MeshCloud — User Documentation

Overview

MeshCloud is a non-destructive Blender add-on for converting mesh objects into customizable point-based effects.

It uses a Geometry Nodes modifier to generate controllable points, animated motion, reveals, colors, glow, and instanced geometry while keeping the original mesh available.

MeshCloud is designed for workflows such as:

• LiDAR-style visualizations
• Scanner and scanning effects
• Holograms
• Procedural particles
• Dust and fireflies
• Stylized point-based renders
• Animated point-cloud reveals
• Procedural point motion
• Instanced shape effects
• Colored point-cloud export

After installation, MeshCloud is available in:

3D Viewport → Sidebar (N) → MeshCloud

Getting Started

1. Select a Mesh

Select one or more mesh objects in the Blender viewport.

Open the Sidebar with N, then open the MeshCloud tab.

2. Convert the Mesh

Click:

Convert to Point Cloud

MeshCloud adds a Geometry Nodes modifier to the selected mesh.

The conversion is non-destructive. Your original mesh remains available until you explicitly remove, apply, or otherwise modify the result.

When MeshCloud is first added, automatic fitting can calculate suitable point settings for the object when Auto Fit on Convert is enabled in the add-on preferences.

3. Choose a Preset

The fastest way to create a look is to choose one of the built-in presets:

• Lidar Scan
• Scanner Sweep
• Hologram
• Dust
• Fireflies
• Dense Cloud
• Chunky Cubes

Presets include their own sampling, color, point, glow, reveal, or output settings as appropriate. Preset sizing is automatically adapted to the source mesh.

Main Panel

The main MeshCloud panel provides the primary workflow controls.

It includes:

• Convert to Point Cloud
• Estimated render point count
• Estimated viewport point count
• Remove
• Reset Settings
• Upgrade Modifier when an older MeshCloud setup is detected

MeshCloud also displays warnings when a setup becomes very dense or when instanced shapes may become expensive.

Sampling

The Sampling panel controls how MeshCloud generates points.

Vertices

Uses the vertices of the source mesh directly as point locations.

This mode is useful when you want the point cloud to follow the existing topology of the mesh.

Random

Distributes points randomly across the mesh surface.

The number of candidate points is controlled by Density.

Even

Uses Poisson-style surface distribution to create a more evenly spaced point arrangement.

Use Min Distance to control the minimum spacing between points.

Density

Controls the number of points generated per surface area for the Random and Even sampling modes.

It does not affect Vertex sampling.

Min Distance

Controls the minimum spacing used by Even sampling.

Increasing the value generally produces a more widely spaced point distribution.

Seed

Controls the randomization used by MeshCloud.

Changing the seed can produce a different point arrangement while leaving the other settings unchanged.

Use the randomize button beside Seed to generate a new seed automatically.

Viewport Density

Controls the percentage of the calculated density displayed in the viewport.

The viewport can therefore use fewer points for better performance while renders continue to use the full density.

Target Points

Target Points defines the approximate point count that Auto Fit and the built-in presets aim for.

The default target is 50,000 points, with a supported range of 100 to 5,000,000.

Auto Fit

Click:

Auto Fit

MeshCloud estimates the point spacing from the mesh size and target count, then adjusts the relevant point settings.

For surface-based sampling, Auto Fit calculates:

• Density
• Min Distance
• Radius

For vertex sampling, the target is based on the number of source vertices.

Vertex Group Mask

Enable:

Vertex Group Mask

to use a Blender vertex group as a density mask.

Only areas with a positive vertex-group influence are used for the point distribution.

Select the desired group from the Group field.

Points

The Points panel controls the size and movement of the generated points.

Radius

Sets the base point radius.

MeshCloud keeps the point radius within its supported range of 0.005 to 0.25 Blender units.

Radius Variation

Adds randomized size variation between points.

A value of 0 produces a consistent radius, while higher values create more variation.

Jitter

Applies a static random positional offset to the generated points.

This can break up an overly uniform distribution.

Animated Drift

Animated Drift adds procedural noise-based movement to the points.

