Studio and Graph › Voxel
Shape
Primitive distance fields - spheres, boxes, cylinders and friends - used as building blocks for CSG.
Studio and Graph › Voxel › Shape
Box
An axis-aligned box, negative inside. As often a cutter as a shape: intersect to crop a field down to a region, subtract to punch a rectangular hole.
The Box node
When to use it
An axis-aligned box, negative inside. As often a cutter as a shape: intersect to crop a field down to a region, subtract to punch a rectangular hole.
Axis-aligned by construction. To tilt it, rotate the domain.
For anything that will be smooth-unioned, Rounded Box is the better start. Sharp corners give Smooth Union nothing even to blend against and the fillets come out uneven around them.
Pins
| Pin | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
ExtentX |
Number | Half the width of the box, so 5 gives you a box 10 across. |
ExtentY |
Number | Half the depth of the box. |
ExtentZ |
Number | Half the height of the box. |
CenterX |
Number | Where the box sits along X. |
CenterY |
Number | Where the box sits along Y. |
CenterZ |
Number | Where the box sits along Z. |
| Pin | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
Distance |
Number | The shape as a field. Negative inside it, positive outside, zero on the skin. |
Available in Mesh Morpher Graph and Mesh Morpher Studio.
Studio and Graph › Voxel › Shape
Capsule
A vertical capsule: a cylinder with hemispherical caps. Limbs, balloons, rounded pillars.
The Capsule node
When to use it
A vertical capsule: a cylinder with hemispherical caps. Limbs, balloons, rounded pillars.
Radius sets both the tube and the caps. Half Height covers only the straight middle section, so the total length works out at twice Half Height plus twice Radius.
For a shape going into a Smooth Union this beats Cylinder every time. Round caps blend where flat caps crease.
Pins
| Pin | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
Radius |
Number | How fat the pill is. Also the size of the domed ends. |
HalfHeight |
Number | Half the length of the straight middle bit. The domes are on top of this. |
CenterX |
Number | Where the pill sits along X. |
CenterY |
Number | Where the pill sits along Y. |
CenterZ |
Number | Where the pill sits along Z. |
| Pin | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
Distance |
Number | The shape as a field. Negative inside it, positive outside, zero on the skin. |
Available in Mesh Morpher Graph and Mesh Morpher Studio.
Studio and Graph › Voxel › Shape
Cone
A vertical cone. The base sits at the centre point and the apex is Height above it. Mountain peaks, spikes, stylised trees.
The Cone node
When to use it
A vertical cone. The base sits at the centre point and the apex is Height above it. Mountain peaks, spikes, stylised trees.
The field is built from three flat tests rather than a true distance, and near the very tip all three go slack. Smooth Union around the apex pinches oddly because of it.
Blend at the base instead, or cut the tip off with an Intersection against a Plane and blend there.
Pins
| Pin | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
BaseRadius |
Number | How wide the cone is where it meets the ground. |
Height |
Number | How tall the cone is, base to tip. |
CenterX |
Number | Where the cone sits along X. |
CenterY |
Number | Where the cone sits along Y. |
CenterZ |
Number | Where the base of the cone sits along Z. |
| Pin | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
Distance |
Number | The shape as a field. Negative inside it, positive outside, zero on the skin. |
Available in Mesh Morpher Graph and Mesh Morpher Studio.
Studio and Graph › Voxel › Shape
Cylinder
A cylinder, negative inside. Pipes, columns, and a drill bit for Subtraction.
The Cylinder node
When to use it
A cylinder, negative inside. Pipes, columns, and a drill bit for Subtraction.
Its axis runs along Y, the same axis the Torus hole uses, so a fresh one lies on its side rather than standing up. Rotate the domain to aim it anywhere else. Capsule, Cone and Hex Prism are all built along Z instead, which is worth knowing before you swap one for another and watch the shape fall over.
The caps are flat and sharp. When the ends are heading into a Smooth Union, Capsule blends far more cleanly.
Pins
| Pin | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
Radius |
Number | How fat the cylinder is. |
Height |
Number | How long the cylinder is, end to end along its Y axis. |
CenterX |
Number | Where the cylinder sits along X. |
CenterY |
Number | Where the cylinder sits along Y. |
CenterZ |
Number | Where the cylinder sits along Z. |
| Pin | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
Distance |
Number | The shape as a field. Negative inside it, positive outside, zero on the skin. |
Available in Mesh Morpher Graph and Mesh Morpher Studio.
Studio and Graph › Voxel › Shape
Ellipsoid
A sphere stretched or squashed independently on each axis. Eggs, pebbles, elongated blobs.
The Ellipsoid node
When to use it
A sphere stretched or squashed independently on each axis. Eggs, pebbles, elongated blobs.
A non-uniformly scaled sphere is only an approximate distance field, so a strongly stretched ellipsoid blends slightly unevenly under Smooth Union. A Sphere inside a scaled domain has the same problem, so at least here it is visible on the node.
Pins
| Pin | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
RadiusX |
Number | How far the shape reaches along X. |
RadiusY |
Number | How far the shape reaches along Y. |
RadiusZ |
Number | How far the shape reaches along Z. |
CenterX |
Number | Where the shape sits along X. |
CenterY |
Number | Where the shape sits along Y. |
CenterZ |
Number | Where the shape sits along Z. |
| Pin | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
Distance |
Number | The shape as a field. Negative inside it, positive outside, zero on the skin. |
Available in Mesh Morpher Graph and Mesh Morpher Studio.
Studio and Graph › Voxel › Shape
Hex Prism
A vertical six-sided prism. Honeycombs, basalt columns, stylised rock.
The Hex Prism node
When to use it
A vertical six-sided prism. Honeycombs, basalt columns, stylised rock.
Radius is measured to the middle of each flat side, not to a corner, so the prism is a little wider than Radius suggests at the points.
Pair it with Domain Repeat and one node becomes a whole field of columns. Vary their heights with a noise-driven Intersection against a Plane.
Pins
| Pin | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
Radius |
Number | How wide the pillar is, measured to the middle of a flat side. |
HalfHeight |
Number | Half the height of the pillar, so 5 gives you one 10 tall. |
CenterX |
Number | Where the pillar sits along X. |
CenterY |
Number | Where the pillar sits along Y. |
CenterZ |
Number | Where the pillar sits along Z. |
| Pin | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
Distance |
Number | The shape as a field. Negative inside it, positive outside, zero on the skin. |
Available in Mesh Morpher Graph and Mesh Morpher Studio.
Studio and Graph › Voxel › Shape
Plane
An infinite half-space. Everything on one side is inside, everything on the other is outside.
The Plane node
When to use it
An infinite half-space. Everything on one side is inside, everything on the other is outside.
It is rarely a shape and nearly always a knife. Intersect with it to slice a model flat. Subtract it to remove everything below a level.
Because it is infinite, unioning it with anything fills the entire world on one side. That is a fast way to fill your whole Search Extent with solid by accident and then wonder why the bake is taking ten minutes.
Pins
| Pin | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
NormalX |
Number | Which way the plane faces, along X. |
NormalY |
Number | Which way the plane faces, along Y. |
NormalZ |
Number | Which way the plane faces, along Z. |
Distance |
Number | How far the plane sits from the origin. |
| Pin | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
Result |
Number | Negative on the solid side of the plane, positive on the empty side. |
Available in Mesh Morpher Graph and Mesh Morpher Studio.
Studio and Graph › Voxel › Shape
Rounded Box
A box with softly rounded corners, and the primitive most boolean modelling should start from. The corner radius gives Smooth Union something even to work with, which a sharp Box does not.
The Rounded Box node
When to use it
A box with softly rounded corners, and the primitive most boolean modelling should start from. The corner radius gives Smooth Union something even to work with, which a sharp Box does not.
A small Round Radius reads as machined. A large one reads as a pill.
The radius eats into the extents rather than adding to them, so a rounded box is never bigger than the box you asked for.
Pins
| Pin | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
ExtentX |
Number | Half the width of the box, measured before the corners are rounded off. |
ExtentY |
Number | Half the depth of the box. |
ExtentZ |
Number | Half the height of the box. |
CenterX |
Number | Where the box sits along X. |
CenterY |
Number | Where the box sits along Y. |
CenterZ |
Number | Where the box sits along Z. |
RoundRadius |
Number | How much to take off the corners. Push it up to half the smallest extent and the box turns into a ball. |
| Pin | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
Distance |
Number | The shape as a field. Negative inside it, positive outside, zero on the skin. |
Available in Mesh Morpher Graph and Mesh Morpher Studio.
Studio and Graph › Voxel › Shape
Sphere
A sphere as a distance field. Negative inside, positive outside. Most boolean chains start here.
The Sphere node
When to use it
A sphere as a distance field. Negative inside, positive outside. Most boolean chains start here.
Wire it straight into Density for a solid ball, or into a Union or Subtraction to combine it with something else.
Ellipsoid is the version whose three axes can differ. Radial Gradient is a different animal entirely: it gives you a distance, not a shape.
Pins
| Pin | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
Radius |
Number | How big the ball is, in world units. |
CenterX |
Number | Where the ball sits along X. |
CenterY |
Number | Where the ball sits along Y. |
CenterZ |
Number | Where the ball sits along Z. |
| Pin | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
Distance |
Number | The shape as a field. Negative inside it, positive outside, zero on the skin. |
Available in Mesh Morpher Graph and Mesh Morpher Studio.
Studio and Graph › Voxel › Shape
Torus
A torus, negative inside the ring. Rings, tubes, the start of a handle.
The Torus node
When to use it
A torus, negative inside the ring. Rings, tubes, the start of a handle.
The hole runs along Y, not Z, so it stands up like a wheel rather than lying flat. Rotate the domain to lay it down.
The two radii are independent, and a Minor Radius at or above Major Radius closes the hole completely. What you get then is a lumpy blob, not a torus.
Pins
| Pin | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
MajorRadius |
Number | How wide the ring is, measured to the middle of the tube. |
MinorRadius |
Number | How fat the tube is. Push it past the ring width and the hole closes up. |
CenterX |
Number | Where the doughnut sits along X. |
CenterY |
Number | Where the doughnut sits along Y. |
CenterZ |
Number | Where the doughnut sits along Z. |
| Pin | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
Distance |
Number | The shape as a field. Negative inside it, positive outside, zero on the skin. |
Available in Mesh Morpher Graph and Mesh Morpher Studio.