New: 98,000+ skills indexed from GitHub repos with 100+ stars · every skill safety-checkedBrowse top skillsTop skills
Esc to closeBrowse all skills
Submit a skillBrowse skills
Submit a skillBrowse skills

Agent skill

Retopology

by arjun988 in arjun988/blender-skills

Production retopology for animation-ready, low-poly, quad-dominant meshes with proper edge loops and efficient polygon flow.

MITAuto-check passedAgent Workflows

Install Retopology

skills CLI
$ npx skills add arjun988/blender-skills --skill retopology -a claude-code

Project install by default; add -g for ~/.claude/skills/.

GitHub CLI
$ gh skill install arjun988/blender-skills retopology --agent claude-code

Project scope by default; add --scope user for a personal install. Needs GitHub CLI 2.90.0 or later (public preview).

Manual copy
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/arjun988/blender-skills.git skills-src && mkdir -p .claude/skills && cp -r skills-src/.claude/skills/retopology .claude/skills/retopology && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.claude/skills/ instead of .claude/skills for a personal install. The folder must contain SKILL.md.

Claude Code skills documentation · loads skills from .claude/skills/

Facts

Skill name
retopology
GitHub stars
283
Token cost
~967 tokens
SKILL.md length
344 words
Files
3 (incl. references)
Skills in repo
38
Repo updated
First seen
Licence
MIT

At a glance

Production retopology for animation-ready, low-poly, quad-dominant meshes with proper edge loops and efficient polygon flow.

  • Works in 5 steps: Create retopo mesh object via MCP → Apply shrinkwrap modifier via MCP → Query face/edge count during retopo → …
  • Tasks that involve MCP servers
  • SKILL.md covers When to Use, Workflow, Retopology Methods and Edge Loop Rules, plus 8 more sections
  • Instructions only: no scripts, shell commands, URLs or credentials in SKILL.md

What it does

Retopology is an agent skill from arjun988/blender-skills. Production retopology for animation-ready, low-poly, quad-dominant meshes with proper edge loops and efficient polygon flow. Use after sculpting or high-poly modeling before rigging and UV work in Blender via MCP.

Its SKILL.md is about 970 tokens, which your agent loads only when the skill is triggered. The skill folder holds 3 other files, including reference files (for example `references/facial-retopo.md` and `references/game-cinematic-topo.md`).

It sits in Agent Workflows, covering MCP servers. It works with Model Context Protocol and Blender. The repository describes itself as: 94 specialist Blender skills for Cursor, Claude Code, Kiro & Codex - MCP-powered production pipeline from blockout to engine export. The licence is MIT.

When your agent uses it

  • Tasks that involve MCP servers

Example prompts

  • “/retopology”

Workflow steps

5 steps, taken from the first numbered list in SKILL.md.

  1. Create retopo mesh object via MCP
  2. Apply shrinkwrap modifier via MCP
  3. Query face/edge count during retopo
  4. Compare silhouette via MCP render/query
  5. Transfer to COL_Geo_LowPoly collection

What it can do on your machine

Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit 8f778d2. It shows what the files ask for, not the result of running them.

  • Tool permissions

    Pre-approves nothing: there is no allowed-tools line, so your agent's usual permission prompts apply.

    From allowed-tools in the SKILL.md frontmatter.

  • Runs code

    No scripts in the folder and no shell commands in SKILL.md.

    From the folder's file list and the shell code blocks in SKILL.md.

  • Network

    No URLs in SKILL.md.

    From URLs in SKILL.md, links to its own repository left out.

  • Credentials

    Names no API keys, tokens, secrets or passwords.

    From names ending in _API_KEY, _TOKEN, _SECRET, _KEY or _PASSWORD in SKILL.md.

Context cost

Retopology loads about 967 tokens when it runs, and up to ~1.5k if it reads all its reference files. Until then it costs about 56 tokens; SKILL.md has 344 words of instructions outside code blocks.

Always · name and description, kept in context so the agent knows when to use it
~56
When it runs · the whole SKILL.md, loaded when a task matches
~967
With references · SKILL.md plus every file in references/, read only if the agent opens them
~1.5k

Estimates: characters ÷ 4, the usual rule of thumb; real counts depend on the model's tokenizer. Scripts and assets cost tokens only if the agent reads them.

