Massing Brush Tools

Use the Brush tool in Zone when you want to draw or reshape UrbanGrid massing directly instead of relying only on generation.

TODO screenshot: show the Zone toolbar with Brush selected and the Brush Settings window open, with the active tool and action highlighted.

Where the brush appears

• The brush workflow is available in Zone.
• Switch from Selection to Brush in the top toolbar.
• When Brush is active, the Brush Settings window opens.

Use Selection when you want to inspect or select objects. Use Brush when you want to paint or erase massing cells.

Brush tools

Pencil

Use Pencil for local edits and first-pass sketching.

• paints cell by cell,
• supports Pencil width,
• works with Set, Add, and Subtract actions.

Use it when footprint edges or local height changes matter.

Fill

Use Fill for larger connected areas.

• fills a broader area than Pencil,
• does not expose a width slider,
• works with Set, Add, and Subtract actions.

Use it after the intended footprint logic is already clear.

Eraser

Use Eraser to remove painted massing cells.

• removes existing brushed massing,
• supports Eraser width,
• does not use Set, Add, or Subtract actions.

Use it when the massing needs to shrink, split, or reopen space.

Clear

Use Clear to reset the current brushed result.

• clears the brushed massing state,
• requires Confirm,
• is best used when the whole brushed draft should be restarted.

Use it instead of patching a fundamentally wrong painted concept.

Copy Massing

Use Copy Massing when that workflow is available.

• appears only when an Informed Space is selected,
• requires Confirm,
• is used for informed-space-related copying workflows.

Treat it as a special-purpose tool, not as the normal way to sketch a new massing concept.

Brush actions

Set

Use Set when you want an exact target height.

• available for Pencil and Fill,
• uses the Height slider,
• replaces the painted cells with the chosen height value.

Use it for first-pass massing or when a block should snap to a clear intended height.

Add

Use Add when you want to increase existing height gradually.

• available for Pencil and Fill,
• uses the Strength slider from 0.0 to 1.0,
• builds on top of existing painted massing instead of resetting it.

Use it when the shape is right but the volume needs to grow.

Subtract

Use Subtract when you want to reduce existing height gradually.

• available for Pencil and Fill,
• uses the Strength slider from 0.0 to 1.0,
• lowers existing massing without fully erasing it.

Use it when the volume is too dominant but the footprint mostly works.

Tool-selection advice

• Start with Pencil + Set when you are creating the first massing shape.
• Use Fill only after the broad footprint logic is already established.
• Use Add and Subtract for controlled height refinement.
• Use Eraser for footprint cleanup.
• Use Clear when the painted concept is beyond local repair.
• Return to Selection and the gizmo when the change is object-level rather than cell-level.

For a guided workflow, use Draw Building Massing Manually and How to edit UrbanGrid massing.