What "Reset Pose" Means and When You Need It
Resetting a pose means returning an armature (skeleton) to its default rest position after you have moved its bones. In Blender, when you rotate or move bones to create an animation or pose, those changes stay until you undo them or deliberately reset. A reset clears all those rotations and movements at once, sending every bone back to where it started.
You need this when you have posed a character, changed your mind about the whole pose, and want to start fresh without undoing fifty individual bone movements. It is also useful when you are switching between different poses and want a clean baseline, or when you have accidentally moved bones and want to return to the rest position without losing other work in your file.
Key Takeaways
- Select all bones in pose mode by pressing A, then press Alt+R to reset rotation, Alt+G to reset location, and Alt+S to reset scale.
- You can reset only certain bones by selecting them individually or by box-selecting before using the reset shortcuts.
- The reset shortcuts work only in pose mode, not in object mode or edit mode.
- If the shortcuts do not work, check that your armature is in pose mode and that you have bones selected, not the armature object itself.
Entering Pose Mode and Selecting Bones
Before you can reset a pose, you must be in pose mode. Click on your armature in the viewport to select it, then press Tab to enter pose mode. The bones will turn blue, and you will see a small circle at each joint. If the bones are still orange or grey, you are still in object mode—press Tab again.
Once in pose mode, select the bones you want to reset. To select all bones at once, press A. To select a single bone, click on it. To select multiple bones without selecting all of them, hold Shift and click each bone you want. You can also box-select by pressing B, then clicking and dragging a rectangle around the bones you want to include.
Resetting Rotation with Alt+R
Rotation is the most common thing you change when posing a character. To reset all rotations on your selected bones, press Alt+R. All the bones you selected will snap back to their original rotation angles. If you selected all bones with A, the entire pose returns to rest position.
After you press Alt+R, the bones move when ready. You will see the change in the viewport right away. If you want to undo this reset, press Ctrl+Z when ready. The reset affects only rotation—if you have also moved bones along the X, Y, or Z axes, those movements stay in place until you reset location separately.
Resetting Location with Alt+G
Location means the position of a bone in 3D space. When you move a bone without rotating it, you are changing its location. To reset location on your selected bones, press Alt+G. The bones will jump back to their original positions.
This is less common than resetting rotation in character animation, because most character movement comes from rotating bones at joints rather than sliding them around. However, if you have accidentally dragged a bone or intentionally moved it and now want it back where it started, Alt+G does that when ready. Like rotation, location reset affects only the bones you have selected.
Resetting Scale with Alt+S
Scale means the size of a bone. You rarely change bone scale in character animation, but if you have stretched or shrunk a bone and want to return it to its original size, press Alt+S with the bones selected. The bones will return to their default scale.
In most character rigs, bone scale should stay at 1.0 on all axes. If you find yourself resetting scale often, check whether you meant to rotate or move the bone instead—scale changes can sometimes cause unexpected deformations in the mesh when the armature deforms it.
Resetting Everything at Once
If you want to reset rotation, location, and scale all in one step, select all bones with A, then press Alt+R, Alt+G, and Alt+S in any order. Each keystroke resets one property. After three keypresses, the entire pose is back to rest position.
Alternatively, you can use the menu: select your bones, then go to Pose menu at the top of the viewport, hover over Clear Transform, and click the option you want. This menu path does the same thing as the keyboard shortcuts but is slower if you reset poses often.
Common Mistakes and How to Avoid Them
The most common mistake is trying to reset while in object mode instead of pose mode. The shortcuts do nothing if you are not in pose mode. Check the top left of the viewport—it should say "Pose Mode". If it says "Object Mode", press Tab to switch.
Another mistake is selecting the armature object itself instead of the bones. If you click on the armature name in the outliner or click on the armature in the viewport without being in pose mode, you select the object, not the bones. The reset shortcuts will not work. Always enter pose mode first, then select bones.
A third mistake is forgetting that reset only affects what you have selected. If you select one arm and press Alt+R, only that arm resets—the rest of the pose stays as it was. If you want to reset everything, press A first to select all bones, then reset.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between reset and undo?
Undo (Ctrl+Z) steps backward through every change you made, one at a time. Reset (Alt+R, Alt+G, or Alt+S) clears only the specific property you choose on only the bones you selected, in one step. Reset is faster when you have made many small changes and want to clear them all at once.
Can I reset just one bone without affecting the others?
Yes. Click on the single bone you want to reset (do not hold Shift or press A), then press Alt+R, Alt+G, or Alt+S. Only that bone will reset. The rest of the pose stays the same.
Why do the reset shortcuts not work?
Check three things: you are in pose mode (not object mode), you have bones selected (not the armature object), and you have not locked the bone properties in the bone properties panel. If a bone is locked, you cannot change it, and reset will not work on it.
Does reset affect the mesh or only the armature?
Reset affects only the armature bones. The mesh deforms based on where the bones are, so when you reset the bones, the mesh follows. The mesh itself is not changed—only the skeleton moves.
Can I reset only part of a pose, like just the arms?
Yes. Select only the arm bones you want to reset by clicking them while holding Shift, then press the reset shortcut. Only those bones will reset. The legs, spine, and head stay in their current pose.