Safety

Auto-check passed

The automated check found no risky patterns in SKILL.md.

Automated static check — not a guarantee. Review scripts before installing. It scans the text of SKILL.md for risky patterns (piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files, hidden Unicode, destructive commands); files beside SKILL.md are not scanned.

SKILL.md

The full file from arjun988/blender-skills at commit 8f778d2, republished under its MIT licence (© arjun988). 344 words, ~967 tokens.

Download SKILL.mdSave it as .claude/skills/retopology/SKILL.md (or your agent's skills folder). This skill also uses 2 other files; get the full folder from GitHub.
name
retopology
description
Production retopology for animation-ready, low-poly, quad-dominant meshes with proper edge loops and efficient polygon flow. Use after sculpting or high-poly modeling before rigging and UV work in Blender via MCP.
license
MIT
metadata.author
https://github.com/arjun988
metadata.version
1.0.0
metadata.domain
blender
metadata.role
specialist
metadata.triggers
retopo, retopology, edge loop, quad, topology, animation ready, poly reduction, remesh
metadata.related-skills
character-artist, creature-artist, sculpting, uv-workflow

Retopology

Clean, purposeful topology for deformation, UVs, and performance. Quad-dominant. Animation-ready.

When to Use

  • After sculpting high-poly characters/creatures
  • Before rigging any deforming mesh
  • Poly reduction while preserving silhouette
  • Fixing topology from boolean or scan cleanup

Workflow

High-Poly Reference → Guide Setup → Block Retopo → Loop Refinement
    → Pole Placement → Triangle Cleanup → Validation → UV Handoff

Retopology Methods

MethodBest ForSpeed
Manual (Poly Build tool)Hero charactersSlow, best quality
Shrinkwrap retopoCreatures, organicMedium
Quad Remesh (voxel)Quick blockout retopoFast, needs cleanup
Instant Meshes (external)Background assetsFast
Symmetry retopoBilateral charactersMedium

Production default: Manual with shrinkwrap for hero; Quad Remesh + cleanup for background.

Edge Loop Rules

  • Loops follow muscle/deformation direction
  • One loop per major form change
  • Maintain even edge length in deformation zones
  • Redirect loops at poles (minimum 3 edges meeting)
  • Hide poles at back of head, armpits, groin

Pole Management

LocationAcceptableAvoid
Top of head3–5 pole—
Inner eye cornerRedirect polePole directly at corner
Shoulder3-edge pole hiddenStar pattern on deltoid
Back of kneePole in creasePole on front of knee

Triangle Policy

  • Triangles OK on non-deforming static mesh
  • Convert tris to quads on face, joints, fingers
  • No n-gons on deforming surfaces
  • Tris at hidden areas (scalp under hair, mouth interior)

Polycount Targets

See ../references/polycount-budgets.md. Retopo is where budget is enforced.

Shrinkwrap Retopo Setup

1. Duplicate high-poly to reference collection (hidden in render)
2. Create retopo mesh with Poly Build / manual extrude
3. Shrinkwrap modifier → Target: high-poly
4. Snap to face with project individual elements
5. Validate shrinkwrap distance (no intersection)

Validation Checklist

  • Quad-dominant on all deformation areas
  • Edge loops support planned rig joints
  • No non-manifold geometry
  • Silhouette matches high-poly reference
  • Polycount within budget
  • Poles placed at acceptable locations
  • Mesh manifold and watertight (if required)

MCP Integration

  1. Create retopo mesh object via MCP
  2. Apply shrinkwrap modifier via MCP
  3. Query face/edge count during retopo
  4. Compare silhouette via MCP render/query
  5. Transfer to COL_Geo_LowPoly collection

Constraints

MUST DO
  • Retopo before rigging deforming meshes
  • Preserve silhouette vs high-poly reference
  • Plan loops for facial expressions (characters)
  • Enforce polycount budget
  • Validate manifold before UV pass
MUST NOT DO
  • Auto-retopo without manual cleanup (hero assets)
  • Leave n-gons on deformation surfaces
  • Skip validation against reference
  • Retopo without knowing rig requirements
  • Uniform density (more density at face/hands)

Reference Guide

TopicReferenceLoad When
Facial retoporeferences/facial-retopo.mdCharacter faces
Game vs cinematicreferences/game-cinematic-topo.mdBudget decisions

© arjun988, MIT. Rendered from Markdown: HTML in the file is shown as text, images as links, and headings moved down two levels. Raw file

Files

SKILL.md and 2 other files (references) in .claude/skills/retopology of arjun988/blender-skills.

