Delete target objects

After you create a blend shape deformation, you can delete the target objects to free up memory and improve the performance of Maya. When you delete a target object, the blend shape deformer keeps the target deformations in memory and the target shape's weight slider deforms the base shape as if the target object remained.

You save the most memory when you have complex target objects that have only a few components that have moved slightly from the base shape. For complex targets that have many components moved from the base, you save the least memory.

Important: Don’t delete the target objects if you want to modify their shapes or remove them from the blend shape. If you need to keep the target objects, you can put them in a display layer that you can hide, or save the selected target objects in another scene and import them when you need to.

You can delete the target objects manually from your scene, or you can have Maya delete the target objects when you create the blend shape deformer on the base object.

To delete a target object after creating a blend shape deformation

1. Select one or more target objects in the view or Outliner.
2. Press Delete.

To delete the target objects when creating a blend shape deformer

1. Select the target objects in order, and then add the base object to the selection last.
2. Do any of the following:
   • In the Shape Editor, choose Create > Blend Shape Deformer > .
   • In the Animation menu set: Select Anim Deform > (Create) Blend Shape > .
   • In the Rigging or Modeling menu set: Select Deform > (Create) Blend Shape > .
3. In the Blend Shape Options, select the Delete Targets option.

Related topics

• Create blend shape deformers
• Blend Shape Options