How to Create Face Sets by Loose Parts in Blender

Blender's Face Sets feature allows sculptors to group mesh geometry for easier visibility management, masking, and targeted sculpting. When working with complex objects composed of multiple disconnected meshes combined into one object, creating these groups manually can be time-consuming. This guide provides a straightforward method to automatically generate individual Face Sets for every loose part in your mesh with a single click.

Steps to Auto-Create Face Sets by Loose Parts

  1. Prepare Your Mesh
    Ensure all separate geometry pieces are joined into a single object in Object Mode (Ctrl + J).

  2. Switch to Sculpt Mode
    Select your combined object and switch to Sculpt Mode using the top-left dropdown menu or by pressing Ctrl + Tab.

  3. Execute the Face Sets Command

    • Click the Face Sets menu in the top bar of the 3D Viewport.
    • Select Face Sets from Loose Parts.

Blender will instantly assign a distinct, color-coded Face Set to every disconnected section of geometry within the object.

Managing Your New Face Sets

After generating Face Sets from loose parts, you can use the following default shortcuts to control visibility and masking while sculpting:

  • Isolate a Loose Part: Hover your cursor over a Face Set and press Shift + H to hide all other geometry.
  • Unhide Geometry: Press Alt + H to make all hidden Face Sets visible again.
  • Hide Specific Set: Hover over a Face Set and press H to hide just that specific piece.
  • Auto-Masking by Face Sets: Enable Face Sets under the Auto-Masking dropdown menu (located in the top-right header of the 3D Viewport) to restrict your sculpt brushes to the currently selected loose part automatically.