  • SKILL.md
  • references/facial-retopo.md
  • references/game-cinematic-topo.md

Open the folder on GitHubat commit 8f778d2

Compare with similar skills

Retopology next to the 5 skills that share the most tags, products or categories with it. Stars are the repository's; “used in” counts other GitHub owners with a copy.

Retopology compared with similar skills
SkillStarsUsed inTokensAuto-checkLicenceRepo updated
Retopology this skillarjun988/blender-skills283—~967Automated safety check: PassMIT
Blender MCPTommy-yw/RunbookHermes5461 repos~1kAutomated safety check: PassMIT
Scenario Orbit Viewsscenario-labs/skills946—~2.3kAutomated safety check: PassMIT
Blender MCP Videomicky-li-hd/VideoCoCo118—~1.1kAutomated safety check: PassNone
MCP Server Builderanthropics/skills180k63 repos~2.3kAutomated safety check: PassApache-2.0
MCP Server BuildershareAI-lab/learn-claude-code78k4 repos~1.2kAutomated safety check: PassMIT

Similar skills

  • Blender MCP

    Tommy-yw/RunbookHermes

    Control Blender directly from Hermes via socket connection to the blender-mcp addon.

    546 GitHub starsUsed in 1 repo~1k tokens
    Agent WorkflowsAuto-check passed

  • Scenario Orbit Views

    scenario-labs/skills

    A skill your agent uses when a single image of a character, creature, prop, vehicle, or building must be seen from new camera angles through the Scenario MCP server: turnarounds, a 360 orbit, views…

    946 GitHub stars~2.3k tokensUpdated today
    Agent WorkflowsAuto-check passed

  • Blender MCP Video

    micky-li-hd/VideoCoCo

    A skill your agent uses for Blender MCP or Blender CLI video-generation work, especially when rendering scripted Blender scenes, debugging MCP port 9876, checking why blender is not on PATH…

    118 GitHub stars~1.1k tokensUpdated 2 mo ago
    Media & CreativeAuto-check passed

  • MCP Server Builder

    anthropics/skills

    Official

    Guides the design and implementation of Model Context Protocol servers in TypeScript or Python, from tool naming and error messages to evaluation.

    180k GitHub starsUsed in 63 repos~2.3k tokens
    Agent WorkflowsAuto-check passed

  • MCP Server Builder

    shareAI-lab/learn-claude-code

    Walks through building MCP servers in Python or TypeScript that expose tools, resources and prompts to Claude, with templates, registration and testing.

    78k GitHub starsUsed in 4 repos~1.2k tokens
    Agent WorkflowsAuto-check passed

  • MCP Integration for Plugins

    anthropics/claude-plugins-official

    Official

    Explains how to bundle Model Context Protocol servers in a Claude Code plugin, covering config files, stdio, SSE, HTTP and WebSocket server types, and authentication.

    38k GitHub starsUsed in 11 repos~3.1k tokens
    Agent WorkflowsAuto-check passed

More from arjun988/blender-skills

All 38 skills in this repo

  • Blender Production Director

    arjun988/blender-skills

    Plans and coordinates Blender asset work by analyzing the request, setting budgets and export format, and routing to specialist skills, including reference-image matching.

    283 GitHub stars~4.8k tokensUpdated 3 mo ago
    Auto-check passed

  • Blender Modeler

    arjun988/blender-skills

    Guides general Blender modeling through MCP with non-destructive habits: scene collections, modifier stacks, blockouts, mesh cleanup and precise edits.

    283 GitHub stars~1.3k tokensUpdated 3 mo ago
    Auto-check passed

  • Blender Character Artist

    arjun988/blender-skills

    Guides production character modeling in Blender through MCP: proportions, edge loops for faces and joints, clothing as separate meshes, hair, and animation-ready topology.

