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I'm currently modelling a creature with a different spikes locations on his back. I use mirror modifier to model the rest of his body because the only different part that is not symmetric are the spikes on the back.

Is it possible to disable the mirror modifier temporarily, so that I can model my creature with different spikes locations without being mirrored, and then enable it again? It would save me lot of time modelling the rest of his body that will be mirrored.

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1 Answer 1

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Modifiers have a few switches to control them:

enter image description here

The Camera icon enables or disables rendering using the modifier.

The Eye icon toggles visibility on the 3D viewport.

The Dotted Square (or Box) toggles visibility in Edit mode.

The Triangle, when enabled, will show the final modified geometry in Edit Mode and can be edited directly. (This last option can only be used when visibility in Edit mode has been enabled)

To learn about all of the other options for modifiers please read:

https://www.blender.org/manual/modeling/modifiers/introduction.html#interface

Note that the mirror modifier will affect all of the mesh when enabled. The elements that you don't need to mirror will need to be a separate mesh. There is no way to mark elements of the same mesh not to be affected by the modifier.

You might want to separate the asymmetrical features from the original mesh, then Apply the modifier to make the symmetric mesh a permanent one, and re-join the two meshes back together.

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  • $\begingroup$ oh, i see. does it apply to all modifier that i cant disable the mod to change something on the mesh and then enable it again ? $\endgroup$
    – Jass Kick
    Dec 29, 2016 at 12:09
  • $\begingroup$ @JassKick Modifiers are always applied after any modifications to the base mesh. They don't depend on being enabled when that modification is done. So yes, this applies to all modifiers. $\endgroup$
    – Kroltan
    Dec 29, 2016 at 14:45
  • $\begingroup$ @JassKick I do not understand your comment... modifiers allow you to alter the mesh temporarily (what is called a "non-destructive" workflow). They are designed to give you the most flexibility. It is not until you apply the modifier (using the apply botton) that the mesh is altered permanently. Some modifiers allow you to selectively affect the mesh using vertex groups or other ways to mark vertices, the mirror modifier doesn't. Please refer to the blender manual: blender.org/manual/modeling/modifiers/introduction.html $\endgroup$
    – user1853
    Dec 29, 2016 at 15:28

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