Chisel
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Emboss & Engrave

Emboss raises the surface of one shape, the host, wherever another shape, the stamp, passes through it. Engrave sinks it there instead. The step this makes has two edges, Outer and Inner, and each can be rounded.

With the text selected, the plate Shift-clicked, pie Emboss: the letters rise out of the plate

Emboss and Engrave buttons

Emboss and Engrave in the pie (South) and in the right-click Modifiers menu mark the active shape, the host, with every selected Chisel shape as a stamp. Each stamp gets its own modifier with a Strength of 0.1, and:

  • stops rendering on its own and shows a violet outline;
  • becomes a child of the host, if it had no parent;
  • stays selected, the first one active.

With a stamp or a Boolean cutter selected, ' and ; also switch its join to Emboss or Engrave (see Boolean). Add Modifier in the panel adds an empty Emboss or Engrave; you then pick its Target in the panel.

Mode

Emboss

Raises the host’s surface by Strength where the stamp passes through it.

Engrave

Sinks the host’s surface by Strength where the stamp passes through it.

The text stamp selected, ': the raised letters become engraved

Strength

How far the mark stands out of the surface (Emboss) or goes into it (Engrave). It is measured from the surface, so on a curved shape the mark follows the curve. Where the stamp reaches less than Strength past the surface, the step is only as high as the stamp.

Color Edge

With Color Edge off, the stamp’s material colours only the raised top or the sunk floor, and the wall of the step keeps the host’s colour. With it on, the wall takes the stamp’s colour too, blended across the Outer edge.

Color Edge off (left) and on (right)

Outer and Inner

Outer rounds the edge where the step meets the surrounding surface; Inner rounds the top of a raised feature or the floor of a sunk one. Each has its own radius, profile and, on Chamfer, Smooth.

The yellow Strength arc dragged, then the Inner arc: the letters rise, then their tops round

Settings

The Emboss in the Chisel Modifiers panel, both edges on Chamfer

SettingDefaultRangeWhat it does
Expand arrowclosedShows or hides the settings.
HeaderEmboss: or Engrave:, the stamp and the strength, e.g. Emboss: Stamp (0.150); (no target) in red when the stamp was deleted.
Move up, Move downMove the modifier in the stack.
PinoffKeep the modifier at the end of the stack.
Remove (X)Delete the modifier.
ModeEmbossEmboss, EngraveRaise or sink the surface.
Targetnoneany Chisel shape but the hostThe stamp. A stamp picked here stops rendering too, but is not made a child of the host.
Strength0.10.001 – 10 (soft max 1)The height of the step.
Color EdgeoffColour the step with the stamp’s material too.
Profile (under Outer)RoundRound, Sharp, Soft, Tight, ChamferThe outer edge’s profile.
Outer0 m0 and up (soft max 2)The outer edge’s radius.
Smooth0 m0 and up (soft max 0.5)Rounds an outer Chamfer’s two edges. Shown on Chamfer.
Inner Profile (under Inner)RoundRound, Sharp, Soft, Tight, ChamferThe inner edge’s profile.
Inner0 m0 and up (soft max 2)The inner edge’s radius.
Inner Smooth0 m0 and up (soft max 0.5)Rounds an inner Chamfer’s two edges. Shown on Chamfer.

Viewport handles

With a stamp selected, three arcs show at the top right of the selection: yellow for an Emboss, violet and a little higher for an Engrave. From the inside out they are:

HandleDrag outwardKeys while dragging
Strength arcA higher Strength on every Emboss (or Engrave) that uses the stampShift precision, Ctrl snap
Inner arcA larger Inner radiusShift, Ctrl, 1–5 profile, S Smooth
Outer arcA larger Outer radiusthe same

The stamp’s violet outline is display only: click the stamp there to select it. A violet target dot at its origin shows when Dots are on.

Keys

KeyWhat it does
' / ;Next / previous join for every modifier that uses the selected stamp
Ctrl + BDrag the Outer radius of every modifier that uses the selected stamp. Keys: see Blending

In the menus

  • Pie Q, South: Emboss and Engrave start the first grid’s second row.
  • Pie, East, with the host active: two rows per modifier: inner profile icons, Inner, its Smooth, Strength; outer profile icons, Outer, its Smooth, the stamp’s name.
  • Pie, South-West, with a stamp selected: the outer profile icons and Outer, the inner profile icons and Inner (each with Smooth on Chamfer), then Emboss or Engrave, which drags the strength.
  • Right-click, with a stamp selected: Outer Profiles ▸, Outer, Inner Profiles ▸, Inner (each with Smooth on Chamfer), then Emboss or Engrave.
  • Tape tree: a stamp is listed under the host with ▲ (Emboss) or ▼ (Engrave).

Tips

Text stamps

A Text shape’s letters are extruded from the text’s plane in one direction, along its local Z axis. Place that plane below the host’s surface so the letters pass through it.

Limits and known issues

Mesh stamps

With a Mesh shape as the stamp, keep Strength and the radii within its Field Margin, or raise the margin and press Rebake SDF.

See also