Retopology: From High-Poly Reference to Low-Poly Mesh

STEP 01

Send your model from Blender

Build a low-poly mesh over a high-poly reference, check how it captures surface detail with live bake preview, and send the result back to Blender. This guide follows the Retopo Lab video tutorial, which demonstrates the workflow on one part of a model.

Select the high-poly objects you want to use as references. Open the Alpaca Bridge panel and click Send under Retopo Operations.

Wait for the models to load in Alpaca3D before starting retopology.

STEP 02

Navigate and choose your working area

Use these viewport controls:

In the Scene panel, use the orbit-center control to choose which object the camera rotates around. Use Frame Selected to bring the selected working area into view.

STEP 03

Create a retopology mesh

Select the high-poly reference, then click Create Retopo Mesh or press Shift + A. This creates an editable low-poly mesh associated with the reference.

Press Alt + H to isolate your working object. Press Ctrl + H to show everything again.

STEP 04

Switch between Create and Edit

The two main tools in this workflow are Create and Edit:

• W — Create: add geometry and extend the mesh.
• Q — Edit: select and adjust existing components.

In Create, choose an insertion method from Tool Options, or use the number keys:

In Edit, 1, 2, and 3 switch between vertex, edge, and face selection. Their function depends on the active tool.

STEP 05

Build topology on the reference

Start by placing geometry on the high-poly surface. To continue an existing patch, select a boundary edge and extend from it. Connect new geometry to existing points as you work around the shape.

Rotate the view regularly to check how the new mesh follows the reference.

STEP 06

Fill regions automatically

Watch for the blue fill preview when working around an enclosed region. When a valid fill is suggested, press F to apply it.

This closes the region without requiring you to place every polygon individually. Inspect the resulting topology and adjust it where needed before continuing.

STEP 07

Refine the mesh

Switch to Edit to select and reposition components. To merge vertices, hold Ctrl while dragging a vertex toward another vertex.

Use Knife to add cuts. In Create, Shift-click can insert points and split existing topology.

For cleanup:

• Delete removes selected geometry.
• Alt + Delete dissolves selected edges.

Check the result after each operation, especially around connections and small details.

STEP 08

Check detail with live bake preview

Click Show Bake or press F1 to inspect how the high-poly detail appears on the low-poly mesh.

Use this preview throughout retopology: inspect the result, adjust the geometry, and check the updated preview. It helps you evaluate the mesh before moving to the final map-baking stage.

STEP 09

Use global or local symmetry

Press X to enable symmetry, then choose global or local symmetry in the right-hand panel.

Local symmetry follows the object’s own coordinate system. Use it when the object’s orientation differs from the scene axes.

Continue extending the mesh, filling suitable regions, and refining the vertices. The video speeds up this repetitive stage while showing the same workflow applied across the remaining surface of the demonstrated part.

STEP 10

Review and send the result to Blender

Inspect the finished mesh from several angles. Check its silhouette, connections, and any areas that still need adjustment. Use Show Bake once more to review the transferred detail.

Click Send to Blender to transfer the retopology result back to Blender. You can then continue with UV unwrapping and, later, final map baking.

Next: UV Laboratory guide →

Alpaca3D is a free app for retopology, UV unwrapping, and texture baking. Get Alpaca3D and the Blender Bridge.