--- title: Environmental terrain description: Explore how to generate and sculpt realistic terrain environments such as mountains, bodies of water, grass-covered hills, or a flat desert. --- import BetaAlert from '../includes/beta-features/beta-alert.md' Studio's [Terrain Editor](../studio/terrain-editor.md) lets you generate and sculpt detailed and realistic terrain environments such as mountains, bodies of water, grass-covered hills, or a flat desert. Terrain is made up of grids of **voxels** which are 4×4×4 stud regions in the 3D world with a set material. Terrain Editor indicated in Studio's toolbar Desert terrain with mountains in the distance Using the editor tools, you can easily [generate](#generate-terrain) and edit terrain either at a [voxel](#detailed-editing) or [region](#large-scale-editing) level with the option of importing a [heightmap](#heightmaps-and-colormaps) and [colormap](#heightmaps-and-colormaps). For more precise, dynamic, or procedural terrain editing, you can also [script](#scripting) terrain creation. ## Terrain materials The following default materials are available for terrain, and you can also apply [custom materials](../parts/materials.md#custom-materials). Materials affect both the shape and appearance of terrain in the world; for example, [animated grass](#grass-animation) renders only on the `Enum.Material.Grass|Grass` material and the `Enum.Material.Water|Water` material [ripples and shimmers](#water-appearance) with a subtle motion.
Appearance of Asphalt material
Asphalt
Appearance of Basalt material
Basalt
Appearance of Brick material
Brick
Appearance of Cobblestone material
Cobblestone
Appearance of Concrete material
Concrete
Appearance of Cracked Lava material
Cracked Lava
Appearance of Glacier material
Glacier
Appearance of Grass material
Grass
Appearance of Ground material
Ground
Appearance of Ice material
Ice
Appearance of Leafy Grass material
Leafy Grass
Appearance of Limestone material
Limestone
Appearance of Mud material
Mud
Appearance of Pavement material
Pavement
Appearance of Rock material
Rock
Appearance of Salt material
Salt
Appearance of Sand material
Sand
Appearance of Sandstone material
Sandstone
Appearance of Slate material
Slate
Appearance of Snow material
Snow
Appearance of Water material
Water
Appearance of Wood Planks material
Wood Planks
Air material icon (no visual appearance)
Air
 ### Water appearance By default, terrain water ripples, oscillates, and shimmers with a subtle motion. To customize the color and motion of water: 1. In the **Explorer** window, navigate to the `Class.Workspace`, then select the `Class.Terrain` object. Terrain object shown in Explorer window of Studio 1. In the **Properties** window, customize the appearance of water through the following properties:
Property Description
`Class.Terrain.WaterColor|WaterColor` Adjusts the overall hue of all terrain water in the experience.
`Class.Terrain.WaterReflectance|WaterReflectance` Adjusts how much water surfaces reflect the sky and surrounding objects from a value of 1 (high) to 0 (none).
`Class.Terrain.WaterTransparency|WaterTransparency` Adjusts how transparent water is from a value of 1 (clear) to 0 (opaque).
`Class.Terrain.WaterWaveSize|WaterWaveSize` Adjusts the size of waves from a value of 1 (large) to 0 (none).
`Class.Terrain.WaterWaveSpeed|WaterWaveSpeed` Adjusts the speed of waves from a value of 100 (turbulent) to 0 (still).
