Create blend shapes using only the base object

With this method of shape animation, you can create target shapes directly on the base object without needing to create separate multiple target objects. This means less geometry in the scene to slow down the interaction time.

Of course, if you later decide that you want to create actual target objects for the target shapes you have created (see Create blend shapes using multiple target objects), you can do that - see Create a new object from the target shape. This allows you to work without worrying about which method you choose because you can always delete and rebuild target objects as you like.

Watch this video or follow the steps below to create a blend shape deformation using only the base object.

Note: This video illustrates how to create blend shape deformations in Maya, but you can do the same in Maya LT.

1. Select base object that is to be deformed.

2. Open the Shape Editor and click the Create Blend Shape button to create a blend shape deformer (see Create blend shape deformers for other methods). You can create multiple blend shape deformers for an object.
3. In the Shape Editor, the blend shape deformer you just created is automatically selected. If not, select it or another blend shape deformer in the tree view.

   Tip: You can give each blend shape deformer a descriptive name by right-clicking it and choosing Rename.

4. Add an empty target shape to the selected blend shape deformer by clicking the Add Target button (see Add target shapes for other methods). Keep clicking to add multiple target shapes as you like.

   You can give each target shape a descriptive name by right-clicking it and choosing Rename.

5. When you add a target shape, its Edit button is automatically selected so that you can immediately edit it.

   If not, select it or another target shape, make sure that its Weight value is not 0 (1 is probably best), then click its Edit button to enter Edit mode.

6. Modify the position of the vertices on the base object using the Sculpting tools, or any of the Transform tools (Move, Rotate, or Scale).

   Each modification you make is a delta to the vertex positions of the base object's original shape. This particular information is stored for that target shape and used by the blendShape node to calculate the shape deformations on the base shape.

7. When you're finished editing the object, click the Edit button again to save these changes to the target shape and exit Edit mode.
8. Continue editing the other target shapes in this way.
9. Select a target shape and drag its Weight slider (or enter a value in the text box) to set its influence on the blend shape for the base object - see Set weights for target shapes.
   Note: You can also set the Weight values for each target shape in the Channel Box or the Attribute Editor.
10. In the Time Slider, go to the first frame where you want to set a key (such as for a neutral expression or pose).
11. In the Shape Editor, key the weight values for the target shapes as described in Key the blend shape weights.

12. Repeat the last three steps to animate the shape deformation over time.