# Environments and Terrain Tools

**Terrain tools** allow you to create realistic landscapes like mountains, rivers, and canyons. This article explains the tools used for creating terrain.

### Opening the Terrain Tools

The terrain tools can be opened from the **Home** tab or **View** tab.


<img src="https://i.imgur.com/i3bfJvz.png" class="img-fluid mb-2">

The editor window is divided into **Create**, **Region**, and **Edit** sections, each outlined in detail below.

<img src="https://developer.roblox.com/assets/blt3f2b7ea9b76106e5/Terrain-Editor-Tabs.png" class="img-fluid half-sized">

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## Create Tab

### Generate

The **Generate** tool is used to create random landscapes. You can use this to quickly start a new landscape and then modify it based on your individual vision.

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<td scope="row"><b>bug</b> (bold not rendering)</td>
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### Import

The **Import** tool lets you import heightmaps and colormaps. This feature is outlined further in the Importing Terrain Data article.

### Clear

The **Clear** tool completely clears all terrain from the place.

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## Region Tab

Tools in the **Region** tab speed up terrain creation by letting you work with large areas.

### Manipulating Regions

To select and manipulate a region:

1. Click the **Select** tool.
2. Click and drag to create a region bounding box (maximum of 512 studs along any axis).
3. Manipulate the region with the **Move**, **Resize**, and **Rotate** tools. These tools are very similar to how they're used with parts, except that movement can only be done in increments of 4 studs and rotation in 90&deg; increments.

### Duplicating Regions

You can also copy and paste full selected regions&nbsp;&mdash; just click **Copy** and then **Paste** to create a new region.

### Filling and Deleting

You can even fill or delete entire regions with a material:

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<img src="https://developer.roblox.com/assets/blt65d50034ed5405ce/Terrain-Region-Deleted.jpg" class="mb-0 half-sized">
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Merging Empty Regions
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When you select a region, you also select all the “air” inside that region. When editing regions — moving, resizing, etc. — the **Merge Empty** option affects the outcome.

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If **Merge** Empty is on, Studio will combine the selected region with its surroundings. This is useful if you want to make sure a region naturally merges with what's around it, as shown here between the ice and stone.

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If **Merge Empty** is off, Studio doesn't merge the region with what's currently there. This is useful if you want to keep a region exactly like it was built, as seen here by the “air” region remaining when the ice block is moved

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## Edit Tab

### Add / Subtract

The **Add** and **Subtract** tools are useful for building the majority of your environment, before you start fine-tuning details. These tools contain various attributes:

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<td scope="row">**Brush Shape**</td>
<td scope="row">The shape of the brush; either a **sphere**, **cube**, or **cylinder**.</td>
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<td scope="row">**Base Size / Height**</td>
<td scope="row">The size of the brush, ranging from 1 to 64. To set a **Height** that's different from the base size, click the small "lock" icon and select/enter a new value.<br>
<span style="color: red;">BUG... These images should be rendering as 2 columns in Bootstrap.</span>

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### Grow

The **Grow** tool slowly fills in areas with terrain which is useful for adding hills or smoothing out gaps.

### Erode

The **Erode** tool slowly removes terrain. This is useful for creating caves, canyons, rivers, and lakes.

### Smooth

The **Smooth** tool smoothes out terrain in the selected area. This is useful for making jagged terrain more natural and getting rid of sharp corners.

### Flatten

The **Flatten** tool lets you create completely flat terrain, ideal for areas where you may want to place buildings or roads. In addition to various attributes outlined above, this tool includes two important options:

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<td scope="row" class="text-nowrap"><b>Flatten Mode</b></td>
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<b>Erode to Flat</b>&nbsp;&mdash; Given a plane to flatten on, only terrain <b>above</b> the plane is removed.
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<b>Grow to Flat</b>&nbsp;&mdash; Given a plane to flatten on, only terrain <b>below</b> the plane is filled in.
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<b>Flatten All</b>&nbsp;&mdash; Given a desired plane to flatten on, a perfectly flat surface is generated (terrain above the plane is removed and terrain below the plane is filled&nbsp;in).
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<td scope="row"><b>Fixed Plane</b></td>
<td>When toggled on, locks the flatten plane to a specific <b>Y</b> position as defined by <b class="text-nowrap">Plane Position</b>. The plane's position can either be manually entered or selected with the "eyedropper" tool next to the value input field.</td>
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(VIDEO)

### Paint

The **Paint** tool changes the terrain’s current material, for example grass, rock, or water. This is useful for adding variations like dirt and rock patches in a grass field.

(VIDEO)

### Sea Level

The **Sea Level** tool lets you create a consistent water level across any region. To use it, enter a **X**/**Y**/**Z** position and size, then click **Create** to flood the region with water or **Evaporate** to remove water.

(VIDEO)

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Alternatively to setting a strict **X**/**Y**/**Z** size for the sea level region, you can drag the handle "globes" around the region box to resize it.

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### Replace

The **Replace** tool lets you replace one terrain material with another, either within a large box region or by using the terrain brush.

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## Customizing Terrain

Terrain can be further customized by adjusting material colors or enabling decorations. These options are controlled through the **Terrain** object within **Workspace**.

<img src="https://developer.roblox.com/assets/bltcf20b6ab12c88079/Explorer-Terrain-Object.png" class="img-fluid half-sized">

## Material Colors

Each terrain **material** like rock, ice, or grass has a default color, but you can customize these if desired. For example, if you’re building an arctic world or a volcanic wasteland, terrain colors may be adjusted to fit the theme.

1. In the **Properties** window, expand the **Appearance** → **MaterialColors** branch.

<img src="https://developer.roblox.com/assets/bltce3d58ef8a0234b4/Properties-Terrain-Materials.png" class="img-fluid half-sized" style="margin-left: 32px;">

2. Enter or select a new RGB value for any material and the terrain will update dynamically.

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