Priya Kapoor
Automatic weight painting in Blender is a simple process, but it can be tough to get right. Before starting, ensure your mesh has the armature modifier added and the armature selected in its settings. Then, go to the main Edit menu and untick Lock Object Modes. Next, in Object Mode, select your Armature and switch to Pose Mode. Once there, hold Shift and click your mesh, then switch to Weight Paint Mode. You can now select individual bones with Ctrl-click and edit weights by left-clicking. It is important to note that you don't have to enter Pose Mode before weight painting and unlocking Object Mode is not mandatory.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Blender version | 2.8, 4.4 |
| Weight painting mode | Ctrl-Tab |
| Weight paint mode selection | Ctrl-click |
| Multi-select in weight paint mode | Shift-click |
| Multi-select bones | Ctrl-click (alt+shift+click for multiple bones) |
| Weight paint mode selection alternative | Ctrl/Cmd-left click |
| Pose mode | Shift-click mesh |
| Lock object modes | Untick in the Edit menu |
| Assign automatic weights from bones | Press W in the Weights menu |
| Customise weight gradient colours | Enable Custom Weight Paint Range in the Editing tab of the Preferences |
| Normalised weights | Add up to 1 |
| Auto Normalize | Enabled after initial normalisation |
| Locking vertex groups | Lock icon in the vertex group list or bone selection and locks pie menu |
| Multi-Paint | Treat multiple selected bones as one |
| Troubleshooting | Manually adjust bone weights, adjust armature in edit mode |
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What You'll Learn
Select the rig, mesh, and enter weight paint mode
To select the rig, mesh, and enter weight paint mode in Blender, follow these steps:
First, ensure that your mesh has the armature modifier added and selected in its settings. This is crucial, as without it, the subsequent steps may not work. Next, go to the main Edit menu and untick "Lock Object Modes". Now, you are ready to select your rig and mesh.
In Object Mode, select your Armature and switch to Pose Mode. Once you are in Pose Mode, hold Shift and click on your mesh. At this point, you can switch to Weight Paint Mode. Alternatively, you can use the shortcut Ctrl + Tab to enter Weight Paint Mode.
In Weight Paint Mode, you can select individual bones with Ctrl-click or multiple bones with Alt + Shift + click. You can also use the Ctrl + Shift + Left Click shortcut to switch between bone groups being edited.
It is important to note that the order of selection matters. Always select the armature first, then the mesh. Additionally, it is not necessary to enter Pose Mode before weight painting, and you can leave Object Mode locked if preferred.
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Select bones with Ctrl/Cmd-Left Click
To select bones with Ctrl/Cmd-Left Click, you need to follow a few steps. Firstly, ensure your mesh has the armature modifier added and the armature selected in its settings. This is crucial, or else the subsequent steps may not work. Next, access the main Edit menu and untick "Lock Object Modes". Now, you can enter Object Mode and select your Armature, followed by Shift-clicking your mesh. Once both are selected, navigate to Weight Paint Mode. Here, you can utilise the Ctrl/Cmd-Left Click function to select individual bones.
It is worth noting that in certain versions of Blender, such as 2.80, you might encounter difficulties selecting bones in Weight Paint Mode using Ctrl/Cmd-Left Click. In such cases, an alternative approach is to select the armature, then the mesh, and finally enter Weight Paint Mode. After that, you can choose individual bones by Ctrl-clicking.
If you are still unable to select bones with Ctrl/Cmd-Left Click, there could be another factor at play. In some versions of Blender, such as 4.0.1, selecting a bone in this manner may cause you to exit Weight Paint Mode and enter Pose Mode. To rectify this, navigate to Edit > Preferences > Keymap, and select Key-Binding mode. Search for "ctrl left mouse" in the input field, locate the Weight Paint section, and delete the "Weight Paint - ctrl left mouse" line. Saving these preferences should now enable Ctrl/Cmd-Left Click bone selection.
In summary, selecting bones with Ctrl/Cmd-Left Click in Blender involves a combination of setting up your armature and mesh, unticking "Lock Object Modes", and entering Weight Paint Mode. While there may be version-specific variations in the effectiveness of this method, adjustments to preferences can help ensure its functionality.
