11
$\begingroup$

Is there a way to mirror an object without using the mirror modifier?

I have a left foot that I want to make into a right foot. I use the mirror modifier and it uses a crooked bounding box and completely ruins my foot. Even when I re-align the crooked foot, it is causing issues in the platform I'm exporting it to. So I'm wondering if there's some way I could duplicate the left foot and somehow flip it so that it "mirrors" the other foot.

enter image description here

Please ignore the flat feet there, I need them for when I transfer weights.

enter image description here

I duplicate the foot so that I don't mess up all the work I've ALREADY done over and over, and move it to another scene. This is the foot I want to mirror so that I may create a perfect opposite for the other leg. Something goes wonky when I do that. It mirrors with a bounding box even when I use empty. This causes me to have to re-align the mirrored foot. Something else is happening too because when I rez the mirrored foot alone in Second Life, it really acts weird. The original foot can be rezzed in world with no problems. This makes me feel like it's the mirror modifier that's causing all my troubles but I'm really not sure. Here is the crooked mirrored image: enter image description here

Here is the bounding box, where it shows it's crooked:

enter image description here

Improve this question
$\endgroup$
9
  • $\begingroup$ Could you add some screen shots of the problem. Also, This answer might help you $\endgroup$
    – GiantCowFilms
    Aug 2, 2014 at 5:13
  • $\begingroup$ I've tried to add an empty already and it still tries to conform to a bounding box that is crooked. $\endgroup$
    – Candice
    Aug 3, 2014 at 4:29
  • $\begingroup$ What do you mean by "crooked bounding box"? I can't really see the issue in the screenshots.. The high-poly foot doesn't look crooked or like it has a mirror modifier as far as I can see. $\endgroup$
    – gandalf3 ♦
    Aug 3, 2014 at 5:56
  • $\begingroup$ No, this foot does not have the mirror on it. I will upload a photo of what it does when I mirror it. $\endgroup$
    – Candice
    Aug 3, 2014 at 6:25
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ Weird. Does the empty have any rotation? If not, could you upload your .blend? $\endgroup$
    – gandalf3 ♦
    Aug 3, 2014 at 6:42

7 Answers 7

Reset to default
11
$\begingroup$

You can do this destructively by scaling around the 3D Cursor. Place the 3D Cursor at the center you want to mirror across. Next, choose the axis that you want. Hit ., to set the Pivot Point to the 3D Cursor. Finally scale it by negative 1 along the desired axis.

S then X, Y or Z then -1

Improve this answer
$\endgroup$
2
  • $\begingroup$ I don't want to destructively mirror it. The mirror is doing that on it's own. I'm looking for a way that will sort of invert it so it's the opposite and then maybe I could recalculate or something. I need the Uvs to stay the same, the vertices to be opposite the other foot, etc. $\endgroup$
    – Candice
    Aug 2, 2014 at 22:17
  • $\begingroup$ @GiantCowFilms I used your method to invert a mesh, but the textures are now backwards... how can I fix them? $\endgroup$
    – 10 Replies
    Sep 25, 2016 at 19:43
8
$\begingroup$

You can also select the object/mesh and press CtrlM and then specify an axis by pressing X Y or Z. This works in both edit mode and object mode.

Improve this answer
$\endgroup$
1
  • $\begingroup$ I normally do mirror it across the y axis, no merge, keep vertex groups and keep uvs. This still is not fixing the bounding box issue. The bounding box is crooked for some reason. $\endgroup$
    – Candice
    Aug 3, 2014 at 6:25
4
$\begingroup$

I had the same problem but found a very easy solution.

  1. Select your object to mirror
  2. In the Tool shelf, Tools tab, under the Transform section, click on the Mirror button.

mirror button in the tool shelf

Improve this answer
$\endgroup$
0
2
$\begingroup$

I know this is 3 years old, but what KevanG Studio Answered helped. Unfortunately missing some steps, but basically:

  • Click your object (being in Object Mode)
  • Click on tools tab (default setup) on the left side.
  • Under Transform Dropdown, click on mirror.

You will not see anything different other than your selected object change outline color (default would turn it from orange to white).

Then hold middle mouse button and it will flip the object mirroring it to what axis you want it to.

Hopefully this helps any one else today and in the future

Cheers

Improve this answer
$\endgroup$
0
$\begingroup$

So the answer I have gathered with your assistance is this: No, for what I wanted to do there is no way to mirror it without using the modifier.

In my case, I had to align the bounding box of the foot first, then carefully align the foot to the leg of the avatar. I had to make sure I never rotated it in object mode as that would move the bounding box out of where I needed it to be. Once I aligned the foot, I was able to make a copy of it and move it to another scene. Then I used this foot with the mirror modifier, across the y axis, and chose to keep uvs and vertex groups. I also used the foot from the first scene to be what was mirrored instead of an empty. This was perfect.

Thank you so much for your assistance @GiantCowFilms and @gandalf3.

enter image description here

enter image description here

Improve this answer
$\endgroup$
1
  • $\begingroup$ Now we wait to see if it causes issues now that it's rigged and weighted in Second Life upon upload... =) And the answer is no, something is going wrong still in Second Life. /sigh. $\endgroup$
    – Candice
    Aug 4, 2014 at 2:49
0
$\begingroup$

If you look at the top of the properties panel, you will see your scale and rotation is way off. Select the foot in object mode and press Ctrl A>Apply>"Rotation and Scale". That sets Scale to 1.00 and Rotation to zero. Press Shift C to put your cursor in the centre and then in object mode with the foot selected, go to the blender Tools panel on the left and do Origin to 3D cursor. Now add a mirror modifier with x ticked in the modifier. That will also mirror the weight groups.

Improve this answer
$\endgroup$
0
$\begingroup$

i know this is quite old now and there are numerous solutions but i think it would be way more simple to just duplicate the object and scale it inside out along the y (x or z) axis and adjust the dimensions so it is the same size

Improve this answer
$\endgroup$

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .