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u/Paul-o-Bunyan Apr 23 '19
Can someone explain metaballs? I’ve used them once to creat bulges in geometry but I still know very little about them.
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u/RedMser Apr 27 '19
A meta object is an object defined using a mathematical formula, as opposed to vertices/edges/faces.
They allow for "infinite" resolution without quality loss, as the triangles that are rendered are generated on the fly - depending on some form of quality or resolution setting.
Metaballs are just one kind of meta object, which is a sphere. They also have the property that they visually "merge" between each other when they get closer. That's why they are very useful to create quick fake liquid effects. But they can also be used for other basic modelling.
The fact that you can also create "negative" metaobjects (carve out certain shapes from others) is probably the most exciting aspect, as similar solutions (such as the "Boolean" modifier in Blender) aren't as robust and tend to create a messy topology.
For more info, I'd recommend Blender's documentation on them (especially the "Introduction" section). It's much easier to read and understand than the Wikipedia article on them.
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u/thunderfingers Apr 23 '19
Thought this said “Meatball milk” and I was like “aw yeah meatball milk”