Metaballs are a fun way of creating blobby looking shapes. The idea stems from a method for rendering molecules, where each atom contributes to the overall electron density1. In the easy case of hydrogen, this contribution is a radially symmetric shape centered around the atom’s center \(c\): $$ f(v; c) = a \exp(- \|v - c\|_2^2) $$ To render a collection of such atoms, one then takes the sum over these contributions, and renders a level-set: ...
Particle Simulations are great. Life Simulations are fun. Meet Particle Life – the intersection of these two worlds. Inspired by Biologist Lynn Margulis’ theory of endosymbiosis, Jeffrey Ventrella invented his Clusters. The main idea is simulating microorganisms that have pretty basic interaction patterns. Some species are drawn towards certain others, while some will be repelled by others. Implementing a particle simulation with these rules leads to very interesting patterns. Compared to physics-based particle simulations, this approach explicitly violates the Conservation of Momentum. This allows for self-propelling structures, clusters that look like biological cells, and much more. ...