Some water properties are only visible while playtesting. To preview all properties while editing, open [Studio Settings](../studio/setup.md#customization), search for **Editor Quality Level**, and set it to the highest level. ### Grass animation While most materials are static, you can add animated blades of grass to the `Enum.Material.Grass|Grass` terrain material. By default, grass sways gently in a simulated wind, and you can adjust the direction/strength of its animation through [global wind](../environment/global-wind.md). Note that the speed of animated grass — but not its vector direction — will be reduced if the player has toggled on the **Reduce Motion** [accessibility](../production/publishing/accessibility.md#reduced-motion) setting from the Roblox or in‑experience **Settings** menu. To add animated grass to the `Enum.Material.Grass|Grass` material: 1. In the **Explorer** window, navigate to the `Class.Workspace`, then select the `Class.Terrain` object. Terrain object shown in Explorer window of Studio 2. In the **Properties** window, toggle on the `Class.Terrain.Decoration|Decoration` property. Decoration property of Terrain object in Properties window of Studio 3. Adjust the grass length by entering a value between `0.1` and `1` for the `Class.Terrain.GrassLength|GrassLength` property. GrassLength property of Terrain object in Properties window of Studio GrassLength comparison depicted on rolling grassland hills. 4. Adjust the direction and strength of its animation through [global wind](../environment/global-wind.md). ### Custom terrain colors Each terrain material is assigned a default color, but you can customize any material's color to better fit your experience. Default terrain colors used in desert landscape Custom terrain colors applied for fantasy landscape Custom terrain colors applied for tundra landscape To customize any material color other than water: 1. In the **Explorer** window, navigate to the `Class.Workspace`, then select the `Class.Terrain` object. Terrain object shown in Explorer window of Studio 2. In the **Properties** window, expand `Class.Terrain.MaterialColors|MaterialColors`. All materials display with their RGB code. MaterialColors property shown in Properties window of Studio 3. For any material, either input a new RGB code or click the color box to open the [colors popup](../parts/index.md#color). ## Generate terrain Using the following tools and methods, you can generate large areas of terrain procedurally through tooling or scripting, or automatically based on a heightmap and colormap. ### Generate tool The **Generate** tool allows you to procedurally generate terrain in seconds. This is useful if you want to create a large map and fine-tune [terrain details](#detailed-editing). 1. In the editor window, navigate to the **Create** tab and select the **Generate** tool. Generate tool indicated in Create tab of Terrain Editor 2. In the 3D viewport, move/resize the **selection region** in which to generate terrain. Alternatively, expand the tool's **Selection Settings** and enter values into the **X**/**Y**/**Z** inputs to set a specific size and position. 3. In the tool's **Biome Settings** section, choose the following biomes to include in the new terrain: 4. Click the **Generate** button. ### Heightmaps and colormaps A **heightmap** is a 2D representation of a 3D terrain map, as viewed directly from above. Brighter areas of a heightmap result in higher terrain, like mountains, while darker areas result in lower regions, like valleys. An optional **colormap**, along with a heightmap, converts colors to terrain materials using a **color key**.
Example heightmap image
Heightmap
Example colormap image
Colormap
Terrain generated from the example heightmap and colormap
Generated terrain
 1 pixel in a heightmap represents 4 studs in Studio, and Studio supports a maximum of 4096×4096 pixels in either `.jpg` or `.png` format. To import a heightmap and optional colormap: 1. In the editor window, navigate to the **Create** tab and select the **Import** tool. Import tool indicated in Create tab of Terrain Editor 2. In the tool's **Map Settings** section, click the import button and choose the image you want to import as a heightmap. 3. In the tool's **Material Settings** section, select a terrain material or, alternatively, upload a colormap. To apply one consistent material across all of the generated terrain, select the **Material** tab and pick a terrain material. To apply a colormap, click the **Colormap** tab, click its import button, and choose the file to import. Colors on the image should match the following RGB/hex values and use hard edges, since anti‑aliasing or edge smoothing may create pixel colors outside the expected value ranges. The following table describes color mapping to a corresponding material. If your colormap contains a color that's not in the table, Studio chooses the closest matching material; for this reason, it is best to download the `RobloxColorMapIndex` file and directly sample its colors, or type the exact RGB/hex values into the color picker of your image editing application.