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Edit weights by left-clicking
To edit weights by left-clicking in Blender, you must first ensure that your mesh has the armature modifier added and that the armature is selected in its settings. This is crucial, as without it, the subsequent steps may not work.
Next, access the main Edit menu and uncheck the "Lock Object Modes" option. This will allow you to freely edit the weights. Now, you can enter Object Mode and select your Armature. Once selected, switch to Pose Mode. In Pose Mode, hold down the Shift key and click on your mesh. This will allow you to select individual bones for weight painting.
After selecting your mesh, switch to Weight Paint Mode. Here, you can left-click on the bone you want to adjust the weight for. You can also use the Ctrl key in combination with the left-click to select specific bones. Alternatively, you can use the Ctrl + Shift key combination to select multiple bones simultaneously.
It is important to note that the order of selection matters. First, you select the armature, then the mesh, and finally, the specific bones you want to work with. This process will enable you to edit the weights of the selected bones by left-clicking in Blender.
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Customise the weight gradient by enabling Custom Weight Paint Range
Blender allows you to customise the colours in the weight gradient by enabling Custom Weight Paint Range. This can be done by going to the Editing tab of the Preferences, as per the Blender 4.4 Manual. However, another source suggests that the Custom Weight Paint Range option is found in the System tab of the User Preferences.
Customising the weight gradient is one of the main uses of weight painting. The weight gradient is visualised by a gradient using a cold/hot colour system. Areas of low value (weights close to 0.0) are displayed as blue, while areas of high value (weights close to 1.0) are displayed as red. All in-between values are displayed as rainbow colours, from blue to green, yellow, orange, and finally, red.
Blender also has a special visual notation for unreferenced vertices, which are displayed as black. This allows you to see both the referenced areas (displayed as cold/hot colours) and the unreferenced areas (in black) simultaneously. This is particularly useful when looking for weighting errors.
You can define the colour band as you like, such as making it purely black and white, and you can even use Alpha values.
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Normalise weights to automatically maintain normalisation as you paint
To normalise weights and maintain normalisation while painting, you must first select the bones. This can be done by holding Ctrl and left-clicking (LMB) or using the Ctrl + Shift + LMB combination. Next, select your mesh by holding Shift and left-clicking. Make sure your mesh is selected second.
Now, enter the weight paint mode. Here, you can select the bone you want to adjust the weight for. You can do this by Ctrl-clicking on the desired bone. Alternatively, you can use the 'Weights' menu, found between 'View' and 'Brush' in the 3D-View header. In the 'Weights' menu, you can also normalise the weights automatically by selecting "Assign Automatic from Bones".
Another method is to use the F3 shortcut to open the operator search and search for 'Weight from Bones'. This will allow you to reapply automatic weights to all your bones.
It is important to note that you don't have to enter pose mode before weight painting, and unlocking object mode is also not necessary. Parenting the armature to the mesh before weight painting is a recommended step to ensure you have all the vertex groups for deformation bones.
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Frequently asked questions
First, make sure your mesh has the armature modifier added and the armature selected in its settings. Next, go to the main Edit menu and untick "Lock Object Modes". Now, in Object Mode, select your Armature and switch to Pose Mode. Once there, hold Shift and click your mesh, then switch to Weight Paint Mode. Finally, select the bone you want to weight paint, then select your mesh and switch into Weight Paint mode. Press W and then choose "assign automatic from bones".
Before we link our armature with our model, we have to make sure that the positions of the bones match up with the parts of our mesh. If you've created a custom rig, you've likely already done this. If you're using a pre-made rig or model, you might need to make some adjustments. To adjust your rig to fit your model, go into Edit Mode and make some changes – to do this, press Tab on your armature, and use G, R, and S to move, rotate, and scale the bones to match your model.
One common issue is receiving the error message "Bone Heat Weighting: failed to find solution for one or more bones". This means that Blender couldn't figure out automatic weights for your model. To solve this, you'll need to manually adjust the bone weights on your model.
