Geometry & 3D node
Geometry Explode
Breaks a mesh into loose triangles and pushes them apart along their own normals — the shatter, and also the way to get flat facet shading out of a smooth mesh, since triangles that no longer share vertices each carry their own face normal. Amount 0 leaves the shape looking untouched but de-indexed, which is what a per-face effect downstream wants. Shrink pulls each triangle toward its own centre, Spin turns it there, and Seed varies both per face.
Inputs
| Port | Type | Default |
|---|---|---|
| GeometryThe mesh to break into loose triangles. | structure | — |
| AmountHow far each triangle travels along its own normal, in Grafit units, varied per face. 0 is the useful zero: the shape looks untouched but is now de-indexed, so every triangle carries its own face normal — which is how you get flat facet shading out of a smooth mesh. | float | 0 |
| ShrinkPulls each triangle toward its own centre, 0 to 1. Opens gaps between the pieces without moving them apart, so the mesh dissolves rather than bursts. | float | 0 |
| SpinTurns each triangle around its own normal, in degrees, varied per face. A little tumbles the debris; a lot scrambles it. | float | 0 |
| SeedChanges which triangle goes where without changing the character. The same seed replays exactly. | int | 0 |
Outputs
| Port | Type |
|---|---|
| GeometryThe mesh to break into loose triangles. | structure |
| Vertex Count | int |
| Triangle Count | int |
How It Works
Geometry Explode breaks a mesh into loose triangles and pushes them apart along their own normals — the shatter effect, and also the standard way to get flat facet shading out of a smooth mesh, since triangles that no longer share vertices each carry their own face normal.
Amount 0 leaves the shape looking untouched but de-indexed, which is exactly what a per-face effect downstream wants. Shrink pulls each triangle toward its own centre, Spin turns it there, and Seed varies both per face.
Use Cases
- Shatter — An LFO or a Timeline curve on Amount blows the object apart and reassembles it.
- Low-poly look — Amount 0, and a smooth sphere becomes visibly faceted.
- Dissolve — Shrink to 1 and the triangles vanish into their own centres.
- Per-face animation — Spin with a Seed gives every facet its own tumble.
- Impact effects — Amount driven by a beat detector.
Tips
- Exploding multiplies the vertex count by three (nothing is shared any more) — check the counts on a heavy mesh.
- Amount 0 is the setting you will reach for most: it is the facet-shading switch.
- Combine with Slice for a shatter that only affects part of the object.
- Seed re-deals the per-face variation without changing anything else.
Open Geometry Explode in the interactive catalog →
Geometry Explode is one of 381 nodes in Grafit Pro.
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