Material RGB Value Hex Value Color
`Enum.Material.Air|Air` `[255, 255, 255]` `FFFFFF`
`Enum.Material.Asphalt|Asphalt` `[115, 123, 107]` `737B6B`
`Enum.Material.Basalt|Basalt` `[30, 30, 37]` `1E1E25`
`Enum.Material.Brick|Brick` `[138, 86, 62]` `8A563E`
`Enum.Material.Cobblestone|Cobblestone` `[132, 123, 90]` `847B5A`
`Enum.Material.Concrete|Concrete` `[127, 102, 63]` `7F663F`
`Enum.Material.CrackedLava|CrackedLava` `[232, 156, 74]` `E89C4A`
`Enum.Material.Glacier|Glacier` `[101, 176, 234]` `65B0EA`
`Enum.Material.Grass|Grass` `[106, 127, 63]` `6A7F3F`
`Enum.Material.Ground|Ground` `[102, 92, 59]` `665C3B`
`Enum.Material.Ice|Ice` `[129, 194, 224]` `81C2E0`
`Enum.Material.LeafyGrass|LeafyGrass` `[115, 132, 74]` `73844A`
`Enum.Material.Limestone|Limestone` `[206, 173, 148]` `CEAD94`
`Enum.Material.Mud|Mud` `[58, 46, 36]` `3A2E24`
`Enum.Material.Pavement|Pavement` `[148, 148, 140]` `94948C`
`Enum.Material.Rock|Rock` `[102, 108, 111]` `666C6F`
`Enum.Material.Salt|Salt` `[198, 189, 181]` `C6BDB5`
`Enum.Material.Sand|Sand` `[143, 126, 95]` `8F7E5F`
`Enum.Material.Sandstone|Sandstone` `[137, 90, 71]` `895A47`
`Enum.Material.Slate|Slate` `[63, 127, 107]` `3F7F6B`
`Enum.Material.Snow|Snow` `[195, 199, 218]` `C3C7DA`
`Enum.Material.WoodPlanks|WoodPlanks` `[139, 109, 79]` `8B6D4F`
`Enum.Material.Water|Water` `[12, 84, 92]` `0C545C`
4. In the 3D viewport, move/resize the **selection region** in which to generate terrain. Alternatively, enter values into the **Select** tool fields to set a more specific position and size. Minimum and maximum terrain heights depend on the darkest and lightest areas of the heightmap image in relation to the **Y** size (height) of the selection region. For instance, if you choose a height of 128, pure black areas are 64 studs below the center position and pure white areas are 64 studs above the center position. 5. Click the **Generate** button. ### Scripting You can script terrain generation using the `Class.Terrain` class. For example, to create terrain with grass material that fills a volume, you can use methods such as `Class.Terrain:FillBall()|FillBall()`, `Class.Terrain:FillBlock()|FillBlock()`, `Class.Terrain:FillCylinder()|FillCylinder()`, `Class.Terrain:FillRegion()|FillRegion()`, or `Class.Terrain:FillWedge()|FillWedge()`. ```lua title="Fill Block Volume" local Workspace = game:GetService("Workspace") Workspace.Terrain:FillBlock(CFrame.new(0, 0, 0), Vector3.new(4, 4, 4), Enum.Material.Grass) ``` ## Large-scale editing The editor's **Edit** tab contains tools for large-scale editing. ### Select regions The **Select** tool is the universal tool for selecting rectangular regions of terrain. Select tool indicated in Edit tab of Terrain Editor Select a region by clicking and dragging in the 3D viewport, reposition it with the **move** draggers, and edit its size with the **scale** handles. Alternatively, enter values into the tool's **X**/**Y**/**Z** inputs to set a specific position and size.
Move draggers and scale handles on a selected region
Move draggers and scale handles on a selected region
Studio also supports the following keyboard and mouse shortcuts, assuming the Select tool is active and nothing is selected in the **Explorer** window.
Windows Mac Action
CtrlC ⌘C Copy terrain within the selected region to the clipboard.
CtrlV ⌘V Paste terrain that has been copied to the clipboard and swap to the Transform tool so that the new terrain can be transformed.
CtrlX ⌘X Cut terrain within the selected region to the clipboard.
CtrlD ⌘D Duplicate terrain within the selected region and swap to the Transform tool so that the new terrain can be transformed.
Delete Delete Delete terrain within the selected region.
Shift Shift When held down while dragging any **scale** handle, scales the region proportionally across all other axes.
Ctrl ⌘ When held down while dragging any **scale** handle, scales the region equally in both the positive and negative direction along that axis.
