How does the Component Tree work: Levels, ordering, groups, and how the model is combined from the bottom up?

Overview

The Component Tree is the control center for all 3D modeling. Every 3D component you create or import appears here. The order, grouping and Levels of components in the tree determine the final 3D Composite Model.

How the Composite Model is Built

The 3D view always shows the Composite Model, the result of combining all visible components from the bottom of the Component Tree to the top:

1. Start at the very bottom component or Level in the tree. Its combine mode only decides how it combines with the modeling plane.
2. Combine each component above it with the running result using that component's combine mode.
3. The final result at the top is the Composite Model you see in the 3D view.

Critical implication: a component's combine mode describes how IT combines with everything BELOW it, not what is above it. Moving a component up or down changes what it combines with, which changes the result.

Each component in the tree has an icon showing its current combine mode: Add, Subtract, Merge, Low, Multiply, or Group.

Levels: The Two-Tier System

Components are organized within Levels. Think of Levels as folders that contain components.

1. First, all components within a Level combine with each other (bottom to top within that Level).
2. The Level's combined result then combines with the Levels below it using the Level's own combine mode.

Why Levels matter:

• Group related elements so they combine with each other before they interact with other elements.
• Apply one combine mode to a whole group at once (a whole face model on one Level that merges with a background on another Level).
• A Level Base Height raises everything on the Level together.
• Mirror Mode and Clipping are set per Level.

Example Level layout for a complex portrait relief (adapt to your project):

• Level 1 (bottom): background and base surface, zero plane, base dome
• Level 2: major body elements (face base, hair mass)
• Level 3: feature details (nose, ears, mouth, eyes)
• Level 4: fine details (wrinkles, textures, embellishments)

Selecting Components

• In the Component Tree: click to select. Hold Ctrl and click to add or remove single components. Hold Shift and click to select a range from the first click to the last. Double-click a component or Level to open Component Properties.
• In the 2D view: click the grayscale preview of the component.
• In the 3D view: double-click the component (a single left-click twists the view). Hold Shift and double-click to add more. A selected component is tinted red; parts hidden under another component are tinted green.
• When a component is hard to pick in the 3D view: right-click above it to get a list of every component under that point, or use the tree or the 2D preview instead.

Moving Components in the Tree

Select one or more components and click one of the blue arrow buttons at the top of the tree, or drag them with the mouse. Holding Ctrl while dragging copies the component to the new position instead of moving it.

Moving a component up means it combines with more of the components below it, which can change the result. Moving it down means it combines with fewer.

Groups in the Component Tree

Grouped components show their own icon and a plus or minus control to the left of the visibility checkbox. These expand or collapse the group to show or hide its contents. Groups are lighter organizational containers. Levels are the main structure and are processed before the Levels are combined, so use Levels for major model sections and Groups for sets of closely related elements.

Visibility Toggle

Each component has a visibility checkbox. Hidden components are not part of the Composite Model, and they are also left out of Create Component from Visible Model (Aspire). Use this to:

• Compare different modeling approaches by toggling between visible sets.
• Keep backup copies of components out of the way.
• Isolate one component to check it without deleting the others.

Editing in the 3D View

Select a component, then click it again in the 3D view (or click the Transform Mode icon) to show handles and icons for Total Height, Shape Height, Base Height and Additional Settings. Additional Settings let you change the combine mode, Fade, Tilt and Appearance without opening the full Component Properties form. With Fade and Tilt you set the direction in the 3D view.

Baking and Levels

Baking is needed when you want to use Sculpting (Aspire) or Distort on a multi-component group, and the components being baked must be on the same Level. If components span different Levels and you need to sculpt them together, use Create Component from Visible Model (Aspire) instead. See the entry on what Baking does.

Best Practice: Name Your Components

Give each component a meaningful name when you create it. In a scene with 20 or more components, "Component 1," "Component 2" and so on become unmanageable. Good names: "Face base dome," "Nose central form," "Border molding," "Background texture."

For Level menu options, Mirror Mode and Level Clipping, see the entry on Levels. For naming conventions and a Level structure for big projects, see the entry on organizing a complex multi-component model.