is there anyway to change the pivot point of an object, not the position but the orientation of the pivot, can’t seem to find any option for this
If you’re asking how to use different coordinate systems to rotate an object, Ctrl-space turns the widget on and off, while Alt-space gives you different axis options.
If you want to change the pivot point Blender uses for rotations and scaling, use the header button shown below. Its uses are described in the Pivot Power tutorial at Blendernewbies.com.
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unfortunatly i’m not talking about either of those, the first you mention was just changing between like view mode or local, while the second you mention was just what i use as a pivot… i’m asking how to change the actual pivots orientation, like it’s normal, this way i can cange it’s normal without rotating the object, if you’ve ever used 3d max, they have that option, and you’ll know what i’m talking about, so i’m wondering if theres a tool in blender that does that
Ah, I don’t think there is a straightforward Blender way to do that yet. I use the built-in script called Axis Orientation Copy. The workflow is
Create an Empty (actually you can use any object) and set it to the orientation you are looking for.
Select your object, shift-select the Empty.
Object Menu -> Scripts ->Axis orientation copy.
It should ask something like “Copy orientation from Empty?”. Say yes and your object’s axis will be rotated to match.
This script basically simplifies the even older less accurate way, which was to rotate the mesh in Edit mode, then rotate to original orientation in Object mode. Yuck.
It would be nice if this were simpler; it may very well be in v2.48 but I haven’t checked.
yes thats dissapointing, they should look at key features, and try and get some of that stuff in
Aha, there is a nifty new feature since 2.46 called “Transform Orientations.” Access it in the View menu of a 3D window. It lets you set up and save custom axis orientations beyond the usual Global/Local/Normal/View. So there’s no need to change an object’s local coordinate system if you want to transform on an arbitrary axis. Very cool.