# 3D Neural Sculpting (3DNS): Editing Neural Signed Distance Functions

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2209.13971 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2209.13971/

## Key facts

- Cited by 4 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Builds on 33 of its 55 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 28 Sep 2022.

## Builds on (most cited first, 30 of 33)

- [PyTorch: An Imperative Style, High-Performance Deep Learning Library](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1912.01703/) (2019)
- [Instant Neural Graphics Primitives with a Multiresolution Hash Encoding](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2201.05989/) (2022)
- [ShapeNet: An Information-Rich 3D Model Repository](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1512.03012/) (2015)
- [DeepSDF: Learning Continuous Signed Distance Functions for Shape Representation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1901.05103/) (2019)
- [Neural Tangent Kernel: Convergence and Generalization in Neural Networks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1806.07572/) (2018)
- [Implicit Neural Representations with Periodic Activation Functions](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2006.09661/) (2020)
- [Fourier Features Let Networks Learn High Frequency Functions in Low Dimensional Domains](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2006.10739/) (2020)
- [Occupancy Networks: Learning 3D Reconstruction in Function Space](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1812.03828/) (2018)
- [Learning Implicit Fields for Generative Shape Modeling](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1812.02822/) (2018)
- [Implicit Geometric Regularization for Learning Shapes](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2002.10099/) (2020)
- [Differentiable Volumetric Rendering: Learning Implicit 3D Representations without 3D Supervision](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1912.07372/) (2019)
- [DGM: A deep learning algorithm for solving partial differential equations](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1708.07469/) (2017)
- [UNISURF: Unifying Neural Implicit Surfaces and Radiance Fields for Multi-View Reconstruction](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2104.10078/) (2021)
- [3D-R2N2: A Unified Approach for Single and Multi-view 3D Object Reconstruction](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1604.00449/) (2016)
- [Weight Normalization: A Simple Reparameterization to Accelerate Training of Deep Neural Networks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1602.07868/) (2016)
- [Neural Fields in Visual Computing and Beyond](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2111.11426/) (2021)
- [Neural Geometric Level of Detail: Real-time Rendering with Implicit 3D Shapes](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2101.10994/) (2021)
- [SAL: Sign Agnostic Learning of Shapes from Raw Data](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1911.10414/) (2019)
- [Implicit Functions in Feature Space for 3D Shape Reconstruction and Completion](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2003.01456/) (2020)
- [Deep Local Shapes: Learning Local SDF Priors for Detailed 3D Reconstruction](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2003.10983/) (2020)
- [Neural Unsigned Distance Fields for Implicit Function Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2010.13938/) (2020)
- [Neural Descriptor Fields: SE(3)-Equivariant Object Representations for Manipulation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2112.05124/) (2021)
- [Octree Generating Networks: Efficient Convolutional Architectures for High-resolution 3D Outputs](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1703.09438/) (2017)
- [Grasping Field: Learning Implicit Representations for Human Grasps](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2008.04451/) (2020)
- [Deformed Implicit Field: Modeling 3D Shapes with Learned Dense Correspondence](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2011.13650/) (2020)
- [SALD: Sign Agnostic Learning with Derivatives](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2006.05400/) (2020)
- [A-SDF: Learning Disentangled Signed Distance Functions for Articulated Shape Representation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2104.07645/) (2021)
- [Hierarchical Surface Prediction for 3D Object Reconstruction](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1704.00710/) (2017)
- [DualSDF: Semantic Shape Manipulation using a Two-Level Representation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2004.02869/) (2020)
- [Controlling Neural Level Sets](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1905.11911/) (2019)

## Built on by (most cited first, 4 of 4)

- [Learning rigid-body simulators over implicit shapes for large-scale scenes and vision](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2405.14045/) (2024)
- [Manipulating Vehicle 3D Shapes through Latent Space Editing](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2410.23931/) (2024)
- [Neural Active Structure-from-Motion in Dark and Textureless Environment](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2410.15378/) (2024)
- [Interactive Stroke-based Neural SDF Sculpting](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2502.02891/) (2025)

## Abstract (arXiv)

In recent years, implicit surface representations through neural networks that encode the signed distance have gained popularity and have achieved state-of-the-art results in various tasks (e.g. shape representation, shape reconstruction, and learning shape priors). However, in contrast to conventional shape representations such as polygon meshes, the implicit representations cannot be easily edited and existing works that attempt to address this problem are extremely limited. In this work, we propose the first method for efficient interactive editing of signed distance functions expressed through neural networks, allowing free-form editing. Inspired by 3D sculpting software for meshes, we use a brush-based framework that is intuitive and can in the future be used by sculptors and digital artists. In order to localize the desired surface deformations, we regulate the network by using a copy of it to sample the previously expressed surface. We introduce a novel framework for simulating sculpting-style surface edits, in conjunction with interactive surface sampling and efficient adaptation of network weights. We qualitatively and quantitatively evaluate our method in various different 3D objects and under many different edits. The reported results clearly show that our method yields high accuracy, in terms of achieving the desired edits, while at the same time preserving the geometry outside the interaction areas.