harkyman.com

This question was asked by… er… snot_nose on the CG Society Blender forum:

“can i add/pick blendshapes from a EXTERNAL mesh as a target shape.
is it possible to import blendshapes of the same character from another file?”

There have been times when I’ve been working on a shape in a larger project and realized I had created a few shape keys on the wrong version of the file. As long as the mesh structure itself is the same between the two versions of the model, your work is not lost! Here’s how to get a Shape Key from one mesh into another:

1. Add at least a “Basis” blend shape to your target mesh.
2. Select the source mesh, and select the appropriate Shape Key on this mesh.
3. Pin that shape.
4. Select the target mesh.
5. Shift-select the source mesh.
6. Press TAB to enter edit mode on the source mesh (yes, with both objects select).
7. From the Mesh menu on the header, select Scripts, then “Deformed Mesh to RVK”. Answer “Yes” at the prompts.

This should add your source mesh’s shape key to the target mesh. Obviously, the meshes should have identical structures.

As for bringing in a shape from another file (per the original question), you use the same procedure, but you must first Append the external object into your local scene with Append (Shift-F1).

This is one of those things where you rarely need to do it, but when you need it, there is no substitute.