Is there a way to mirror and duplicate in one action?

Question

I have this cube:
cube

When I mirror it around the x-axis I get this:
bad mirror

but I want this, so that the object is mirrored and duplicated:
good mirror

Currently, I can do that by copy-pasting the cube then mirroring the duplicate cube (leaving the original cube in place), but it feels like there should be a better way.

How do I mirror an object such that it is duplicated, leaving the original in place?

Use empty and Mirror modifier with that empty set as mirror object. Or Array modifier with that empty set as Offset object. — Mr Zak, Dec 22 '15 at 00:03
Set 3D cursor to the center with [Shift]+[S] and set it as the pivot point with [.] (period key), then use [Shift]+[D] > [S] > [X] > -1. — PGmath, Dec 22 '15 at 04:21

David · Accepted Answer · 2016-05-22T16:47:16.630

5

Use a mirror modifier.

All you need to do is add the mirror modifier, and set its Axis to Y... mirror modifier settings
Assuming you have the object origin at the scene center, and your cube positioned where you want it.

edited May 22 '16 at 16:47

answered Dec 22 '15 at 00:04

David

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2

This will not create a new instance of the mesh though. – kevzettler May 22 '16 at 16:43
3

no, but depending on what you are doing (and in the OPs' case) the mirror modifier is even better then duplicating the mesh. – David May 22 '16 at 16:46

Is there a way to mirror and duplicate in one action?

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