How to Use Individual Origins Pivot Point in Blender

The Individual Origins pivot point in Blender allows you to rotate, scale, or transform multiple objects or selected mesh elements around their own unique center points simultaneously, rather than around a shared collective center. This guide provides a direct, step-by-step walkthrough on how to enable this pivot point mode, how it behaves with multiple objects versus edit mode mesh components, and practical examples to streamline your 3D workflow.

How to Enable Individual Origins

You can set the pivot point to Individual Origins using either the header menu or a keyboard shortcut:

  • Header Menu: Click the Transform Pivot Point menu located at the top center of the 3D Viewport (represented by a pivot icon) and select Individual Origins.
  • Keyboard Shortcut: Press the Period key (.) on your main keyboard to bring up the Pivot Point pie menu, then move your mouse to select Individual Origins.

Using Individual Origins in Object Mode

In Object Mode, Individual Origins changes how separate objects behave when transformed together.

  1. Select two or more objects in your scene.
  2. Enable Individual Origins as your pivot point.
  3. Press R to rotate or S to scale.

Result: Each selected object will rotate around its own local origin point or scale down toward its own center, preventing objects from orbiting around a shared central point.

Using Individual Origins in Edit Mode

In Edit Mode, Individual Origins applies to selected geometry such as faces, edges, or vertices.

Working with Faces

  1. Select multiple disconnected faces on your mesh.
  2. Enable Individual Origins.
  3. Press S to scale or R to rotate.

Result: Each face transforms independently around its own center point. If connected faces are selected, each contiguous group of faces (face island) will transform around its group center.

Working with Edges and Vertices

When multiple separate groups of edges or vertices are selected, each group will use its collective geometric center as an individual pivot point.

Practical Use Cases

  • Rotating Panels/Blinds: Select multiple separate object panels (like window blinds) and rotate them on an axis to open or close them all at once.
  • Creating Mechanical Details: Select individual faces across a sphere or cylinder, extrude them, and scale them down with Individual Origins to create uniform panels or buttons.
  • Resizing Clustered Objects: Scale down multiple scattered trees or rocks in a scene without changing their placement positions relative to each other.

Key Shortcuts Reference

  • Pivot Point Pie Menu: . (Period key)
  • Rotate: R
  • Scale: S
  • Transform on Local Axis: Press R or S, then press the axis key twice (e.g., R + Z + Z to rotate each object on its own local Z-axis).