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Disguise User Guide

Effectors

Effectors wrap a selected object (or group of objects) into a live container that produces copies. Edit the source and every copy follows; the originals stay editable in the scene tree, copies stay non-pickable until you bake. The toolbar Effector button in the add cluster opens a popover with four modes.

You can also create an effector with no selection — the effector’s gizmo is added at the scene root and you populate it later by dragging objects into it in the Scene tree. Use this when you want to place the array/symmetry plane first and decide what to mirror or duplicate afterwards.

All four modes share the same lifecycle:

  • The source object stays as a child of the effector — edits propagate to every copy.
  • Copies are non-pickable in the viewport and don’t show in PDF / CSV exports unless the effector is baked.
  • Bake (in the effector’s Properties panel) converts the effector into independent objects, after which copies behave like any other scene object.

Symmetry

Section titled “Symmetry”

Mirrors the source across the array’s X axis. Symmetry always produces exactly one copy. Move or rotate the source and the mirror tracks instantly — useful for stacked stage-left / stage-right rigs and any layout where the audience is centred on the venue’s axis.

For projectors specifically, horizontal lens shift is inverted on the copy so the projected images converge symmetrically.

Linear Array

Section titled “Linear Array”

Duplicates along an axis. Set:

  • Number — total instance count, including the original (1 = no copies, 2 = original + 1 copy, etc.).
  • Spacing (X / Y / Z) — inter-copy offset in the active scene unit. Most rigs use a single axis; setting two or three creates a diagonal stride.

The first copy sits one Spacing offset from the source; copies continue in the same direction.

Polar Array

Section titled “Polar Array”

Duplicates around the array’s local origin. Copies share the source’s distance from the array origin; only their angle around it changes.

  • Number — total copy count including the source.
  • Angle Max — spread in degrees (1–360). The first copy is at 0°, the last at Angle Max.
  • Full 360° — when ticked, the spread wraps a complete circle and the last copy is placed at Angle Max × (Number-1) / Number so spacing is even.

To move the rotation centre, move the Polar Array object itself — the copies follow because they’re its children.

Fan

Section titled “Fan”

Fans copies around a rotational axis. Unlike Polar Array, Fan keeps copies at fixed offsets from the source — only their rotation steps, not their position. Use Fan for things like lighting trusses tilted in chord progressions, or projector arrays where each unit toes inward.

  • Number — total copy count including the source.
  • Spacing — per-step position offset between copies. Independent of fan angle.
  • Fan Angle — total angular spread in degrees.
  • Axis — which Euler axis the fan rotates around: Yaw, Pitch or Roll.
  • Direction — which side of the source the copies extend to (forward / backward).
  • Array Origin — whether the source sits at one end of the spread or at its centre.

Mounting an effector on a truss

Section titled “Mounting an effector on a truss”

Mounting an effector onto a truss carries every copy with it — set the source projector’s clamp position and all the copies inherit a chord-relative pose. The whole array slides as a unit along the chord.

See also

Section titled “See also”