Modeling Mode Quick Start

The Modeling Mode toolset in Unreal Engine is used to create meshes, rapidly prototype new level geometry, and edit existing meshes all without leaving the Editor.

This quick start guide walks you through the creation of a wood crate using several of the tools in Modeling Mode. You start by creating a new primitive shape and add detail using several of the PolyEdit tools. Next, you prepare your model for texturing using the UV tools. Finally, you add a Material and drop it into your Level with full collision and physics simulation.

Prerequisite Topics

Before starting this quick start guide, we recommend you familiarize yourself with Modeling Mode and how Unreal Engine handles 3D models.

Although many tools in Modeling Mode are similar to their counterparts in other modeling software, there are a few key differences in how the Modeling Mode editor structures mesh editing that you should know before you begin working with it.

For more information, see the Modeling Mode Overview.

1 - Creating a Box Primitive

Before you start, create a new project based on the First Person Game template. For more information on creating new projects in Unreal Engine, see Creating a New Project.

1. Open Modeling Mode by clicking the Select Mode drop down menu and select Modeling. This will open the Mode Toolbar and Modeling panel.

   

2. In the Shapes category at the top of the Mode Toolbar, click Box and adjust the settings in the Modeling panel to your desired size. For this guide, the default settings are fine. This creates a 100 centimeter box that is about half the height of the default character.

   

3. Click in the Viewport to create your box, then click Complete at the bottom of the screen or press Enter.

2 - Creating the Outer Frame

Turning your primitive shape into a detailed 3D model begins with defining its PolyGroups.

It can be helpful to collapse the sections you are not using in the Mode Toolbar.

1. Select the box in the viewport. In the Mode Toolbar, find the Attributes section and click GrpGen. This will generate PolyGroups for the box.

   

2. The default Conversion Mode and settings are fine for this Quick Start, so click the Accept button at the bottom of the viewport or press Enter.

   

3. In the Mode Toolbar, locate the PolyModel tools section and click PolyEd. This will open the PolyEdit tools in the Modeling panel.

   

4. Select one of the faces in the Viewport and click Inset. Move the mouse in the viewport until the face is inset the amount shown in the image below.

   

   Click the mouse again to inset the face.

5. Select the inner face you created and click Extrude. Extrude the face inward to create the outer frame of the crate.

   

   If grid snapping is enabled in the viewport, the distance that the face extrudes is equal to the Position Grid Snap value set in your Viewport. Adjusting this setting can give you more control during the editing process.

6. Repeat this process for each side of the crate. Don't forget the bottom face.

3 - Adding Additional Detail

Next, you will add a cross brace to the outer frame of the crate.

1. In the PolyEd tools, select the inner face you just extruded and click the Decompose button. This will split the face into its component triangles and create an edge from corner to corner.

   

2. Select the new edge you created. Then hold Shift and select the additional edges in the corners connected to the new edge as shown in the image below.

   

   With the edges selected, navigate to the Edge Edits section and click Bevel. Leave the settings at the defaults and click the Apply button at the top of the menu. This splits the edge and creates a new face.

   You can disable Select Vertices and Select Faces in the Selection Filter section of the Tools Details panel to make selecting individual edges easier.

3. Select the new face and extrude it until it is level with the outer frame.

   

4. This creates two inner faces, one at the end of the extruded cross brace and one in the inner corner. Move your camera view inside the crate and select the inside faces as shown below.

   

   

   Click Delete or press the Delete key to remove the faces.

5. The Weld tool joins two edges at the location of the last one selected. Select the two edges shown below.

   

   Click Weld.

6. Repeat this process for the other end of the inner frame.

7. Repeat the process for each side of the crate.

4 - Unwrapping UVs

To display the wood texture correctly, the crate will need to be UV unwrapped.

1. Since you have made significant changes to the original box shape, click GrpGen and generate new PolyGroups for the crate. Change the Min Group Size to 3 to generate six new PolyGroups (one per side) similar to the image below.

   

   Click Accept or press Enter to continue.

2. Next, go to the UVs section of the menu and select the Unwrap tool. At the top of the Modeling panel, open the Island Generation dropdown menu and select PolyGroups.

   

3. Change the value of the Texture Resolution to 2048. This changes the offset between the UV islands to make sure there are enough pixels between them.

   

4. To see the generated UV map, click the checkbox for the Enabled option in the Preview UV Layout section of the menu. Your UV map will look similar to the image below. Click Accept or press Enter to finalize the UV map.

   

5. Finally, check the quality of the generated UV map by adding a wood material to the crate. In the Details panel, open the Materials section and click the dropdown menu for Element 0. Search for the M_Wood_Pine Material and apply it to the crate.

   

5 - Bring the Crate into the Level

Make the crate ready for your Level by adding Simplified Box Collision in the Static Mesh Editor and enabling Physics Simulation.

1. Locate your crate asset in the Content Browser and open it in the Static Mesh Editor. This can be done by navigating to the FirstPerson/Maps/_GENERATED/User folder and double clicking your box asset.

   

   You will notice that the version of your crate in the Static Mesh Editor does not have the M_Wood_Pine Material applied to it. Adding a Material to a Static Mesh through the Details panel only applies it to that instance of the static mesh. Applying the pine Material in the Static Mesh Editor will apply it to all future instances of the crate.

2. Click on the Collision menu and select Add Box Simplified Collision to add a basic collision box to the crate.

   

3. Locate the Collision Complexity section in the Details panel. Open the drop down menu and select Project Default.

   

4. Back in the Editor window, enable Simulate Physics in the Details panel.

   

Result

Over the course of this quick start, you created a wood crate Asset using the Modeling Mode toolset, entirely inside the Unreal Editor. You added detail to your model, added a UV map, and a wood Material.

Finally, you added appropriate collision settings and enabled physics to make your crate a game ready Asset.