Import the prop, then let the socket do the placing. A prop arrives from Blender as a Static Mesh whose pivot is already the grip. Unreal's contribution is ordinary asset setup plus one key move: attach held props to the character's hand socket instead of hand-placing them. Aligned pivot + socket = the prop is correct in every pose, from every camera angle. The modeling side is on the Blender Phase 3 page.
Static props are dropped into the level; held props attach to the hand socket built back in Phase 2.
Use the FBX import workflow — the object origin you set at the grip in Blender comes in as the Static Mesh pivot. Verify it in the Static Mesh Editor.
Assign simple collision, LODs where useful, and Material Instances — the same asset hygiene taught for any static mesh.
In the shot, attach the prop (as a component or actor) to the character Skeletal Mesh's hand socket. Because the pivot is the grip, it lands in the hand with no offset — and follows the wrist through any pose.
Socketed attachment means one hand can hold a sword this shot and a torch the next — no re-rigging, no re-animating. Static set-dressing props just get placed in the level.
| Prop type | In Unreal | Behaviour |
|---|---|---|
| Static prop (set dressing) | placed as a Static Mesh actor in the level | stays where you put it |
| Held prop (sword, mug, tool) | attached to a hand socket | rides the wrist · swappable · no offset |
A socketed prop that sits off the hand almost always means the Static Mesh pivot isn't at the grip — a Blender-side issue, not something to patch with a per-shot offset in Unreal (which breaks the moment the pose changes).
Fix: correct the object origin in Blender (Phase 3), re-export, re-import. Then attach-to-socket is exact everywhere.