Mirror any object about a place you choose

WhereThe top bar: the row of words that begins File, Edit.

DoDownload p3-12-start.blend from Files above and open it. Then choose File > Save As and save it under the name below, in a folder of yours. Open an exercise file and keep the start file safe (P0-07) shows how.

Typemy-drops.blend

You should seeThe 3D view looks straight down at one drop-shaped plate, to the right of the green line that runs up the middle of the view. It is round at the bottom and runs out to a small round tip at the top, a little to the right. The Outliner, the list at the top right of the window, holds one object, Drop. To look straight down at any time, click the blue Z ball of the gizmo, the small ball of coloured letters at the top right of the 3D view.

It worked whenThe title bar, the strip above File and Edit, begins my-drops.

WhereThe 3D view. Move the pointer over the dark area.

DoClick the drop, then press Alt+M.

TypeAlt+M

You should seeA window headed Mirror opens at the pointer. About is a list of six places to mirror about (the table says what each is), and World Origin is lit. Across is the way the mirror goes, and X is lit: it swaps right and left. Keep the Original is ticked: the object stays and a mirrored copy is made. Copy Follows the Original is not ticked yet.

It worked whenA window headed Mirror stands open over the 3D view.

If it goes wrongThe window does not open: The pointer is over the sidebar, or nothing is selected. Click the drop, keep the pointer over the 3D view and press Alt+M again.

WhereThe Mirror window: the box Copy Follows the Original.

DoClick Copy Follows the Original so that its tick shows.

You should seeThe box ticked. A copy that follows has no shape of its own: it draws itself from its original, and a change to the original shows on it.

It worked whenThe box Copy Follows the Original shows a tick.

WhereThe Mirror window: the button OK at its foot.

DoPress OK.

You should seeA second drop at the left, the mirror image of the first. The window shut and the original is still selected. The pivot point and the 3D cursor were not touched. The status bar, the line along the very bottom of the window, says for a moment “1 mirrored copy about World Origin, across X: it follows its original”.

It worked whenTwo drops stand either side of the green line.

WhereThe 3D view. Move the pointer off the sidebar and into the dark area.

DoClick the drop at the right, then press R, Z, type 15 and press Enter.

TypeR, Z, 15, Enter

You should seeThe right drop turns 15 degrees one way and the left drop turns 15 degrees the other way, as a mirror image does. R turns the object and Z is the axis it turns about. The copy changed because it follows: it has no turn of its own.

It worked whenThe two drops lean away from each other.

If it goes wrongNothing turns: The pointer is still over the sidebar. Move it over the 3D view and press the key again.

WhereThe Mirror and Copy panel: click Mirror in the section bar, the small word buttons at the top of the CAD/CAM tab, and find the box under Turn Copies….

DoClick the drop at the left, then press Stop Following.

You should seeThe box under the buttons first read “A copy that follows” and “Follows Drop”, and now reads “No copy follows this”. The copy is an ordinary object where it stands, with its own shape and a turn of -15 degrees. The status bar says “1 copy stands on its own now” for a moment. The Mirror… button in the same panel opens the same window as Alt+M.

It worked whenThe box reads “No copy follows this”.

WhereThe 3D view. Move the pointer off the sidebar and into the dark area.

DoClick the drop at the right, then press R, Z, type -15 and press Enter.

TypeR, Z, -15, Enter

You should seeThe right drop stands upright again and the left drop stays turned: it no longer follows.

It worked whenThe right drop is upright and the left drop leans.

If it goes wrongNothing turns: The pointer is still over the sidebar. Move it over the 3D view and press the key again.

WhereThe 3D view, then the Mirror window. Move the pointer over the dark area.

DoClick the drop at the right, press Alt+M, then click Y under Across.

You should seeThe Y button lit and X not. Y swaps front and back about the red line: from above, the top and bottom of the screen. The window kept the choices you made: World Origin, Keep the Original and Copy Follows the Original ticked.

It worked whenThe window shows Y lit under Across.

WhereThe Mirror window: the button OK at its foot.

DoPress OK.

You should seeA drop below the first, upside down, mirrored across Y about the red line. This copy follows the drop at the right.

It worked whenA third drop stands at the lower right, pointing down.

WhereThe 3D view. Move the pointer over the dark area.

DoClick the drop at the upper right, press X, then click Delete in the small menu.

You should seeThe original gone, and the drop at the lower right still standing: this is what happens when an original is deleted, and a copy that followed it keeps the shape it had. The Mirror and Copy panel now shows a box that reads “1 copy lost its original”, with a button Free Lost Copies. The drop at the left was set free before, so it is not counted.

It worked whenThe panel reads “1 copy lost its original”.

WhereThe Mirror and Copy panel: the button Free Lost Copies under the warning.

DoPress Free Lost Copies.

You should seeThe warning gone. The drop at the lower right is an ordinary object, with its shape as it stood. The status bar says “1 lost copy kept as it stands” for a moment.

It worked whenThe warning box is gone from the panel.

WhereThe strip of tabs at the right edge of the sidebar: click View.

DoClick the tab View, and look at the box 3D Cursor.

You should seeLocation reads 0 mm on X, Y and Z: the 3D cursor is where it was. If the rows are out of sight, scroll the sidebar down. Mirror measured from the world origin and never moved the cursor or your pivot point. Click the CAD/CAM tab to come back.

It worked whenLocation in the box 3D Cursor reads 0 mm.

WhereThe 3D view: move the pointer over it.

DoPress Ctrl+S.

You should seeBlender writes your copy at once, with no question, because the file already has a name. An asterisk, *, in the title bar marks changes that are not saved, and it goes now. Save your work and get it back (P0-12) says more about saving.

It worked whenThe title bar begins my-drops and carries no asterisk.