A metaball is a blobby shape used in computer graphics where each point has an invisible field of influence that's strongest at its center and fades outward. When two metaballs get close, their fields add together and the shapes smoothly merge into one — kind of like how water droplets combine when they touch. That's why they're useful for visualizing things like flood zones merging together, terrain contours blending across a landscape, or bodies of water connecting as levels rise on a map.
Inputs:
Points - Defaults to [object Object].
Charge number[ ... ]): The charge of each point. Defaults to 1.
Threshold (number): The threshold for the meta ball. Defaults to 0.5.
Resolution (number): The resolution of the meta ball. Defaults to 50.
Padding (number): The padding around the meta ball. Defaults to 0.1.
Outputs:
Result (cartesian[ ... ]): The resulting geometry of the meta ball.
How to:
Feed in a collection of vector points
This could be from nodes like array or random fill
Set the charge
The charge is basically how strong a metaball's field of influence is. A higher charge means the blob is bigger and reaches farther out, while a lower charge makes it smaller and weaker. You can also think of it like gravity — a metaball with a high charge "pulls" the surface out farther around it, and when two high-charge metaballs are near each other, they'll merge together more easily than two low-charge ones would.
Set the Threshold
The threshold is the cutoff value that decides where the surface actually gets drawn. The metaball's field has a strength value at every point in space, and the threshold says "draw the surface everywhere that value equals exactly this number." A low threshold means the surface extends farther out (bigger, blobbier shapes that merge more easily), while a high threshold shrinks everything down and makes it harder for nearby metaballs to connect. It's essentially the line you draw between "inside the blob" and "outside the blob."
Set the Resolution
Resolution is how finely the space is divided up to calculate where the surface should be drawn. Think of it like laying a grid over the area — a high resolution means lots of tiny grid cells, which gives you a smoother, more detailed blob but takes more computing power. A low resolution uses fewer, bigger cells, so it renders faster but the surface looks chunky and jagged, almost like it's made of little blocks instead of a smooth curve.
Set the padding
Padding is the extra space added around the edges of the area where metaballs are calculated. Without it, the blobs can get abruptly clipped or cut off at the boundary, making them look like they've been sliced. Adding padding extends the calculation area beyond the visible frame so the metaballs can fade out naturally and maintain their smooth, rounded edges even near the borders.
Example:
Create a pond with natural looking landscape blobs around its perimeter.
