Software basics · Beginner

Collections

Folders in Blender’s outliner that group objects so you can hide or reuse them together

What are collections in Blender?

Collections are folders in Blender that group the objects in a scene. They show in the outliner, can nest inside each other, and let you hide, select or exclude a whole group at once. One object can belong to several collections, and a collection can be reused as an instance.

Think of it like this

They work like folders on a computer: you sort files into them to stay tidy, and nothing inside the files changes.

Where it fits in a 3D project

Create
Surface
Rig
Animate
Render
Export

Create: Building the shape: modeling, sculpting, scanning or generating it.

How collections work

01Every new file starts with one collection, called Collection, under the scene.
02Press M in the viewport to move selected objects into an existing or new collection.
03Outliner icons hide a collection in the viewport or turn it off for renders; the filter menu shows more.
04Unticking a collection’s checkbox excludes it from the view layer completely.

Collections vs parenting

Property	Collections	Parenting
Purpose	Organizing, hiding and reusing groups	Making objects move together
Effect on movement	None, each object moves on its own	Children follow the parent
Membership	An object can be in several	One parent per object
How to set	M key or drag in the outliner	Ctrl+P in the viewport

Use collections to keep a scene organized and switch groups on or off, and parenting when objects must move, rotate or scale together.

Where collections are used

Separating characters, props, lights and cameras in a big scene
Turning whole groups on or off for a render
Reusing a group of objects as an instance or in another file

Beginner tip

Sort as you go: give lights, cameras and each major prop their own collection from the start. Tidying a scene with hundreds of loose objects later takes far longer.

Collections in Morphic

In Morphic for Blender, Copilot in the Chat tab reads the scene, including its collections, before it writes a script for the change you describe. Nothing runs until you click Apply.

See Morphic for Blender

Collections FAQ

How do I move an object to a collection in Blender?

Select it in the viewport, press M and pick a collection, or choose New Collection to make one. You can also drag the object onto a collection in the outliner. Shift+M adds it to another collection without removing it from the first.

How do I hide a collection from render?

In the outliner, open the filter menu and turn on the camera icon, then click that icon beside the collection. The eye icon only hides it in the viewport, and the checkbox excludes it from the view layer.

What is a collection instance?

A copy of a whole collection placed as one object, added with Add > Collection Instance. Every instance updates when you edit the original, which keeps files light when the same group repeats, such as a cluster of trees.

Do collections affect how objects move?

No. Putting objects in a collection does not link their movement, so each one still moves on its own. Use parenting or a constraint when objects should follow each other.

Updated October 29, 2026 · Browse all 3D terms