This quick Blender 2.5 video tip demonstrates how to replicate objects with an array modifier in the same way that the Spin Duplicates function works. This techniques maintains the objects editability even after spinning.
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Haha! That’s a very nifty tool. Thanks. ^_^
-Reyn
Very nice tip Johnathan.
Very nice tip Johnathan.[2]
Thanks Jonathon,
Great tip!!
It didn’t work for me initially but then I realized that I hadn’t set the object origin of the pillar to the center of the platform.
For anyone that doesn’t know how to do this:
Make sure your 3d cursor is in the center of the platform by selecting the platform object then “shift s” cursor to selected.
Next select the pillar object and hit “spacebar” and type in “set origin”.
Then select set origin to 3d cursor.
Nice one
However, you did forget to mention one thing, as a tip, that the pivot point of the colum has to be placed in the midle of the circle, otherwise this will not work (for info – tested in Alpha 2, build r27764).
Good tutorial, but how can you do this same thing in blender 2.49.2?
Well explained but does not work on my Mac version. I get columns that scale up in size when I rotate. Hmmmm…
Great tutorial, but I was wondering…
Is there a way to do this sort of in 3-D? For example, rotate around a bunch of spheres to make a bigger sphere. I am working on a project for my biology class (making an animation of photosynthesis) and that would be a big help.
Thanks in advance
I tried this tutorial out but whenever I apply the modifier there is a problem with the rotation of the duplicates. Is anyone else having this problem or know what is happening?
Tried to apply this technique with Blender 2.5 (64 bit) [30263]. Without any luck …
The “object offset” of the “array modifier” seem to work different in newer builds.
Any advice?
It didn’t work for me either at first until I discovered that the “empty” needs to have the same scale and base rotation as the object you apply the modifier to. At first all my copies were a different size and pointing in different directions.
Thank you Pentasis! Was pulling my hair out over that\nscaling issue.
You, sir, are a beautiful human being. Been struggling to comprehend why the modifier was acting oddly (creating a stretched object) for aaaaagggeesss – massive thank you!
Hey for those having problems with this still, try to edit/ model and scale/ rotate your model -Inside- edit mode, NOT outside edit mode
Then apply the array and see
Oops… i think i found a permanent solution, Just try pushing Cntrl + A and click on location, scale and rotation for the object that you are going to add the array, then your done! Happy blending
Fantastic! I have been struggling with this problem quite some time. Your tip really worked. Thanks
(oops posted on wrong comment first time)
You, sir, are a beautiful human being. Been struggling to comprehend why the modifier was acting oddly (creating a stretched object) for aaaaagggeesss – massive thank you!
thank you very much for your answer, mr.Ert. I had the same problems of other people before me, but your comment has helped me. Thank you
What a handy feature – thanks for that great tip! I just used it for making a gearwheel – simply model one segment and then rotate it around with the array-modifier
No matter what I try in 2.6 all the advice here to this is not working, it simply rotates the empty but the array rotates around its own origin, even after I set it to 3d cursor, and 3d cursor to empty. Nothing happens the empty rotates the object box is checked in the Array. If I add a count, the offset becomes wider and wider, thanks for the help, but I guess its a bug in 2.6
Hi Steve,
Two things. First off, make sure the scale on your arrayed object is applied by selecting it and pressing CTRL + A > Apply Scale. Next, make sure that your object origin is at the same position as the empty, offset from the actual mesh. Although the empty controls the amount of offset, rotation, etc, the object origin is still considered the starting point for the array modifier.
I hope that helps!
Jonathan
Hi,
I had same issue as Stephen – Apply Scale fixed it
Iam not sure why it’s not mentioned in any tutorial.
Thanks
Can you make a new tutorial with this info included? It’s very confusing if you don’t read the comments for the solution.
Hey Kasp,
I have a introductory series for Blender planned right now that will help address common issues like this for new users. I cannot say when it will come out but I hope to release it in the near future.
Cheers,
Jonathan
Sir, I am expriencing a problem with this one. I have Blender 2.62 and when I do the same steps as yours it works but there is a problem. When I turn on the object Offset of an object, say a sphere to an empty, that empty turns into another sphere and remains in the default size, regardless of scaling it. For example, I want to make a simple cake with candles. If I set the Object offset of a candle to an empty to rotate the candle around the cake, the empty itself turns into another candle, ie. a cylinder, but the size of the cylinder remains default as what we get during the insertion of the cylinder. Plese reply. I am new to Blender. All of my settings in Blender are default. Please try it yourself in Blender 2.62