Bind Pose
The neutral pose a mesh is skinned in
Also known as: T-pose · A-pose · Rest pose
Definition
The bind pose (or rest pose) is the canonical pose in which a mesh is skinned to a skeleton — usually T-pose or A-pose. Every joint transform later applied during animation is computed as a delta from this reference. Re-binding a character in a different pose is a non-trivial fix: weights, deformation, and rig controls all assume the original bind. A-pose binds usually give better shoulder deformation; T-pose binds are simpler for retargeting.
In production
Maya, Blender, and 3ds Max all store the bind pose as the skeleton's transform at the moment "Bind Skin" (Maya) or "Parent > With Automatic Weights" (Blender) is executed, and every subsequent animation clip is evaluated as a delta rotation from that stored reference. Re-binding a character originally posed in T-pose into an A-pose after weights are already painted breaks every existing skin weight, because the deformation math assumes the original joint orientations — riggers instead use tools like Maya's "Move Skinned Joints Tool" to update the bind pose without destroying weights. Games using inverse kinematics retargeting are especially sensitive to bind pose consistency across a character roster — mixing T-pose and A-pose bound characters in the same retargeting setup causes visible shoulder and elbow popping. A-pose binds are generally preferred for hero characters because the reduced shoulder angle gives cleaner deformation in the armpit area, while T-pose remains common for quick production rigs since it's easier to mirror and check symmetry.
