Mudbox Nexus

Release: To be announced

Nexus is our in-house variant of Mudbox and we'll be releasing it soon.

Nexus is a plugin that introduces extensive bug fixes, new features and quality-of-life improvements to Mudbox. Due to a lack of development by Autodesk over the years, we took matters into our own hands. Initially built for Mudbox 2022, support for other versions will follow.

Mudbox Nexus interface — Drag across the image to compare Mudbox 2022 and Nexus. You can also use the slider or arrow keys.

Original Mudbox 2022 interface — Drag across the image to compare Mudbox 2022 and Nexus. You can also use the slider or arrow keys.

Main features

Improved scene outliner with support for grouping and object ordering, plus fixed object visibility and locking controls and distinct indicators for selected and active objects
Object grouping lets you organize, hide or lock entire groups in one go
Improved Grab brush with support for world-space falloff, allowing for the deformation of multiple objects at once for greater flexibility with complex sculpts
Dockable, reorganizable panels and pinnable Properties layouts
Improved subdivision level display lets you identify each object's level at a glance and change levels across multiple objects at once
Optional viewport hotkey reference and mesh-statistics overlays
Mesh-group FBX export and Maya normal-handling improvements
Overhauled transform tools bring familiar 3D workflows to Mudbox, including movement constrained to a two-axis plane, pivot editing directly in the scene, and middle-mouse dragging along the active axis, as in Maya

A dedicated scene outliner

Nexus adds a structured view of your scene, with custom groups, object ordering, and visibility and lock controls. Cameras, lights and materials have their own collapsible categories for improved clarity. Distinct indicators make it easy to tell which objects are selected and which object is active.

Subdivision levels are displayed as sliders, giving you an instant overview of each object's active level relative to its available levels. Dock and reposition the Outliner to suit your workspace.

Object settings stay separate

The Properties panel shows settings for the selected object, while Tool Options stays focused on your active brush. Keeping brush and object properties separate makes it quicker and more flexible to work with both.

All property windows have been redesigned for improved clarity and a faster workflow. Dock and reorganize the panels to suit the way you work.

Pinnable layouts

Pinnable layouts let you create a separate copy of an object or brush Properties panel. Keep image-plane properties at hand, for example, even when selecting other objects or switching brushes.

Pinned layouts are saved with your Mudbox scene.

Pinned Image Plane Properties window with reference preview and image and transform controls

Redesigned brush controls

Nexus reorganizes Mudbox’s brush settings into a more compact layout, with related controls grouped together and a setting filter for quick access.

Tool Options is now a dedicated, dockable panel, separate from object properties. Move and reorganize it alongside the other Nexus panels to suit your workflow.

Redesigned shelves and icons

Alongside a full redesign of the interface and icons, Nexus introduces spacers to help keep your shelves organized.

Overhauled transform tools

Redesigned transform tools bring familiar 3D workflows to Mudbox. Constrain movement to a two-axis plane and adjust the pivot directly in the scene.

Support for middle-mouse-button transformations, as in Maya.

Nexus transform gizmo with three axis handles and a central pivot control

BUG FIXES & IMPROVEMENTS

Subdivision rebuilding and mesh workflows

Improved subdivision rebuilding

Recover lower subdivision levels from meshes that Mudbox could not rebuild to the correct base level. Nexus fixes problems with quad and triangle bases, preserving valid quad topology instead of storing a quad-looking base as triangle pairs. This resolves a common Mudbox issue and the downstream problems caused by incorrect base topology.

Rebuild combined meshes

Nexus fixes rebuilding problems that occurred in native Mudbox when meshes were combined. Rebuild multiple disconnected pieces while keeping them combined, recovering the lowest valid subdivision level shared by the pieces.

Transfer sculpted detail

A redesigned Transfer Details window offers greater flexibility and a more efficient workflow.

Safer mesh transfers from Maya

Fixed an issue where transferring meshes from Maya could corrupt a Mudbox scene, leaving it unable to be saved.

Improved Maya interchange

Export mesh groups through FBX. Exported geometry now has unlocked normals for greater flexibility.

RELEASE: TO BE ANNOUNCED

Built for Mudbox 2022 on Windows

Nexus is an Anima Lunae development project for artists working in Mudbox. Features are being refined through day-to-day use and testing.