🔥 Object Coordinates for Shape Keys
Shape Keys Are Broken (Until You Add This)
Raise your hand if you've spent 30+ minutes per character wiring object rotations to corrective shape keys through the Drivers Editor.
Right now
: 8 clicks. Every. Single. Time.
Animators
can't do it themselves.
Teams
fight library override breakage.
Everyone
wishes for addons.
The 1-Click Fix
Shape Keys panel:
[ ] Object Control
→ [Eyedropper] jaw_ctrl
→ Rotation → X axis
→ Strength: 85%
Move jaw_ctrl. Shape responds. Strength slider blends full-auto corrective vs full-manual keyframes.
Why It Feels Perfect
Shader Editor: "Use Object XYZ coordinates" → 1 click ✅
Shape Keys: "Use Object XYZ rotation" → 1 click ← MISSING
Animators instantly understand. No driver tutorials needed.
Production Reality Check
✅ No engine rewrite (uses existing drivers)
✅ Collapses when unused (zero UI clutter)
✅ Library overrides work (no addon breakage)
✅ Right-click → full driver power preserved
One row saves every rigger 4 hours per character rig.
[Your GIF: 8-click torture vs 1-click magic]
Would you upvote this into Blender? 👍
shapekeys
rigging
ui
6 Comments
I don't quite get it. You want a panel for the shape key creation, similar to the Custom Properties one?
No new panel!
Each shape key (Smile, Blink, etc.) gets 1 extra row right below its Value slider:
That's it. Move jaw_ctrl, smile auto-fires. 85% = some manual room left.
No custom props section. Just extends existing Shape Keys list.
👍👍👍
I think is better the Driver Editor to have a revamp don't you think? Because there are times where the shape shouldn't be cotrolled by any drivers. I've heard something about the Driver Editor to get simplefied resembling what happens in Maya.
I totally agree the Driver Editor needs a revamp, especially for more complex setups and for cases where shapes shouldn’t be driven at all. My idea isn’t meant to replace that. What I’m suggesting is just a small shortcut for the very common case: “this object’s transform drives this shape key.” For all the situations where you don’t want drivers, you simply leave this option off and animate the value like normal. So:
Driver Editor for complex, custom logic (and hopefully a future redesign, like you said).
This extra row in the Shape Keys panel for the simple, repetitive case that almost every rigger sets up over and over.
In other words, I see it as a quality-of-life layer on top of drivers, not a replacement or a workaround for when you don’t want drivers.
But it's not always used with driver system, for these cases the transfomation channel would be empty?
Yes, it would be empty by default. .....