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Flare the lower edge of a helmet without enlarging the entire model. Free Form Deformation (FFD) reshapes the mesh using a cage of control points.

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Before you start

Attach a helmet workspace to a measured avatar and make its broad position, rotation, and scale adjustments first. Follow the attachment tutorial if needed. Save a copy of the costume before changing its shape. Use Scale for whole-part resizing. Choose FFD when one region, such as the neck opening, needs a different adjustment from the crown.

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1. Create a simple cage

  1. Open the Costume view and select the attached helmet.
  2. Click FFD Tool above the viewport.
  3. In Free Form Deformation, set Width, Height, and Depth to 2.
  4. Click Apply.
Check: A cage surrounds the helmet. A 2 × 2 × 2 cage has eight corner control points. Counts are the number of control points, not physical dimensions; the dialog accepts 2–20 on each axis.

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2. Flare the opening

  1. Orbit so that you can see a lower cage control point near the opening.
  2. Click that point, activate Translate, and move it outward a small amount using the handle.
  3. Inspect the edge and crown from the side. A point influences the surrounding surface, so check that details you want to keep have not moved too far.
  4. Adjust the corresponding point on the other side for a balanced opening. Do not assume cage edits are automatically symmetric.
  5. Use Edit → Undo if an adjustment damages the silhouette, then try a smaller movement.

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3. Add control only if needed

  1. Open the dropdown beside FFD Tool and choose Edit Lattice Counts….
  2. Increase a count if the existing cage cannot make the local adjustment you need.
  3. Click Apply and inspect the shape again.
  4. Use Edit → Undo to restore the previous counts and deformation if the result is unsuitable.
Increasing counts preserves the current deformation. Reducing a count can change it because fewer control points must represent the shape. Start with the smallest cage that does the job.

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4. Finish and check the result

  1. Click FFD Tool again to leave cage editing. The adjusted helmet shape remains.
  2. Enable Fit Checker and wait for its heatmap to finish updating.
  3. Check the head and neck from several angles, including the opening the wearer must pass through. A visual gap in one pose is not proof that the helmet can be put on.
  4. Open Workshop to refresh affected pattern work, then save your costume. If Workshop is not visible, use View → Workshop.
Result: The helmet opening has a local shape adjustment while the rest of the fit remains available for review. Re-select the helmet and activate FFD Tool to resume editing its cage. If no cage appears, select an attached part rather than only its workspace. If the adjustment is too broad, undo it and increase the cage resolution. Next, prepare pattern pages.