help: "mirroring" a sculptie

hello!

i would like advice on how to "mirror" a sculptie. i have autodesk maya 8.5 and photoshop cs3

example: i'm trying to make something symmetrical, and i have a sculptie on the left side and i want a mirrored version of the same sculptie on the other side

help is appreciated, thank you

To "mirror" something in Maya, you duplicate it negatively across one or more axes. For example, here's how you'd mirror something across the X axis. Note that this sounds a whole lot more complicated than it actually is. I've broken it into 5 steps to make it easiest to explain, but really, it's a 2-second process the first time you do it, and then maybe a half-second process every time thereafter. It just takes a bit to explain it well with text.

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1. MOVE YOUR OBJECT OFF CENTER

First, make sure your object is not currently located in the center of the grid. If it is, move it along the X axis a little to one side or another, so that no part of the object crosses the center line.

Strictly speaking, this movement is not necessary, but it is recommended. It will ensure that when you duplicate the object, the counterpart will not end up occupying the same space as the original. When two objects are in the same space, working with them can be difficult.


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2. TURN ON SNAP TO GRID

In Maya's default GUI, the top row of buttons, just below the Main Menus bar is called the Status Line. On the right hand side of the Status Line, near the middle, you'll find a collection of buttons with pictures of horseshoe magnets on them. These are what you use to toggle snapping on and off. Turn on the first one, Snap To Grids.


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3. RE-CENTER THE OBJECT'S PIVOT POINT

Now go back to your object, and press Insert to show the Pivot Manipulator. Move the object's pivot along the X axis to the center line of the grid. It should snap right in place.


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4. DUPLICATE SPECIAL (WITH -1 SCALING ON X)

In the Main Menus, go Edit -> Duplicate Special -> Options Box. (Note: When I say "Options Box", I mean click on the little box icon directly the right of where it says Duplicate Special.) This will bring up all your options for duplication.

You'll be using the default settings for most of the options here. To ensure that everything's set to default, go Edit -> Reset Settings. (Note: Do this on the Duplicate Special Options dialog's Edit menu, not on the main Edit menu.)

The only settng you'll want to change from default is the scale setting. By default, it will be set to 1 on all axes. Change it to -1 on X. Hit Apply, and you should see a new copy of your object appear on the grid, on the other side of the X center line.

Note: When you're all done making mirrorred duplicates, I'd suggest resetting the Duplicate Special Options to default (Edit -> Reset Settings). Otherwise, every time you press ctrl-D, you'll end up with backwards copies of all your stuff instead of normal copies. It's generally good practice to be in the habit of returning all your tools to default behavior after you use them anyway.


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5. DELETE CONSTRUCTION HISTORY, & FREEZE TRANSFORMATIONS

Now you've got your mirrorred copy of your object, and you're almost ready to export its sculpt map. Before you do that though, you'll want to tell Maya that the copy is an object in its own right, not just something that was crafted from the properties of the original. Otherwise, your sculpt map is likely to turn out messed up.

Select the new copy, and then in the main Edit menu go Edit -> Delete By Type -> History. This will remove all records of how the object was created from Maya's memory. Now go Modify -> Freeze Transformations. This will tell Maya that the location, size, and rotation of the object are the same location, size, and rotation they have always been. Essentially, you're telling Maya that the object's size is 1,1,1 and that its rotation and translation are 0,0,0. Don't forget to do these things. It's very important.

(By the way, if phrases like "this removes all records" sounds scary, don't let it frighten you. It's common practice while working in Maya to do things like delete histories and freeze transformations all the time while you work. For certain tasks, you'll want to keep histories intact; for others, you don't want them in your way. If you're bothered by this "loss of information", simply save to a new scene before deleting history.)




Okay, your new object is all set for sculpt output. Export a sculpt map texture from it, upload the sculpt map to SL and apply it to a sculpt prim. You're done.


I hope this was helpful.

Just open up the sculpt map in the image editor of your choice. Next, invert the colors, then flip the image. Thats it.

????

I don't think that's what the original poster desired. What you're describing will create a mirror of the object by itself, not create an additional mirrored *other half* of the object.

If the object were 1/2 a sphere, what you described will take the 1/2 sphere and turn it 180 degrees on the horizontal and verticle axis'.

What Lupercaleb wants is to turn the 1/2 sphere into a whole sphere with the new 1/2 being the mirror of the original 1/2.

I got the impression that two separate objects were desired, one being a mirror image of the other. However, if the goal is indeed to create a single symmetrical object, there are a number of ways to do that.

You could use the method I already outlined and then attach the two surfaces together at the end, but the results, while they could look fine in Maya, might not be ideal for sculpt output. For sculpties, it's best to work from start to finish with an entirely closed surface, and never break it.

What I'd suggest would be to use the Reflection setting on the Move tool and/or the Sculpt Geometry too while creating your sculpt object. That way, whatever you do to the verteces on side of the object will automatically happen to corresponding verteces on the other side. This way, you never have to worry about working with multiple surfaces. It will work out better than creating half the object and then copying to make the other half.

I repeat though, I do not think this is what the OP was asking for. Since you brought it up, I just thought it would be worth explaining how to do it. That's all.

this was extremely helpful, it worked perfectly! i feel as if in a huge pit of debt dedicated to you; my gratitude to you sir! maya is also much more clear to me now



how interesting! i will have to try this out as soon as possible, it sounds very possible and simple, thanks!



well, both ways work really! this helped clarify, and made me realize i should have been a touch more clear in my original post; thank you



that is true, that was what i originally was looking for; but i had previously not known how to create a single symmetrical object, and now knowing that technique has cleared up a lot for me, and will be of extreme use to me. so your replies have been most useful! i thank you

Glad to hear this has been so helpful for you, Lupercaleb. For what it's worth, I've been rather enjoying this thread. I've spent so much time on these forums talking about Photoshop techniques over the years, it's fun finally to be able to have a useful discussion about Maya. God bless Qarl Linden for inventing sculpties.