### Transform regions The **Transform** tool lets you manipulate entire selected regions to a new position, size, or orientation. To transform a region: 1. Select a region and then activate the **Transform** tool. Note that the tool will be automatically activated if you paste or duplicate terrain. Transform tool indicated in Edit tab of Terrain Editor 1. In the 3D viewport, transform the region with the **move** draggers, **rotate** rings, and **scale** handles. Alternatively, enter values into the tool's **X**/**Y**/**Z** inputs to set a specific position, size, and rotation. Move draggers, scale handles, and rotate rings on the Y axis of a selected region Holding Shift while dragging any **scale** handle scales the region proportionally across all other axes, and holding Ctrl or ⌘ while dragging scales the region equally in both the positive and negative direction along that axis. Holding Shift while dragging any **rotate** ring toggles between rotation snapping or free‑form rotation. By default, this tool uses **Live Edit** mode to constantly update terrain as you transform it. To view only a wireframe preview of the terrain as you transform it, disable live edit mode and then, while transforming, press Enter/Return or click the **Apply** button to apply the changes. ### Fill and replace regions The **Fill** tool lets you fill an entire selected region with a specific material, or replace all material within the region with another material. 1. Select a region, then activate the **Fill** tool. Fill tool indicated in Edit tab of Terrain Editor 1. In the tool's **Material Settings** section: - To fill the region with a specific material, select **Fill** and choose the desired material. - To replace all terrain of one material with another material, select **Replace**, then choose a **source** material and **target** material. 1. Click the **Apply** button or press Enter/Return.
Region filled with Salt material
Selected region filled with Salt material
### Set sea level The **Sea Level** tool lets you create a consistent water level or remove all water within a region. 1. Activate the **Sea Level** tool. Sea Level tool indicated in Edit tab of Terrain Editor 1. Select the intended region by clicking and dragging the **move** draggers and **scale** handles in the 3D viewport. Alternatively, enter values into the tool's **X**/**Y**/**Z** inputs to set a specific position and size. 1. Click the **Evaporate** button to remove water inside the selected region, or click the **Create** button to fill the selected region with water. ## Detailed editing The **Edit** tab also contains tools for precision editing using a "brush" tool to draw, sculpt, smooth, flatten, or paint terrain. Detailed editing tools indicated in Edit tab of Terrain Editor Each tool lets you choose from a **sphere**, **box**, or **cylinder** brush shape and a base size between 1–64 studs. Brush shape and size controls in the Terrain Editor For tools which use the brush, Studio supports the following keyboard and mouse shortcuts.
Windows Mac Action
Ctrl ⌘ When held down while using the [Draw](../studio/terrain-editor.md#draw) and [Sculpt](../studio/terrain-editor.md#sculpt) tools, toggles on the alternate brush mode. For example, toggles on "subtract" mode instead of the default "add" mode.
Shift Shift When held down while using the [Draw](../studio/terrain-editor.md#draw) and [Sculpt](../studio/terrain-editor.md#sculpt) tools, temporarily activates the [Smooth](../studio/terrain-editor.md#smooth) tool.
B B When held down while dragging the mouse or using the scroll wheel, adjusts the brush's **base size**.
CtrlB ⌘B When held down while dragging the mouse or using the scroll wheel, adjusts the brush's **height**. Only applies if the brush's shape is set to **box** or **cylinder**.
ShiftB ShiftB When held down while dragging the mouse or using the scroll wheel, adjusts the brush's **strength**. Only applies when using the [Sculpt](../studio/terrain-editor.md#sculpt), [Smooth](../studio/terrain-editor.md#smooth), or [Flatten](../studio/terrain-editor.md#flatten) tool.
Alt ⌥ When held down on mouse click, shows the material picker.
### Draw The **Draw** tool **adds** or **subtracts** terrain using the brush. This tool functions in a dual mode where holding down Ctrl or ⌘ toggles on "subtract" mode instead of the default "add" mode. Additionally, holding down Shift temporarily activates the [Smooth](../studio/terrain-editor.md#smooth) tool. ### Sculpt The **Sculpt** tool **adds** or **subtracts** terrain using the brush. Unlike the Draw tool, this tool includes a **strength** slider to allow for more gentle manipulation of terrain. Similar to the Draw tool, the Sculpt tool functions in a dual mode where holding down Ctrl or ⌘ toggles on "subtract" mode instead of the default "add" mode. Additionally, holding down Shift temporarily activates the Smooth tool. ### Smooth The **Smooth** tool smoothes out abrupt edges in terrain using the brush. This tool can be used in standalone mode, or you can toggle it on by holding Shift while using the Draw or Sculpt tools. ### Flatten The **Flatten** tool flattens terrain to a consistent level across a visualized plane. By default, the tool lowers terrain above the plane **and** raises terrain below to the plane, but you can opt to selectively lower **or** raise through the tool's **Flatten Mode** option. ### Paint The **Paint** tool, using the brush, **paints** a terrain material over an existing material or **replaces** one material with another material.