Unfolding Meshes in Blender With a Geometry Nodes-Powered Solution

Motion Graphics Designer and Digital Artist Ernestas Grigonis, also known as Higgsas, has recently gone viral on social media by unveiling an astonishing custom-made Blender setup that allows him to turn 3D meshes into a bunch of stripes and subsequently unfold the models, creating a mesmerizing effect some have jokingly described as "UV unwrapping made easy".

Powered by the software's Geometry Nodes, this clever solution employs the Shortest Path algorithm that runs on faces, with the author emphasizing that using dual mesh allows running Shortest Path on face domain. The setup then outputs an Edges Path that Higgsas inverts and splits the mesh. Attached below is an example of the setup provided by the creator:

What's more, the .blend file containing the Geometry Nodes setup is available 100% free of charge, allowing you to experiment with it and adapt it to unfold your own 3D meshes. You can download it by visiting this thread on the Blender Artists forum.

And here are some of the artist's previous projects, you can check out more by visiting Higgsas' Twitter, Instagram, Gumroad, and ArtStation pages:

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