I am working on models in the vertex modeler. Most of the models are fish. I model one side ( line of symetry ) until I have it just the way I want, then I duplicate it with symetry. Now comes the hard part for me. What I do now is I link all the vertices across the gap and fill the created polygons, which end up being rectangular. This process takes a very long time. I've tried welding...but it never ended up working. I tried exporting and importing again, but I get a sharp line down the middle. Is there an easier way? Is there a plug-in that duplicated a mirror image? What works best for UV maps? Thanks for your help. One last question...has anyone worked with models created in Carrara for DarkBasic?

As far as I know there is a plug-in (Project Gemini)at http://www.digitalcarversguild.com that may be exactly what you are looking for. I have always just welded the vertices together and built the first side in a shape that would look well with welding. I'm not sure if it really matters what you use for the UV maps since you will mapping both sides anyways. (Linking would just have a little more to map) I personally have not worked with models created for DarkBasic in Carrara

Ominous, When you weld vertices you get three options; Use default tolerance Weld all selected vertices Use custom tolerance Now tolerance is the distance between vertices that you select that it welds together. If the tolerance is .1 and your vertices are farther apart than that, nothing would be welded. If they are less than that, they anything with .1 unit of a vertex would be welded together. The easiest way to deal with this is get your two halves as close together as possible, then select the central line of the model (aka the mirror points). Choose weld and then select custom tolerance. Now I usually use .1 in custom tolerance, but in the Carrara preferences area you can set the default to whatever distance you want. If your model is small, then you probably want a smaller value. If the weld doesn't completely work, then undo (Ctrl-Z) and weld again with a larger/smaller value. Keep an eye on the statistics in the sidebar. The selected vertices should drop to half the previous number after the weld. As for the sharpness, after the weld keep the same selected vertices and run the smooth command (Selection->Smooth edges->All). This should rid you of the creasing. Ken

The command you are looking for is in the construct menu- loft. All you need to do is select the two shapes you want linked (In your case the inner edges), and hit loft. Done! Markd

Thanks for the suggestions, sounds like there are several ways to do it. Any ideas for DarkBasic? Does anyone have experiene with it? It looks pretty easy to learn, another language, but hey, making your own games...very cool! The models for most games are very basic, with all the work going into the maps. Om

No-one mentioned using Duplicate with Symmetry within the vertex modeller. I've had good luck pushing a model right up to the drawing plane, hitting Duplicate with Symmetry, drawing a selection rectangle right at the drawing plane, then hitting Weld with a tolerance of .01 to .04 I did a lot of the duplicative modelling of a shirt I'm working on that way.