Duplicating Objects Using References




We can easily make multiple objects from a single object using references without increasing the file size significantly for each duplication.
Although visually we are creating "copies" of an object, we are not conceptually creating "copies" of the object, we are merely adding "references" to an object.

Plug the object into a new Transform node

In the following image we see a leaf (our object example) contained in a single Seamless node:





Before we add a reference we will plug our Seamless node into a new Transform  node so that all objects (the original and the references) can be positioned without affecting any of the other objects.
Add a new Transform node to the Scene node:



drag the Seamless node to the right of the Transform node:



This results in the Seamless node being plugged into the Transform node:




Clone the Transform node

Create a copy of the Transform node by dragging the Transform node to the right of the Scene node while holding down the Control key:



This should result in 2 identical copies of our leaf object:



Replace the cloned leaf with a reference to the leaf

Replace the copied Seamless node with a reference by dragging the original Seamless node to the left of the copied Seamless node while holding down the Alt key:




We must release the mouse button before releasing the Alt key or we will simply move the node to the Transform node instead of creating a reference for it.

We should now see the copied Transform node with a reference to the original Seamless  node plugged into it instead of a copy of the Seamless node:




Except for this symbol that marks a reference, there is no difference between the original node and the reference to it, they are in fact the exact same node existing  in more than one place in the scene tree (The reference is NOT a copy or clone, it is it).

Change the position & orientation of the 2 leaves

Change the position, orientation and size of the 2 leaves using the translation, rotation and scale fields of the Transform nodes:



Copy the Transform node that contains a reference

If we now create a copy of the Transform node that contains the reference (hold down the control key while dragging):



we will add a new Transform node that contains a reference to the Seamless node instead of a copy of it:


Form a clump of leaves

The following image shows 6 leaves forming a clump of leaves made from 1 leaf and 5 references:



Contain the clump in a single Group node

We can also group any number of Transform nodes and put them in a single Group  node so that the Group can be referenced by a Transform node.
To do this:

1/ add a new Group node:




2/ Select the top Transform node,  hold down the shift key and press the arrow key down to highlight all the nodes contained in the Scene node except for the Group node.

3/ Right click on the highlighted region and select copy:
 


4/ Right click on the Group node and select paste->children->move:



This will result in us seeing all our nodes contained in the Group node:



Adding references to the clump

Now we are ready to repeat the process except instead of plugging a Seamless node into a new Transform node we will plug the Group node into the new Transform node and reference the Group node instead of a Seamless node.

The following image shows our Group node named clump being referenced 3 times to create 3 more clumps:




We can avoid the scene tree forever looking more complex by collapsing out of view what we no longer need to see:
 

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