How to Adjust Brush Strength in Blender

Adjusting brush strength in Blender is a fundamental skill for digital sculpting, texture painting, and weight painting. This guide covers the quickest methods to modify brush intensity, including keyboard shortcuts, header options, the sidebar panel, and pen tablet pressure settings, giving you complete control over your 3D workflow.

Shortcut Method (Fastest)

  1. Position your mouse cursor in the 3D Viewport.
  2. Press Shift + F on your keyboard. A circle representing the current strength will appear around your cursor.
  3. Move your mouse inward to decrease strength or outward to increase it.
  4. Left-click to confirm the new setting. Alternatively, type a precise numerical value while the shortcut is active and press Enter.

Using the Top Header Menu

  1. Look at the Tool Settings bar located at the top of the 3D Viewport.
  2. Locate the Strength slider.
  3. Click and drag the slider left or right, or click directly on the box to type a specific value (typically ranging from 0.000 for no effect to 1.000 for maximum strength).

Using the Sidebar (N-Panel)

  1. Press N on your keyboard while hovering over the 3D Viewport to open the Sidebar menu on the right.
  2. Select the Tool tab at the top of the panel.
  3. Find the Brush Settings section.
  4. Adjust the Strength slider as needed.

Right-Click Context Menu

  1. Right-click anywhere in the 3D Viewport while in Sculpt, Texture Paint, or Weight Paint mode.
  2. Adjust the Strength slider directly in the popup context menu that appears at your cursor.

Enabling Graphics Tablet Pressure Sensitivity

If you are using a drawing tablet:

  1. Locate the Strength slider in the top toolbar or sidebar.
  2. Click the Tablet Pressure icon (a stylus symbol next to the Strength numerical value) to toggle pressure sensitivity on or off.
  3. When enabled, brush strength will dynamically scale based on how hard you press your stylus against the tablet surface.