Creating Metaballs

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Also new to Bryce are Metaballs, a new object type found on the Create palette. Metaballs are spheres that blend into each other based on proximity. With Metaballs, you can create a wide variety of realistic-looking shapes.

Metaballs are spheres that blend into each other based on proximity.

Metaballs let you quickly create fluid shapes that are otherwise time-consuming or even impossible to create using primitives and Boolean operations.

When you are in Wireframe view, Metaballs are represented as simple spheres. To see how the Metaballs will blend together, you must either look at the Nano-preview or render the image.

Metaballs appear as distinct spheres in Wireframe view and are blended together when rendered.

You can blend Metaballs of different sizes. This gives you more control over the resulting shape. To blend Metaballs, simply place the Metaballs close to each other. The closer together they are, the more they will blend into each other. The farther apart they are, the more they will resemble distinct spheres.

You can also change the shape of Metaballs in your scene to get different effects. For example, you can squash or stretch a Metaball, changing the surface area that blends into nearby Metaballs. Two oval Metaballs will give you a different blend result than two spherical Metaballs.

For Metaballs to blend smoothly, they must have the same material. If you blend two Metaballs with of differing materials, you will not get a smoothly blended result.

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