System requirements and performance

System	Windows 10 or 11, 64-bit
Memory	8 GB up to Fine detail; 16 GB or more for Ultra; 32 GB for Studio
Graphics	A DirectX 11 graphics card
Input	A mouse, or a pen tablet with Windows Ink for pressure

Memory and detail

Memory follows the clay’s surface, not its volume, so a big simple shape costs less than a small intricate one. As a guide, the starting ball needs about 56 MB at Ultra and about 450 MB at Studio.

Each sculpt has a memory limit (4 GB by default) and a build limit (1 m by default). When a sculpt reaches either, Shapeaway finishes the stroke and asks whether to raise the limit for that sculpt. See Limits.

Detail meshes scale with the memory limit too: from 24 million triangles up to 48 million.

Keeping strokes fast

• Sculpt big forms at a coarser detail level and only go finer where the detail is.
• Big brushes at Studio detail are slow (a 3 cm stroke takes about 60 ms a frame). Use Ultra for blocking out, then add a detail mesh for the finest work.
• Hide objects you aren’t working on.
• See Performance problems for more.