Amount

Controls how far points move from their base positions.

Speed

Controls how quickly the procedural noise changes over time.

Scale

Controls the scale of the noise pattern.

These controls can be combined to create subtle floating motion, drifting particles, or more energetic point-cloud movement.

Color

MeshCloud supports four color modes.

Solid

Uses Color A for the entire point cloud.

Random

Randomly blends between Color A and Color B.

Each point receives its own randomized color value.

Gradient

Blends Color A and Color B according to the point's position along the selected Axis.

The gradient axis is controlled from the Reveal / Scan panel.

Mesh

Uses a color attribute from the source mesh.

Choose the desired attribute from the Attribute field.

Glow

Controls the emission strength stored with the generated points.

Increase Glow to create brighter luminous, holographic, scanner, or sci-fi effects.

Reveal / Scan

The Reveal / Scan panel provides progressive point visibility and scanning controls.

Reveal

Controls how much of the cloud is revealed.

• 0 hides the point cloud.
• 1 shows the complete point cloud.

Values between 0 and 1 progressively reveal points along the selected axis.

Axis

Select the reveal direction:

• X
• Y
• Z

The same axis is also used by the gradient color mode.

Reverse

Reverses the direction of the reveal.

Scan Edge

The active reveal boundary can be enhanced with a scan-edge effect.

Edge Width

Controls the width of the active scan region.

Edge Glow

Adds additional emission to points near the scan edge.

Edge Color

Sets the color of the scan edge.

Add Scan Animation

Click:

Add Scan Animation

to automatically create Reveal keyframes from 0 to 1 over a selected frame range.

This is useful for:

• Scanner sweeps
• Progressive object reveals
• Holographic builds
• Technical visualizations
• LiDAR-style scans

Animation

MeshCloud includes a separate procedural point-animation system.

The animation system controls how points enter the scene, move into position, or continuously oscillate.

Motion Types

MeshCloud provides seven motion types:

Pop

Points scale into place with the selected easing behavior.

Drop

Points travel into position along the selected axis.

Smear

Points move into position while generating a temporary trail of duplicated point copies.

Scatter

Points start displaced in randomized directions and settle into their final positions.

Swirl

Points rotate around the selected axis as they move into place.

Wave

Creates continuous wave motion driven by scene time.

Pulse

Creates continuous pulsing motion driven by scene time.

Easing

Keyframed animation types support:

• Linear
• Smooth
• Overshoot
• Elastic
• Bounce

The easing is calculated by MeshCloud's Geometry Nodes animation system.

Anim Progress

Controls the progress of keyframed animations.

• 0 represents the starting state.
• 1 represents the settled point cloud.

For keyframed motions, animate this value directly or use the built-in animation buttons.

Stagger

Controls how much individual points begin their animation at different times.

Higher values produce a more spread-out arrival rather than having every point move simultaneously.

Randomness

Controls how much the animation order is randomized.

Lower values favor the point position along the selected axis, while higher values create a more randomized order.

Distance

Controls the travel distance for motion types that use displacement-based animation.

The distance is calculated relative to the overall size of the object.

Trail Samples

For Smear, controls how many point copies are used to construct the temporary trail.

Higher values create a longer and denser smear effect.

Turns

For Swirl, controls the number of rotational turns used during the animation.

Looping Motion

Wave and Pulse are time-driven animations and do not require keyframes.

They use:

• Speed
• Amount
• Waves / Pulse Spread

These effects automatically loop with scene time.

The Animation panel indicates that looping motions do not require keyframes.

Animation Quick Start Presets

MeshCloud includes built-in motion presets:

• Bouncy Pop
• Rain Drop
• Smear In
• Scatter In
• Swirl In
• Ripple
• Breathe

These presets configure the animation controls without replacing your existing color and sampling setup.

Animate In

For keyframed animation types, use:

Animate In

to create keyframes that move Anim Progress from 0 to 1.

Animate Out

Use:

Animate Out

to create keyframes that move Anim Progress from 1 to 0.

