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Questions tagged [meta-objects]

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Meta objects provide an implicit approach to modeling: instead of defining the surface of a model explicitly (as is the case with meshes and NURBS surfaces), the surface of a collection of meta objects is calculated with a mathematical function evaluated with the meta objects as input.

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3answers
753 views

How to reduce thousand of faces of an already low poly object

Let me ask you a little question. I have an object, a 3D already low poly unicorn that has 183,159 faces and I need it to make it on paper (via pepakura) . I usually use MeshLab to reduce any number ...
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0answers
18 views

Why don't metaballs show up in group instance? [closed]

I created a particle system, with metaballs as my object. I then added this particle system and a few other objects to a group. When I add a new instance of that group, the metaballs are not visible ...
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0answers
40 views

Blender 2.8 Metaballs update 'never' is not working, seems to always update even with never turned on [closed]

I have a complex network of metaballs that I generate using my python script. I would like to (as I do in 2.79) set the UPDATE property to 'NEVER' while I'm generating them; vastly improving speed. ...
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0answers
84 views

2.8 Metaball Animation — viewport metasurface doesn't update

I am new to 2.8. I have a metasurface made of three objects, each with some number of metaballs. The metaballs are animated -- the keyframes are inserted on each element's location and radius ...
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2answers
55 views

Can only select one metaball any others are only conneteced to the first

Hi when I add in metaballs only one can be selected and moved, moving it rotates the other balls, and I can't move the others, this is only with metaballs. Here's a video showing what I mean https://...
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0answers
19 views

2.8 crashes when choosing “quick explode”

I was wandering if anyone has the same issue and can it be fixed. In the drop down objects box choosing Quick effects then quick explode it is closing the blender down. However I have checked all ...
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0answers
41 views

Metaball's material in particle system not working as expected?

Ok, I'm trying to have a particle system with 2 colors - red on left, blue on right, and they blend in between. To do this, I mapped a gradient material onto the emitter plane and looked at this ...
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0answers
176 views

Metaballs show in rendered viewport but not in actual render?

I have a particle system that emits metaballs in Blender 2.8 eevee. My settings: They don't show up in the render - not the object itself nor the metaballs emitted. In the rendered view they show up: ...
2
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1answer
103 views

Disappearing metaballs when creating with Python

I have created a simple addon that creates a series of metaballs. Sometimes when the addon executes, the metaballs are rendered invisible (as only outlines, no surface). Usually the metaballs seem to ...
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0answers
16 views

Is there a way to colour meta objects without turning them into meshes?

Reason being I want to animate them as blobs - once they’re meshed they lose their blobbine nature. I'm interested in creating this sort of dripping effect, applying it to this character made out of ...
2
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1answer
132 views

Duplicate meta-Ball with Animation Nodes

I set my AN settings on a meta-ball to 20 instances to create something similar to a little brainy blob in motion. I'd like to duplicate it many times, like an array that includes the animation. Is ...
2
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1answer
83 views

Flip normals on Metaballs?

I would like to use metaballs for interior design (cave) via backface culling. Is there a way to flip their normals? :p
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0answers
170 views

Collision phisycs in cycles using metaball particles

I am trying to make metaball particles collide with an object. Using the collide feature in the physics tab in blender 2.8. It is looking great in the render preview window but whenever I render it, ...
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1answer
125 views

Frame-Duplicated Metaballs not rendering in Blender 2.79

I am trying to create a flow of water by duplicating metaballs along a curve. I've gone through the motions of creating a curve and a metaball, setting the Parent ...
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0answers
53 views

Accurate modeling of a sessile drops (like dew droplets)

Is there some relatively easy way to generate drops, like dew, on a given object/scene? I'm interested in some kind of real simulation of fluid-surface interaction (would like to specify surface ...
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0answers
42 views

How can I add a description to an object

Question: How can I add a description to an object. Preferably being able to shows this on top of the object, as an overlay. And that the description can be toggled to show/hide. Background: This ...
2
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1answer
372 views

Exclude one metaball from interacting with another metaball only

In the image below, Is there a way to make A and B not interacting with each other, but both interact with the U meta-balls? I need to prevent A (specific metaball) from connecting to B even if there ...
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0answers
58 views

how can i create this floating blob look with metaballs? [duplicate]

primarily using metaballs, how do i get this floating rippling & blinking affect?
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1answer
678 views

Change Metaball stickyness

I am using simple Metaball objects to create a very simple key-framed animation where two objects collide and "stick" to each other. The natural elasticity and stickyness of Metaballs makes it very ...
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0answers
198 views

Long and thin connections between 3d metaballs

Is there a way to create the effect of these long and thin metaball connections in Blender? This image is a screen capture from http://paperjs.org/examples/meta-balls/ I Personally haven't had much ...
3
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1answer
212 views

How can I find the selected metaball elements in Edit mode with Python?

