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Turn a fitted, low-polygon costume piece into flat patterns you can arrange and test on paper. Use a simple bracer with broad panels before attempting a dense helmet.

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Before you start

Finish the part’s fit, save the costume, and select its source workspace in Workspaces. Choose a modest model for this exercise: the traditional editable model/pattern path requires fewer than 65,355 triangles. Saved display LOD alone does not make a dense working mesh suitable for this path. Open Workshop, or choose View → Workshop. This is the model-and-pattern area called Pattern or Patterns in older guides. For a suitable mesh, the 3D model and 2D pattern view are available side by side.

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1. Define a pattern area with an island

  1. Above the 3D model, click +, whose tooltip is Add Island. A default-named island is added and selected in the island selector.
  2. Activate the paintbrush button, with tooltip Activate painting island tool, and paint the faces for one broad panel of the bracer.
  3. For a connected area, activate the flood-fill button, with tooltip Activate flood fill tool. In Island Flood Fill, choose Edge threshold, then click the area to fill. Lower values fill smaller areas.
  4. Inspect the colored region. Use the erase tool to remove excess faces, or use Edit → Undo to reverse the fill.
  5. Add another island for the next panel. Repeat until you have covered the regions you intend to build.
Check: Island patterns update in the 2D view as you edit the regions. Changing the flood-fill threshold affects your next fill; it does not repaint an existing island.

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2. Choose automatic unfolding instead when appropriate

Islands and Unfold are separate routes. You do not need to click Unfold to finish an island. If you want an automatic unfold of the model instead, save a separate working copy and follow this route there:
  1. Select the model’s workspace and click Unfold above the 2D pattern view.
  2. In Unfold, review Choose an angle for the unfold threshold (0-180). Keep the displayed starting value for the first attempt.
  3. Click Apply and wait for the unfolded result.
  4. Inspect the pieces. The toolbar provides UndoUnfold, with tooltip Undo the unfold of the geometry, to return from the automatic unfold if needed.
Use the result that gives you understandable construction pieces. Curved surfaces and seam choices can require revision after a paper test.

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3. Set paper and arrange the pieces

  1. Select the workspace and expand Print in the Property Grid.
  2. Set Paper Size to the paper you will use, then check Side Margins and Top/Bottom Margins for the printer’s printable area.
  3. Click the packing button (Repack Unfold; tooltip Re-calculate the layout of the pattern parts) to calculate an arrangement.
  4. Select Transform above the 2D view. Drag a piece to move it; drag its circular rotation handle to turn it.
  5. Inspect every occupied page for unwanted overlap, clipped details, and awkward splits. Repacking recalculates the arrangement, so do it before your final manual adjustments.
Result: Your selected workspace has a reviewed pattern layout on the intended paper. Save the costume before printing. If the 2D area is absent for a dense mesh, use a lower-polygon practice model or review mesh reduction; display LOD and editable geometry are different. Next, print a measured test template.