How to Set or Reset a Rest Pose in Blender (Without Breaking Weights)

When rigging in Blender, setting the armature and mesh into a final rest pose is a useful step for tasks like fitting characters into specific clothes. The rest pose acts as the base from which all your animations are calculated, and setting it correctly is essential for smooth animation and character deformation.

There are two ways to handle rest poses in Blender:

1. Quickly reset a posed rig back to its default position
2. Permanently overwrite the default rest pose with a new one

The steps differ depending on your goal.

How to Quickly Reset a Pose in Blender

Sometimes you move bones around in Pose Mode and just want to snap them back to their original T-pose or A-pose. You can do this in a few seconds by clearing the transforms.

1. Select the Armature in Pose Mode:
   • Select your armature in Object Mode and press Ctrl + Tab to switch to Pose Mode.
2. Select All Bones:
   • Press A on your keyboard to select all the bones you want to reset.
3. Clear the Transforms:
   • Press Alt + R to reset bone rotations.
   • Press Alt + G to reset bone locations.
   • Press Alt + S to reset bone scales.
   • You can also go to the top menu and click Pose > Clear Transform > All.

How to Set the Current Pose as the New Rest Pose

What if you want to permanently change the default position of your model? We can modify the rest pose without losing all the work we have put into weight painting and posing. This can be tricky, but it is easy to do with the following three steps:

Step 1: Apply the Armature Modifier to the Mesh

The first thing you need to do is ensure that the mesh and armature look exactly how you want them to be at their new rest position. This means that the character or object should be fully posed, and everything should be aligned perfectly.

1. Select the Mesh in Object Mode:
   • Switch to Object Mode by pressing Tab if you’re currently in Edit Mode.
   • Right-click on the mesh to select it.
2. Go to the Modifiers Tab:
   • Look to the right side of your screen, and find the Modifiers tab (it looks like a wrench icon) in the Properties Panel.
3. Apply the Armature Modifier:
   • You should see an Armature Modifier in the list of modifiers applied to the mesh.
   • Click on the Apply button to apply the deformation from the armature.

By applying the armature modifier at this stage, you’re making sure that the mesh is set correctly with the weights already assigned, and it “locks in” the deformation caused by the armature.

Step 2: Set the New Rest Pose for the Armature in Blender

With the mesh properly aligned, the next step is to define a new rest pose for the armature. This ensures that Blender treats the current pose as the new default or “rest” position.

1. Select the Armature in Pose Mode:
   • Switch to Pose Mode by first selecting the armature in Object Mode and pressing Ctrl + Tab or selecting Pose Mode from the menu.
2. Apply Pose as Rest Pose:
   • At the top of the screen, go to the Pose menu.
   • In the dropdown, select Apply > Apply Pose as Rest Pose.

This step updates the armature’s rest pose to the current pose. This is helpful for modifying an existing rig or ensuring that a new pose is correctly recorded as the starting point for your animations.

Step 3: Add the Armature Modifier Back to the Mesh

Now that the armature’s rest pose has been updated, you’ll need to reapply the armature modifier to the mesh. This step will ensure that the mesh can still be controlled by the armature.

1. Select the Mesh in Object Mode:
   • Make sure you’re back in Object Mode, and select the mesh.
2. Add an Armature Modifier:
   • In the Modifiers tab, click on Add Modifier and choose Armature from the list of deform modifiers.
3. Assign the Armature to the Modifier:
   • You will see an option labeled Object within the Armature modifier settings.
   • Click on the Object field and select the armature that corresponds to your mesh.

This process rebinds the mesh to the armature while keeping all the weight data intact. Blender will now know to use the updated rest pose for all future deformations.

Why This Method Works Without Breaking the Weights

Applying the armature modifier before changing the rest pose tells Blender to “remember” the current deformation. Consequently, this ensures that when you reapply the modifier after setting the new rest pose, your weight painting and posing stay intact.

If you reset the rest pose without applying the modifier first, you might get undesired transformations. For instance, the model could shift or distort unexpectedly. However, applying the modifier first “locks in” the deformed state, preventing these issues.

Common Rest Pose Issues and Fixes

Q: Why does my mesh snap back or deform weirdly when I click “Apply Pose as Rest Pose”?

Ans: If you apply the rest pose on the armature without applying the Armature Modifier on the mesh first, Blender sets the bones’ current position as zero, which doubles or cancels out the mesh deformation. Always apply the mesh’s Armature Modifier first (Step 1), apply the rest pose in Pose Mode (Step 2), and add a fresh Armature Modifier back to the mesh (Step 3).

Q: What if my character has Shape Keys and I cannot apply the Armature Modifier?

Ans: Blender does not allow you to apply modifiers on meshes with active Shape Keys natively. To work around this without losing facial expressions, you can either use the free Apply Modifier for Object with Shape Keys add-on, or save the posed mesh as a new shape key (Save As Shape Key in the Armature Modifier dropdown) and set its value to 1.0 after updating the armature’s rest pose.

Q: Why is Alt + R or Alt + G not resetting my pose?

Ans:

• Rest Position is enabled: Check the Object Data Properties tab (green stick figure icon) on the right panel. Under the Skeleton section, make sure it is set to Pose Position instead of Rest Position.
• Locked keyframes or Auto Keying: If the bones have keyframes on the timeline, moving the playhead will snap them back to the keyframed pose. Delete the keyframes or clear the active Action in the Action Editor.

Conclusion

Setting up armature deformation in Blender can be tricky, especially if you need to change the default pose without messing up your weight painting or posing. To do this, apply the armature modifier, then set the new default pose, and finally reapply the modifier. This way, you can avoid issues like broken weights or unexpected model movements.

Also, the order of these steps is important – 1. Apply the modifier, 2. Set the new rest pose, and 3. Reassign the modifier. This method ensures your animations look smooth and your model behaves as expected.

Got any other Blender tips or questions? I’d love to hear them!