    283 GitHub stars~1k tokensUpdated 3 mo ago
    Auto-check passed

  • Creature Modeling for Blender

    arjun988/blender-skills

    Anatomy-grounded workflow for modeling fantasy creatures, monsters and aliens in Blender over MCP, from skeleton blockout and muscle masses to retopology and rig tests.

    283 GitHub stars~1k tokensUpdated 3 mo ago
    Auto-check passed

  • Environment Artist

    arjun988/blender-skills

    AAA environment art for modular kits, buildings, terrain, vegetation, architecture, and scene composition.

    283 GitHub stars~1.2k tokensUpdated 3 mo ago
    Auto-check passed

  • Geometry Nodes

    arjun988/blender-skills

    Blender Geometry Nodes for procedural modeling, scatter systems, vegetation, buildings, pipes, cables, and reusable node groups.

    283 GitHub stars~963 tokensUpdated 3 mo ago
    Auto-check passed

Works with

Categories

Questions about Retopology

What does Retopology do?

Production retopology for animation-ready, low-poly, quad-dominant meshes with proper edge loops and efficient polygon flow. Retopology is an agent skill from arjun988/blender-skills. Production retopology for animation-ready, low-poly, quad-dominant meshes with proper edge loops and efficient polygon flow.

When should I use Retopology?

Retopology fits situations like: tasks that involve MCP servers.

How do I install Retopology in Claude Code?

Run `npx skills add arjun988/blender-skills --skill retopology -a claude-code`. Or copy the skill folder (.claude/skills/retopology in arjun988/blender-skills) into .claude/skills/retopology in your project. Claude Code loads it when a task matches its description.

How do I install Retopology in Codex?

Run `npx skills add arjun988/blender-skills --skill retopology -a codex`. Or copy the skill folder (.claude/skills/retopology in arjun988/blender-skills) into .agents/skills/retopology in your project. Codex loads it when a task matches its description.

Can I use Retopology in Cursor, Gemini CLI or GitHub Copilot?

Cursor, Gemini CLI, GitHub Copilot and OpenCode also load SKILL.md folders. With the skills CLI, run `npx skills add arjun988/blender-skills --skill retopology -a cursor` (or -a gemini-cli, github-copilot or opencode for the others). To copy it by hand, put the folder in .cursor/skills/retopology, .gemini/skills/retopology, .github/skills/retopology and .opencode/skills/retopology in your project.

What does Retopology need to run?

SKILL.md names no scripts, command-line tools or credentials: Retopology is instructions for the agent only.

Does Retopology access the network?

SKILL.md contains no URLs. Any network use would come from the scripts or tools the agent runs. This is read from the text; nothing was executed.

Is Retopology safe to install?

Our automated static check of SKILL.md found no risky patterns, such as piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files or hidden Unicode. It is not a guarantee. Review the folder before installing.

What licence does Retopology use?

Retopology is published under the MIT licence (declared in SKILL.md). It allows redistribution, so the full SKILL.md is shown on this page.

How many tokens does Retopology use?

About 967 tokens (SKILL.md is roughly 3.9k characters). Agents keep only the skill's name and description in context until a task matches; then they load SKILL.md in full. Its references folder adds about 535 tokens, read only when the agent opens those files.

What are the alternatives to Retopology?

Skills that share tags, products or a category with Retopology: Blender MCP (Tommy-yw/RunbookHermes, 546 stars), Scenario Orbit Views (scenario-labs/skills, 946 stars), Blender MCP Video (micky-li-hd/VideoCoCo, 118 stars) and MCP Server Builder (anthropics/skills, 180k stars). The comparison table on this page puts their stars, adoption, token cost, safety result and licence side by side.

Who maintains Retopology?

arjun988 (a GitHub user) maintains it in arjun988/blender-skills, which has 283 GitHub stars. The repository holds 38 skills in this directory. The repository was last updated on July 10, 2026.

Source: arjun988/blender-skills on GitHub. Facts on this page come from the repository at the commit we read; the author's words are quoted as theirs.