Bryce 5 - Duplicate, Replicate and Multi-replicate

Requirements: Bryce 5

This tutorial is for the Beginner

From the Bryce Help file: While Duplicate will create a copy of your selected object; Replicate will create a copy of the object and the last 3D transformations applied. If you create an object, move it up a bit and rotate it a bit, selecting Replicate will create a copy, move it and rotate it for you; Multi-replicate will do the same with multiple copies in one step.

Why would this come in handy? Because it saves a lot of time and steps and can create some very interesting effects!

Let's start of with duplicating. The keyboard shortcut for Duplicate is Control (Ctrl) + D. Create an object (I shose the cylinder) and then while it is still selected hold the Ctrl key and hit the D key. Hard to tell that you have two objects now, but using the Reposition tool to move the object will show you that you now have 2 identical cylinders. Duplicate does exactly that - duplicates the object right down to the materials you have chosen for it. So if you made a cylinder and applied a material to it, then duplicated it, the new cylinder would be the same dimensions and already have the same material applied to it.

Let's say I want to make some columns. Here I have made a cylinder and then resized the dimensions and applied a nice marble material to it. For more columns of the exact same dimensions and material, I can just Duplicate this one column. I have to manually move them around and then line them up, etc.

This is nice, but it could be even better! Let's look at Replicate. I'll go back to my orignal marble column and move it slightly toward me using the Z-axis. Using the keyboard shortcut Alt+D, I have created a new column, exactly the same as the first, plus it moved to a possition exactly the same amount that I moved the first column. Beware - if you repostioned and resized that first column a lot, you may want to Duplicate it to make a new column and move it slightly, then Replicate the new column. Remember - Replicate will copy the object and the last transformations made to it! Keep using Alt+D to make several more columns. Now we have a nice uniformed row of columns.

For even more power, we have Multi-replicate! (Keyboard shortcut Alt+Shift+D). Loads of control compared to Replicate…and the ability to also change the scale of the object, too! Look at the settings shown here in the Multi-Replicate window. When I apply these settings to my original single column, I get a semi circle of columns (10 plus my original). I changed my view so that you can see the effect better.

Here is another example with a Torrus shape and different settings. As you can see, this opens up a lot of possibilities for easily making complex shapes.

Experiment with the various shapes and settings! These tricks also come in handy for making quick forrests and other shrubery once you start playing with trees, etc.