How to Disconnect Bones in Blender Keep Parent

In Blender, rigging often requires a child bone to maintain its hierarchical relationship with a parent bone without being physically attached to the parent's tail. You can easily unbind the physical attachment while preserving the transform inheritance by toggling off the "Connected" option in Edit Mode. This guide walks you through the simple steps to disconnect a child bone while keeping its parent relationship intact using either the interface menu or keyboard shortcuts.

Step-by-Step Guide to Disconnecting Bones

To disconnect a bone without clearing its parent relationship, follow these steps:

  1. Select the Armature: Click on your armature object in the 3D Viewport.
  2. Enter Edit Mode: Press Tab or select Edit Mode from the mode dropdown menu in the top-left corner.
  3. Select the Child Bone: Click on the specific bone you want to disconnect from its parent.
  4. Open Bone Properties: In the Properties panel on the right side of the screen, click the Bone Properties tab (represented by a green bone icon).
  5. Navigate to Relations: Expand the Relations dropdown section.
  6. Uncheck "Connected": Locate the Parent field. Beneath it, uncheck the box labeled Connected.

Once unchecked, you can freely move the child bone anywhere in the 3D Viewport during Edit Mode, but it will still follow the parent bone's location, rotation, and scale when operating in Pose Mode.

Quick Keyboard Shortcut Method

Alternatively, you can use a keyboard shortcut directly in the 3D Viewport:

  1. Select your armature and enter Edit Mode (Tab).
  2. Select the child bone you want to disconnect.
  3. Press Alt + P to open the Clear Parent menu.
  4. Select Disconnect Bone.

Disconnect Bone vs. Clear Parent

It is important to understand the distinction between disconnecting a bone and clearing a parent:

  • Disconnect Bone (Uncheck Connected): Detaches the child bone's head from the parent's tail, allowing independent placement in Edit Mode, while preserving the parent-child hierarchy in Pose Mode.
  • Clear Parent: Completely severs the relationship between the two bones, causing the child bone to stop inheriting any movements or transformations from the former parent bone.