An [i]armature[/i] is a hierarchical structure of bones that can be associated with a mesh to create points of joint articulation. Conventionally, armatures are analogous to the skeletal structure inside a creature, but they can be also applied in other ways to achieve various types of deformation in any mesh. Armatures can be managed with the [link=properties_armature]Armature[/link] section of the [link=properties_panel]properties panel[/link].

In order to allow a model to be posed using an armature, the following steps must be performed:
[list=1-]
[*]Add an armature to the mesh, using either the [link=add_armature]Add Armature[/link] menu item, or the [nobr]Add Armature[/nobr] button in the properties panel.
[*]Add and position the necessary bones to form the mesh's skeletal structure, using the [link=operation_add_bone]Add Bone[/link] and (optionally) [link=operation_extrude]Extrude[/link] operations.
[*]Ensure that the mesh's [link=vertex_format]vertex format[/link] includes a Bone Index attribute and a Bone Weight attribute. This can be done using the [nobr]Update Vertex Format[/nobr] button in the Armature section of the properties panel.
[*]Perform [link=rigging]rigging[/link] on the mesh's vertices, associating each one with one or more bones in the armature.
[*]Switch to the [link=screen_pose_editor]Pose Editor[/link] screen.
[*]Select a bone from the armature, and apply a transformation to it (typically [link=operation_rotate]rotation[/link]). If the natural axis of rotation is nonideal, it can be adjusted on the Mesh Editor screen with [link=operation_adjust_base_angle]Adjust Base Angle[/link].
[*]The mesh is now visibly posed. In addition to viewing it on the Pose Editor screen, the posed mesh can be used on the Mesh Editor screen by enabling [link=display_mesh_with_pose]Display Mesh With Pose[/link].
[/list-]