Visualize Flocks of Objects With This Blender Geometry Nodes Setup

Alex Martinelli, a Senior Data Scientist and Procedural Artist, shared a setup for Blender made using Geometry Nodes that allows artists to visualize flocks and provided a detailed instruction for implementing it.

The setup can be used for simulating realistic flocking dynamics as they are observed in the natural kingdom, such as groups of birds or fish, as well as general patterns in the interaction of large crowds of autonomous entities. As a result, complex structures are generated.

As stated in the description on Gumroad, there are three main Geometry Nodes node-trees: flock_init, flock_behavior, and flock_render. Flock_init is used to initialize the number and position of entities in the group and provides several templates for initialization. Flock_behavior defines the logic of movement in a flock, using three rules: cohesion, alignment, and separation. Flock_render is aimed at instancing aligned objects for the flock entities and rendering trails.

The setup contains highly detailed settings of the flock movement. For example, you can make it attract or avoid a target collection by adjusting the Attractor and Obstacles parameters. The product also has a premium version, containing sim performance optimization and additional functionalities such as trails and branching. To install the setup, Blender version 4.1 or higher is required.

We have already featured some of Alex Martinelli's previous projects, for instance, a procedural crystal setup and a procedural hair system setup.

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