Hi there!
I have to model a ceiling light similar to this shape:
Besides that, each individual piece must be at a different height from another:
Is there an easy way to array a set of 3 or 4 small pieces randomly through a S curve?
Hmm nothing is “easy” but I would do something with Geometry nodes.
The file
Lamp.blend (114.8 KB)
This is just an example I did not do it properly (could be a lot better), the bulbs are just spheres but you could use any object (or a collection if you want variation). It is just an example of the sort of thing you can do.
“easy” 
that depends on if you know geometry nodes.
5 Likes
Yeah, I assumed that it would require geometry nodes 
Thank you a lot for the work you’ve had; unfortunately I know nothing about geometry nodes. Are there some tutorials you recommend?
In that case my example is a bit confusing as the base curve I made was the wrong way round. That means that all the axis’s in the GN setup are “switched” and I rotated the whole thing afterwards.
I will try and make a more understandable example of what I did for you with a bit of explanation of each part.
There are many tutorials Erindale has many really good ones and he explains his thought process.
https://www.youtube.com/@Erindale
There are many others.
The problem with tutorials when you are starting is that Geometry nodes are in constant evolution and things have changed a lot in the 3 years of development.
The whole system was rewritten for fields about 2 years ago, so any tutorial before fields came in is to be avoided, it was a major landmark that completely changed everything. Since then there are also quite a few nodes that have been changed, been replaced by others etc.
Unfortunately there is quite a bit of theory to get used to before things click so if you want to learn you need some patience. Geometry nodes are not “easy” to learn but once you understand the basic theory they can be very powerful.
Ok I have made a setup that is simpler and more easy to understand.
In this file I started with a curve object that has the geometry node setup and I also modeled a small light Bulb with its Cable. (you can hide the original bulb object in the outliner if you want.)
I have commented the Geometry node setup so you can see what I did.
Basically the steps are;
Make a curve and a bulb object (with the cable going up). The origin of the Light bulb object has to be the center of the light bulb.
Give the curve object the geometry node modifier. In the geometry nodes what I did was;
First I gave the curve more resolution and added a bevel that tapers at the ends
Then I offset-ed the vertices using a noise texture (with a harsher offset on the y axis)
I instanced the light bulbs on the vertices.
At the end I used a cube and a boolean node to cut the wires flat at the top.
The boolean node looks a bit messy with overlay on but looks fine in render mode.
Here is the file;
Lamp2.blend (295.2 KB)
3 Likes
Thank you very much for your help! This will come handy.