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Chapter Six · Synth 3D (Volumes)

Cell3D

Foam. Points are scattered through the volume, and every cell in the grid records how far it is from the nearest one. Cut that at a threshold and you get a mass of packed bubbles.

This is the same construction as the flat cell noise, but it is a far better subject in three dimensions. In two, you get a pattern to look at. In three, the surface at a given distance is a genuine closed surface with real curvature, which is why raymarching it gives you something that reads as foam rather than as a diagram of foam.

Finding the nearest point costs more here. In two dimensions you check the nine cells around you; in three you check twenty-seven, so the same idea is three times the work.

Further reading Worley noise Voronoi diagram Foam