Mirror tool

[lupen]

And what about this tool? Already requested? If you want to draw a pot, a glass, a bottle, a face, a human beeing, a butterfly, a building, a mechanical part,...

[gwpriester]

Do you mean that everything you draw is mirrored as you draw it?

[Acorn]

Draw your shape, choose its best side, apply a linear fade with (-1, -1) profile to hide the unwanted part.
Clone it, reflect it in the required axis.
Join the two symmetrical shapes together.

You can also experiment with overlapping a clone, reflected shape and Combine Shapes > Intersect All Shapes.

Acorn

[angelize]

I think that lupens idea is a good one. I'd love to be able to set the freehand and shape builder to mirror.

[lupen]

@gwpriester: with a toggle button, yes if it's on. It's a tool very often used in 3d sw (symmetry tool) and in 2d painting sw like sketchbook and painter.
@acorn: obviously there is some alternative methods, not always the best and the fastest.
@angelize: +1

[Acorn]

@acorn: obviously there is some alternative methods, not always the best and the fastest.

I agree, but sometimes people fixate on a lack and cannot see beyond that. I prefer to get on, make and discover.

Acorn

[PhilM]

You can use Live Copy to create mirrored (or transformed in any way) copies of objects that will automatically update when they are edited.

To edit the objects you either have to select inside (which many tools now do automatically, but not all) to edit the copy in situ or "Edit inside" which opens a separate window.

(If you want to add new objects to any of the Live Copies that has to be done in an "Edit inside" window.)

Phil

[gwpriester]

Cool.

[buckobeck]

For myself cloning and flipping shapes and use of the alignment tool works fine for creating symmetrical images, like this one http://www.talkgraphics.com/attachme...1&d=1260428900 in my Xara skull thread. Most of which have identical halves. Though the mirror tool is nice I don't find terribly inconvenient not to have in this program. I still prefer creating images of this sort in Xara as apposed to Sketchbook Pro; which has image mirroring and I also own.

[lupen]

@PhilM: thanks for the tip, but using an old version, I'm not sure I understood the various steps: you talk about mirroring objects, this means I have to create a closed curve first and then edit? because I'm talking about real time mirroring, whilst you draw let's say the right part of an object automatically the strokes are applied to the left.
@buckobeck: yes, it's not difficult copying, selecting two curves and then join them, but for me at least, it's useful to see in real time what I'm doing. Sometimes, after mirroring, I don't like the overall shape and I have to edit it...