How to Set Inverse Child Of Constraint in Blender

Setting the inverse of a Child Of constraint in Blender allows an object to keep its current position, rotation, and scale when parented to a target object. This guide covers how to apply the Child Of constraint, use the Set Inverse button to preserve transform offsets, clear inverse transforms, and resolve common placement jumping issues during 3D modeling and animation.

What Does "Set Inverse" Do?

When you attach a Child Of constraint to an object in Blender, the child object defaults to using the target's origin as its baseline transform point. This often causes the child object to snap or jump away from its current location.

Clicking Set Inverse calculates an offset matrix. This matrix offsets the child's position, rotation, and scale relative to the parent so that the child stays in its original location relative to the scene when the constraint is activated.

Steps to Set the Inverse of a Child Of Constraint

  1. Select the child object in the 3D Viewport.
  2. Open the Object Constraint Properties tab (the blue link/chain icon on the right sidebar).
  3. Click Add Object Constraint and select Child Of.
  4. In the Target field, select the intended parent object (or an Armature and a specific Bone).
  5. If the child object jumps to a new location, navigate to the Child Of constraint settings.
  6. Click the Set Inverse button. The child object will snap back to its position prior to applying the target.

How to Clear the Inverse

If you want the child object to snap directly to the target's origin point instead of holding its offset:

  1. Select the child object and go to the Object Constraint Properties tab.
  2. Locate the Child Of constraint.
  3. Click the Clear Inverse button. The child object will snap directly to the parent's center.

Handling Inverse Offsets During Animation

If an object snaps to an unwanted position when animating the Influence slider of a Child Of constraint:

  1. Go to the frame where the influence switches on (changes from 0 to 1).
  2. Hover over the Set Inverse button inside the constraint menu and click it on that frame.
  3. Apply a keyframe to the Influence slider.
  4. Use Visual Keyframing (press I > Location, Rotation & Scale with visual transform enabled) on the child object to prevent positional popping between frames.