge of the model.