If you have an active object you can find the currently selected sub elements; e. g. in an active mesh you can find the selected vertices while looping over them and check the property ...
8
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1answer
783 views

Cannot duplicate metaballs

I made a little cloud using Metaballs: I would like to duplicate the Metaballs to a different layer to back up this cloud, then convert the main layer's Metaballs into a mesh. When I select the ...
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0answers
126 views

Apply UVMap mapping on meta object

I'm able to set UVMap mapping for standard mesh object like the cube, but I don't figure out how to do the same for a meta objcet like Ball, Ellipsoid, etc. These are the step I follow: 1) Create ...
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1answer
265 views

How to create a claw out of this mesh?

The mesh on the arms of my reptile are quite complex and I'm wondering what would be good way to make some appendages on this piece. I'd tried sculpting and proportional editing but was not able to ...
2
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1answer
1k views

How to use modifiers on a metaball animation

I know that if I want to use modifiers on metaballs, I first have to convert them to a mesh. However I'd like to use modifiers on a metaball animation, and the only way I know of is to repeat the ...
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2answers
666 views

Cannot Set Material to Metaballs

I'm still fairly new to Blender and I have a question I cant seem to find the answer to. I'm trying to make this low-poly bonsai tree by creating leaves with Metaballs but I can't seem to set the ...
5
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1answer
6k views

Can't sculpt Meta Ball

I am just trying getting myself into sculpting and I have just created a metaball having kind of shape like a bust, because I have seen it once online some time ago but when I pick it I can't get into ...
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2answers
506 views

How to use text or curves as metaballs?

I need to do something like this: My first approach was to use metaballs, but I need to know if it's possible to model something like this with metaballs and bezier curves.
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4answers
3k views

Why is there no option to convert a mesh to metaball object?

I realize this wouldn't be optimal for detailed meshes, but it would certainly be useful for creating others. Sometimes I have meshes I'd like to join together, only I'd like them to interact as if ...
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0answers
133 views

Can I wrap skin around a frame?

I am creating a monster, with a body made of thin skin stretched tightly over a skeletal frame. The skin should look something like this: (source: telegraph.co.uk) One way I thought of to do this ...
9
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1answer
2k views

How to create a mesh from metaballs which will always work with a Boolean modifier?

My goal is to simulate a particle system in an animation, convert the particles to a mesh, then apply Boolean modifiers to the result mesh. This usually works. However, the mesh generation ...
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3answers
2k views

Is there a low level alternative for bpy.ops.object.convert()?

I am using bpy.ops.object.convert(target='MESH', keep_original= False) in a python function in blender to convert metaballs to a mesh. The script works fine when run from the text editor. However, the ...
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1answer
243 views

Where do I find the metaball panel?

In the manual it says press F9 but I have tried that, and it doesn't work. I am trying to find this for the negative feature that meta-balls have.
8
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2answers
3k views

What are surfaces and metaballs used for?

I use very often meshes and curves, because I know what they are used for (meshes for renders and curves for follow curves). But I actually don't use surfaces and metaballs. What are surfaces and ...
9
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1answer
298 views

Can I use something similar to the ParticleInfo Node but for meta objects?

In cycles you can control the color of a Particle-(dupli)Object with the ParticleInfo Node. You can, for example, divide Particle Age by Lifetime and use the result as factor for a mix shader. I ...
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0answers
451 views

Baking metaball solver

I'm animating a particle system of metaballs, and finding that the scene takes a long time to initialize before it can even start rendering. I'm finding it annoying as I work on materials, since there'...
2
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1answer
123 views

Duplicating motionpaths(keyframes)

I am kind of new to this whole blender program, and I'm currently trying to make a text animation where the letters are made out metaballs. By now I have made 850 metaballs and I'm not even done with ...
8
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2answers
3k views

How to create proper displacement for weld joints?

I am looking for a way to create procedural weld joints in blender. Here are some reference images showing what I am looking for: https://www.flickr.com/photos/jimgrant/105352380 https://www.flickr....
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1answer
83 views

Changing family of many metas

I've got a few hundred meta balls making up an object. I'd like to duplicate it, and convert it to a mesh. It seems that the duplicated metas end up being in the same family as the originals, so ...
3
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1answer
2k views

Is there a way to render particles as if they were a single liquid?

I don't want to use the fluid simulator beacuse i've been getting more controlled results with the particles system feature + using a guide as a force field. What i'm trying to accomplish is water ...
3
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1answer
236 views

Is it possible to insert a keyframe to a metaball element?

I think everything is in the title : I want to deform my metaball object during animation. Let's explain a bit more : I have several metaball objects in my scene, each of them composed of several ...
2
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1answer
116 views

Is it possible to make a plane out of meta objects?

Yes, I know, Add > Metaball > Plane. But how can I make a large plane? Scaling it affects all meta objects in the scene. I thought of connecting a bunch of meta planes together, however this isn't a ...
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2answers
2k views

Scripting metaballs with negative influence

I'm generating metaballs with a python script, and I need to be able to toggle the negative option for some of the metaballs. (Edit: ...
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1answer
130 views

Are there any non-standard meta objects available?

I recently started playing with Meta objects again after all these years of using Blender and largely ignoring them. However, I find the available types to be extremely limited. Are there any others ...