Blender Quick Tip: Move, snap and align the object origin (Blender 2.93 Tutorial)

In this quick I'll show you how to move, snap, and align the object origin in Blender without using the 3D cursor or add-ons.
It's interesting that there do not seem to be any videos out there doing it my way. The 3D cursor is useful for many things but, in my opinion, not for moving the object origin. Of course, plugins like Machin3tools, Hard-Ops, and Pivot Transform can make relocating the object origin an even more pleasant experience.
If you want to,let me know what you think about my way of doing it in the comments below.
I hope you'll find this quick tip useful.
Thanks for watching this video!
Cheers,
Wolf3D

[@ahmeduzair9999]

dude you are amazing and it helpssss us alotttt!!! I HOPE YOU GET 100K subscribers!!

[@Wolf-4D]

Thank you very much! I was hoping that a few people would appreciate this quick tip. :-)

[@Motionworks]

Some nice tips Wolf, I'll shoot out a tweet 👍

[@Wolf-4D]

Thanks a lot, John, I appreciate it!

[@vitof.4626]

wonach müsste ich denn in den Keymap Preferences suchen um den Shortcuts für Origin zu aktivieren? Wenn ich nach Origin suche findet der nix, nach . finde ich nix passendes. Kann natürlich sein, dass Blender 3 schon andere shortcuts hat

[@Wolf-4D]

Nach "Transform", dann ist es unter "3D View Generic" aufgelistet. Darüber würde ich das Shortcut aber nicht ändern, weil es irgendwie unspezifisch ist und sich nicht direkt auf Origins bezieht. Bei vielen Dingen ist es einfacher, die gewünschte Option im Viewport zu suchen, weil sie da genauer beschrieben ist, und über das Rechtsklick-Menü das gewünschte Shortcut vergeben. Folgende Möglichkeiten: - am einfachsten ist es, oben rechts im Viewport, unterhalb der Overlay-Menüs, das Options-Dropdown zu öffnen, dann Rechtsklick auf "Origin" und das gewünschte Shortcut zuweisen. - Genau dasselbe Menü findet im N-Panel unter "Tools". - Genau das selbe Menü findet man im Properties Panel unter "Active Tool and Workspace Settings". - Über "Edit - Menu Search" oder das entsprechende Kürzel kann man die Suchfunktion öffnen und da "Transform" als Suchbegriff eingeben. Darüber kann man "Transform Origins" auch finden und mit Rechtsklick auf den Eintrag dann die Option "Add Shortcut" auswählen. Das ist allerdings umständlicher als die vorigen Möglichkeiten.

[@heiro5]

Wolf! I can't thank you enough for this! I've been adding Blender to my Maya workflow and this issue... the apparent complication of simply moving the pivot/origin point... has been the single most vexatious part of the adjustment for me. Like, I just need to move this point real quick, I don't need a whole side quest. On top of that, your discussion of how and why you've got your snap function set up was very informative. I learned a bunch of things I wanted to do but couldn't, again, solving other origin vexations I've been having with some simple functions. Thanks again!

[@Wolf-4D]

Same here. Not being able to easily and quickly move the origin was a huge issue for me in Blender. I solved it by trying to translate my Cinema 4D settings to Blender, and that actually worked. Way back in the day changing a few small things in C4D in a similar way made moving the origin a lot easier and faster there, too. I don't know about Maya, but using snapping without changing a few presets is a bit of a pain, too. I did quite a bit of research before I recorded this video, and it seems that no one had thought of that simple solution in Blender before. I'm happy to hear I could improve at least one person's snapping life in Blender. Thanks a lot for your comment!

[@heiro5]

@@Wolf-4D Seriously, thanks so much. In Maya, selecting and moving the pivot point is so easy, one button. I was clear that being able to snap to verts, edges and edge centers would be very useful, but never bothered to figure that out since I could drag it close enough. So not just have you helped me regain a crucial piece of my previous workflow, but you've taught me how to do something I wanted but hadn't yet sorted out. Double thanks!!

[@AporiaLester]

Legendary video. This beats 3D Cursor sht on all levels.

[@Wolf-4D]

Thank you! I'm happy to see that there are some people after all who prefer this way of doing it to the 3D cursor.

[@AporiaLester]

Coming from Maya the 3D Cursor Method is a nightmare. @@Wolf-4D

[@Wolf-4D]

Coming from Cinema 4D it was the same for me. I have no love for the 3D cursor in Blender.@@AporiaLester

[@LucidOrdinance]

This has single-handedly been the most useful tutorial I have come across in my transition from Maya to Blender. This takes out most of the pain of figuring out how to get an object to inherit the transforms of a vert/edge/face for my workflow. Thank you.

[@Wolf-4D]

You're welcome! Seems like my video is useful for some people after all. It was the same for me. Figuring this out made working with Blender a much more pleasant experience.

[@HenrySeal-dz5bv]

Awesome technique. I’ve struggled with Blender snapping, but your method actually makes Blender snapping work!

[@Wolf-4D]

I'm happy to hear that there's a few people like you who find this technique useful. It was the same for me, was struggling as well. Using this method made snapping in Blender so much more comfortable and pleasant.

[@onepercentile]

Excellent howto. I fixed my issues with your video with snapping closest vs active (origin) and learned a ton more about snapping preferences. Surprised so little views. Thumbs up mate for a great teaching technique!

[@Wolf-4D]

Thank you very much for your kind words, Jordan! Yes, this video has gotten a lot fewer hits than I expected myself, but at least you and a few others did find it helpful. It's not about numbers for me anyway, it's the handful of people who, like you, take the time to post some positive feedback that make my day and motivate me to continue publishing tutorials. So thank you for that!

[@toddspeck9415]

I really enjoy your Moi and Blender tutorials. Going to set my Blender up like this. Thanks Wolf 4D.

[@Wolf-4D]

You're welcome, Todd! Glad to hear you like this video!