Place Ring

Place Ring is an alternative drawing mode for the Draw Quads operation. Instead of freely painting a strip of quads or dragging continuously along the surface, you click a handful of points to define a path, then the tool fits a smooth curve through them and builds a ring-based sleeve of quads along it. This gives you deliberate control over where each ring lands before any geometry is created, making it ideal for retopologizing tube-like forms such as arms, legs, fingers, and torsos.

Tip

You can achieve the same red wax shading effect in the screenshots seen here by enabling the “Red Wax” viewport MatCap option.

When to Use Place Ring

Place Ring works best when you are retopologizing:

Cylindrical or tube-like forms such as arms, legs, fingers, and necks, especially where the form bends or winds, since a few well-placed points describe a curve more predictably than a continuous drag.
Paths where you want to check the result before committing. Because placement and editing are separate phases, you can reposition, insert, or delete points and watch the preview update before any geometry is created.
Limbs that need varying loop density, for example denser loops near a joint for better deformation (see Per-Point Loop Density).

For flat or planar surfaces, the standard Draw Quad Strips mode is usually more appropriate.

Switching to Place Ring Mode

While the Draw Quads operation is active, press Spacebar to cycle between Strip and Place Ring mode. The current mode is displayed in the status bar at the bottom of the viewport.

You can also select Place Ring directly in the Tool Settings panel instead of pressing Spacebar. It stays selected for the rest of your session in that file, but this isn’t a saved preference: a new file always starts back on Strip mode.

Placing Points

Activate Draw Quads by holding D (or clicking the operation in the right-click menu).
Switch to Place Ring mode by pressing Spacebar if it is not already active.
Click on the retopology mesh to place your first point. A live preview line will track the mouse from that point, showing where the next point will land.
Continue clicking to add more points along the path you want the sleeve to follow. Each click adds a point; the preview curve updates through all placed points plus the live point under the mouse.

Tip

You don’t need many points: a handful placed at the start, end, and any bends is usually enough. The curve is fitted smoothly through them.
Finish placement with a double-click, Enter, or Right Click (the latter two require at least 2 points already placed). A double-click adds one final point at the cursor before finishing; Enter and Right Click finish without adding a pending point.

Finishing placement does not create any geometry yet. It moves you into the editing phase below, where you can review and adjust the whole path first.

Editing the Path

Once placement is finished, the path can be freely adjusted before it is committed to geometry:

Drag an existing point by clicking and holding on it, then moving the mouse. The point follows the cursor in screen space at its current depth.
Insert a new point by clicking anywhere on the curve between two existing points (not on a point itself).
Extend the path by holding Ctrl and clicking away from the path. This adds a new point at whichever end (start or finish) is closer to your click.
Delete a point by holding X (or Del / Backspace) and clicking on it (see Deleting and Inserting Points below). At least 2 points must remain.
Adjust loop density for the nearest point with Shift + F (see Per-Point Loop Density).

When you’re happy with the path, double-click or press Enter to commit the geometry.

Adjusting Ring Size

Press F at any time, whether you’re still placing points or already editing the path, to change the Quad Size that controls how far apart rings are spaced along the sleeve. Move the mouse to resize, left click to confirm, or right click to cancel.

Up Arrow / Right Bracket: increase the size by one step without entering the drag mode above.
Down Arrow / Left Bracket: decrease the size by one step.

Note

Quad Size is a single setting shared with Strip mode, not something saved per point or per path. Changing it while working on one Place Ring sleeve also changes the default the next time you draw quads.

Note

Resizing recomputes ring spacing for the whole path at once, anchored to its first point, not just the area near your mouse. Because the number of rings along a sleeve is its length divided by this size, adjusting it during editing can add or remove several rings rather than just making the current one bigger or smaller.

Preview Indicators

While placing or editing in Place Ring mode, several visual indicators help you understand the current state:

Indicator	Meaning
Hollow circles	Each already-placed control point.
Dashed curve line	The fitted path connecting your control points, dashed to distinguish Place Ring’s preview from the solid line used by Strip mode.
Live point (while placing)	The pending point that follows the mouse before your next click.
Amber density label	Shown above any point whose loop density has been adjusted away from its default with `Shift + F`.
Crosshair cursor	Shown while hovering a valid surface to place or insert a point.
Grab cursor	Shown while hovering an existing point that can be dragged, or while a point is being dragged.
Eraser cursor	Shown while holding `X` / `Del` / `Backspace` over a point that can be deleted.
Stop cursor	Shown when the mouse is not over any hittable surface, or when holding the delete key with no valid point under the cursor.

