How to Use Pose Brush with Face Sets in Blender

Using Blender's Pose Brush alongside Face Sets allows digital sculptors to efficiently pose and deform specific character regions without complex armature rigs. Face Sets define distinct polygroup boundaries, which the Pose Brush can use as rotation origins and deformation segments. This guide outlines how to generate Face Sets, configure the Pose Brush to target them, and manipulate your mesh accurately in Sculpt Mode.

Step 1: Create Face Sets on Your Mesh

Before using the Pose Brush with Face Sets, you must define the regions of your mesh that will act as individual limbs or segments.

  1. Switch to Sculpt Mode.
  2. Press W to open the Face Sets pie menu.
  3. Choose a creation method:
    • Face Set from Masked: Mask a region (M), press W, and select Face Set from Masked.
    • Face Sets from Loose Parts: Automatically assigns a different Face Set to disconnected mesh parts.
    • Draw Face Set Brush: Select the Draw Face Set tool from the left toolbar and paint directly onto the mesh to create new colored regions.

Step 2: Configure the Pose Brush Settings

To make the Pose Brush recognize your defined Face Sets:

  1. Select the Pose Brush from the left toolbar (or press Shift + Space then P).
  2. Open the Tool Settings bar at the top or the Active Tool tab in the Sidebar (N key).
  3. Locate the Pose Origin Method dropdown menu.
  4. Change the setting from Topology or Spherical to Face Sets.

Step 3: Pose the Mesh

With the configuration complete, you can now deform your character based on the Face Set boundaries:

  1. Hover your cursor over the Face Set you wish to move.
  2. Click and drag on the mesh. Blender automatically places the rotation origin at the boundary between the active Face Set and adjacent Face Sets.
  3. To control how many connected Face Sets are affected at once, adjust the Connected Face Sets or FK Segments settings in the tool properties. Higher values allow multiple connected Face Sets to bend like an IK/FK chain, while lower values restrict movement to the single targeted Face Set.