Copy by Rotation
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Prerequisite
Description
Besides making copies and placing them in a matrix formation, you can also make copies that are rotated from the original object.
Similar to “copy by matrix”, all the copies will share the same data as the original object, such as their material, animation and parent.
Parameters
Rotation Axis
You can rotate the copies around one of the 3 axes. It will have the same result as making a copy first, then using the “rotate to angle ( ) around axis” block to rotate it.
Count
This is how many copies you want to make.
Degree Step
This number controls how many degrees to rotate for each copy, and it is cumulative for each copy. For example, if the degree number is 10, then the first copy will be rotated 10 degrees from the original angle, and the second copy will be rotated 20 degrees, etc.
For example, this program contains a long box, and 2 copies are made. There is a 60-degree angle between the copies around the Z-axis.
Shift XYZ
For each new copy, you can choose to change its position in the X/Y/Z dimensions. This value is also cumulative, so each additional copy will be shifted more.
For example, this program shifts each copy up along the Z-axis.
Using a Transformer Parent
When we add a transformer node as a parent of the original object, then the rotation will be around the parent object. This will allow us to create more interesting scenes.
A Circle of Copies
For example, we can move the original object (an avatar) to X of 100, then add a transformer at the origin point as its parent. Then when we make rotated copies of this parent object, the avatar copies will form a circle around the origin point:
Shifting the Copies
When we make rotated copies of a transformer, if there is some shift in the X/Y/Z dimensions, the child object of the transformer will be shifted, not the transformer itself.
For example, in this program, we make each copy further away along the X-axis by 5 units:
