Advanced Features

Automatic Weights, Manual Brushes, and Weight Inspection

Select influencing bones, assign weights automatically, refine them manually, and manage the bind pose.

AdvancedAbout 28 minFor Editor v1.0 · Tutorial updated Oct 26, 2026

After this article

Make mesh vertices follow bones sensibly and diagnose pulling, scattering, and accidental bindings.

1
Open the weight panel
Return to Skeleton mode, select a mesh image, and press G or click Weight. Weights can only be edited in Skeleton mode's bind pose.
Expected resultThe weight panel and vertices appear. Select a mesh image first if nothing is active.
The weight workspace uses Skeleton mode's bind pose.
2
Select participating bones
Click Select Bones, click the bones that should influence the mesh, then Finish Selection. The editor computes bindings and tries to preserve manual weights at control points by position.
Expected resultThe selected bones appear in the list without a sudden jump in the rest pose.
This is the selection entry. Click the intended bones on the canvas, then Finish Selection.
3
Reset the bind pose only when intended
Use Reset Bind Pose only if the current skeleton pose should become the new baseline. It is not an ordinary pose-undo button.
Expected resultYou understand that skinning now uses a new baseline and existing pose offsets change meaning.

1
Set Max Influences
Start at 2 for a typical single-joint transition and increase if a bone chain needs more; the maximum is 4. This is the bone count per vertex, not the total for the mesh.
2
Click Auto
Weights are assigned by vertex-to-bone distance. Review messages about weak-weight cleanup, out-of-radius vertices, and excessive scattering.
Expected resultVertices have valid weights, joints have sensible transitions, and distant regions are not captured accidentally.
Select influencing bones before clicking Auto. This real panel shows the state before assignment, not its result.
3
Expand Advanced when needed
Adjust automatic/manual radius, distance mode, cleanup threshold, preserving existing weights, and hard radius cutoff. When an arm is close to the torso, compare geodesic distance along the mesh to reduce accidental capture.
Expected resultYou change one parameter at a time and compare the same motion segment.

Parameter	Effect of increasing or enabling
Influence radius	A larger area receives the bone's influence; excessive values can pull distant vertices
Cleanup threshold	Higher values remove more weak weights and renormalize the rest
Preserve existing weights	Auto processes only unweighted vertices, protecting manual work
Hard radius cutoff	Bones outside the influence radius cannot participate in automatic assignment

1
Use pie charts, heatmaps, and influence regions
Pie charts show bone proportions per vertex, heatmaps show influence strength for the current bone, and influence regions show bone radii. Click a bone row to change the highlighted target.
Expected resultYou can identify which bone influences a problematic vertex too strongly.
Locate the display controls and influence regions first. Bind bones before evaluating actual weight distribution.
2
Paint adjustments
Select a bone, enable the brush, and paint with a suitable radius and strength. Lock bone rows that must be protected from automatic assignment or brush edits.
Expected resultThe target bone gains weight while other weights shrink proportionally and normalize.
3
Refine with sliders and batch tools
Select vertices and adjust the weight slider; Ctrl + left-click adds vertices to the selection. Smooth blends neighborhoods, Weld unifies multiple points, and Update renormalizes.
Expected resultSelected vertices have the intended distribution and no more than four influencing bones.
4
Verify through playback
Close the weight panel and play a segment with obvious joint bending. Compare elbows, knees, and torso edges.
Expected resultNo sudden pulling, obvious collapse, or distant image motion; issues can be traced to specific vertices and bones.