Creating a pixelated/blocky sphere then animating it

Hi All,

Not entirely sure where this topic can go. So admin please move it if it’s in the wrong place. However I have always found this forum to be full of knowledge and help.

I have been asked if it is possible to create a 3D animation of ‘bricks’ dismantling from a cube then reassemble into a sphere. Below is a test video I sent them

I have had good success with Geometry nodes and so far the possible client is happy but they want the sphere to be more like what they have on their website.

I am not sure how to go about it. I am new to Geometry Nodes (I have been off for the past year on maternity leave, so haven’t kept up) Is there a way to model the sphere and then use Geometry nodes to animate it or is there a better trick or technique that I should look at?

If anyone can point me in the right direction that would be great :smiley:

Many Thanks :slight_smile:

It’s a great question and a fun Blender puzzle. Geometry nodes could definitely be used, could be a particle system, force fields. I’ll give it a bump maybe someone else has some ideas. I keep flaling back to python solutions, alhtough it won’t cover everything. Could you also explani or storyboard the full series of effects. It does make a difference if the cube shape goes directly to the sphere, or if it kind of flies off in a wind trail first (like the reference image does).

how about something like in this blend file:
cube sphere modifier morphing.blend (726.5 KB)
I don’t have a lot of time at the moment, so it’s a bit rough, but it illustrates the concept pretty well


It uses a cast modifier to morph a sphere into a cube, and you could add a lot more effects with geometry nodes while it’s changing.

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Oh this looks good. Thank you. I never used the cast modifier before, I’ll have a tinker but this looks closer to what I think they are looking for :blush:

Python has been something I have been meaning to look into. I used to do MEL scripting in Maya and was always a handy bit of knowledge to have. Sadly client is still a little unsure of what they want. They don’t have a script yet they just wanted to see something.

You can use particles too: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lNlFVeFY_as
I tried too, but i cant figure out to smooth the animation.
morph.blend (166.9 KB)