Controls

While Placing Points

Input	Action
`Left Click`	Add another point.
`Double Click`	Add a final point at the cursor and finish placement.
`Enter` / `Right Click`	Finish placement without adding a pending point (requires 2+ points already placed).
`Ctrl + Z`	Undo the last placed point. Undoing the first point cancels back to no path.
`F` then move mouse	Enter size adjust mode (see Adjusting Ring Size). Move the mouse to change the ring size, left click to confirm, right click to cancel.
`Up Arrow` / `Right Bracket`	Increase ring size by one step.
`Down Arrow` / `Left Bracket`	Decrease ring size by one step.
`Escape`	Cancel the whole path.
`Spacebar`	Toggle between Strip and Place Ring mode. Disabled while a path is in progress, so an accidental press cannot discard your points.

While Editing

Input	Action
`Double Click` / `Enter`	Commit the path as geometry.
`Drag a Point`	Reposition it.
`Click the Curve`	Insert a new point at that position.
`Ctrl + Click`	Extend the path from whichever end is nearer the click.
`Hold X` (or `Del` / `Backspace`) `+ Click a Point`	Delete that point (minimum 2 points enforced).
`Shift + F`	Adjust loop density at the point nearest the mouse (see Per-Point Loop Density).
`F` then move mouse	Enter size adjust mode (see Adjusting Ring Size). Move the mouse to change the ring size, left click to confirm, right click to cancel.
`Up Arrow` / `Right Bracket`	Increase ring size by one step.
`Down Arrow` / `Left Bracket`	Decrease ring size by one step.
`Escape` / `Right Click`	Cancel the whole path.

Note

Ctrl + Z is intentionally disabled during editing, since point order isn’t visible at this stage and a single undo previously discarded the whole path by accident. Use Escape to cancel everything, or hold X and click a point to remove just that one.

Per-Point Loop Density

Each control point has its own loop density, letting you pack rings more tightly near a bend (for example, around an elbow or knuckle for better deformation) without affecting the rest of the sleeve.

While editing, press Shift + F to adjust the density of the point nearest the mouse, then move the mouse left or right to increase or decrease it.
Press [1] to reset the point back to its default density.
Press Right Click to cancel and revert to the previous value.
Points with a non-default density show an amber label above them in the viewport.

Deleting and Inserting Points

Deleting a point requires a deliberate two-part gesture rather than a single keypress, so that resting a finger on X while editing can’t silently remove a point:

Hold X (or Del / Backspace). The cursor changes to an eraser when hovering a point that can be deleted, or a stop icon everywhere else.
Click on the point to remove it, or release the key without clicking to change your mind.

Inserting a point is a single click: click anywhere on the dashed curve between two existing points, away from any point itself, and a new point is added there, splitting the segment.

X-Ray Mode

When Blender’s Show X-Ray viewport option is enabled, the ring preview is drawn on both front- and back-facing geometry. This lets you see and work on the full sleeve even when parts of it are obscured by the mesh.

Target Object

Place Ring honours the Target Object setting in the same way as the rest of Quad Maker:

With a Target Object set: all raycasts project onto that object’s surface, giving the most accurate and fastest results. The target object’s scale does not need to be applied.
Without a Target Object: Place Ring will cast rays against all visible scene objects. This is slower but still works correctly.

Tip

For best results, set a target object before starting a Place Ring session. See Getting Started for how to set up your retopology workspace.

Known Limitations

Ambiguous joints: at a point placed directly on a shoulder or similarly ambiguous joint, there is no clear “far wall” for the ring to measure against, so the resulting ring may be larger than expected. This is a predictable, local artifact rather than a bug. If it happens, try moving the point slightly or adding an extra point either side of the joint.
Grazing view angles: each point’s depth is found by probing along the camera’s view ray. At very shallow, near-tangential viewing angles, that probe can in rare cases skim past the intended surface and land on unrelated geometry further away. Rotating the view before placing or adjusting a point resolves this.
View-dependent preview: because a point’s depth comes from the view ray at the moment it’s placed, the preview can look different after rotating the view, even though nothing has moved; only the point’s on-screen position is guaranteed to stay put. This settles down once you rotate to inspect the result.
Open ends: a committed sleeve is always open at both ends; there is currently no option to cap an end (for example, at a finger tip).

Tips

Tip

Place fewer points along straight sections and add extra points at bends. The curve is fitted through them, so bends need points to describe them but straight runs don’t.

Tip

Use Ctrl + Click in the editing phase to extend a path you’ve already placed, instead of cancelling and starting over.

Tip

Increase loop density near a joint if you plan to rig and deform the mesh afterwards.

Tip

Use the Smooth Vertices operation after committing a Place Ring sleeve to even out any unevenness in the resulting geometry.