Choose the start frame and duration when running the animation command.

Output

MeshCloud provides three output modes.

Points

Outputs the generated point geometry.

The MeshCloud interface notes that this point output renders in Cycles only.

Shapes

Instances geometry on every generated point.

Available shape options:

• Sphere
• Cube
• Custom Object

Sphere Detail

Controls the subdivision/detail level of the generated sphere.

Random Rotation

Assigns a randomized rotation to each instance.

Vertices

Converts the generated points into real mesh vertices.

This mode is used by the bake and apply workflows to create an actual vertex-based mesh representation.

Keep Original

When enabled, MeshCloud joins the generated result with the original input mesh so the source remains visible together with the point-based output.

Custom Object Instancing

MeshCloud can use another Blender object as the geometry instanced on every point.

To use a custom object:

1. Select the object you want to instance.
2. Keep that object selected.
3. Select the MeshCloud object last so it becomes the active object.
4. Use Use Selected Object.

MeshCloud assigns the other selected object as the custom instance and switches the output to Shapes → Object.

Built-In Style Presets

MeshCloud includes seven visual presets.

Lidar Scan

Uses Even surface sampling with a target of approximately 40,000 points.

It uses a blue-to-orange gradient and emission for a LiDAR-style visualization.

Scanner Sweep

Uses Even sampling with a scanner-oriented color setup.

It starts with a partial Reveal value and includes a bright configurable scan edge.

Hologram

Uses Even surface sampling with approximately 30,000 target points.

It combines cyan coloring, point-size variation, and strong glow for a holographic appearance.

Dust

Uses Random surface sampling with approximately 8,000 target points.

It uses strong radius variation, static jitter, and animated drift to create a loose particle-like appearance.

Fireflies

Uses Random surface sampling with approximately 1,500 target points.

It combines strong glow, point-size variation, and animated drift for a sparse firefly effect.

Dense Cloud

Uses Random surface sampling with a target of approximately 150,000 points for a dense point distribution.

Chunky Cubes

Uses source mesh vertices with cube instances.

It includes point-size variation, random color blending, and randomized rotation.

User Presets

MeshCloud allows you to save your current settings as reusable presets.

Use:

Save Preset

Enter a preset name and save it.

Saved presets appear under:

My Presets

From there you can:

• Load a preset
• Delete a preset

User presets store MeshCloud's supported non-object settings. Blender object references, such as a custom instanced object, are not stored in the JSON preset.

Bake to New Object

Use:

Bake to New Object

to create a separate mesh object from the current MeshCloud result.

The new object contains real vertices corresponding to the generated points and carries the generated MeshCloud color data.

The original source object remains intact.

An add-on preference called Hide Source When Baking can optionally hide the original source object after baking.

This is the recommended workflow when you want to preserve the original model while creating a committed point-based mesh.

Apply as Vertices

Use:

Apply as Vertices

to apply the MeshCloud modifier directly to the active object.

The resulting object contains real vertices generated from the MeshCloud point cloud.

This operation is destructive because the modifier is applied and the original mesh geometry is replaced by the generated result.

For a non-destructive workflow, use Bake to New Object instead.

MeshCloud also prevents this operation when the source mesh data is shared by multiple objects; make the mesh data single-user first.

PLY Export

MeshCloud includes a built-in:

Export PLY

tool for exporting generated point clouds.

The exporter writes:

• X position
• Y position
• Z position
• Red
• Green
• Blue

Binary

Binary PLY is enabled by default.

It produces a compact file and is intended to be faster and smaller than ASCII output.

ASCII

Disable Binary to export an ASCII PLY file.

World Space

When World Space is enabled, the object's world transform is applied to the exported coordinates.

When disabled, the point coordinates remain in the object's local space.

MeshCloud can export the generated point clouds from the selected MeshCloud mesh objects into a single PLY file.

Copy Settings

Use:

Copy to Selected

to copy the active MeshCloud object's settings to the other selected mesh objects.

Objects that do not already have MeshCloud can receive the modifier automatically as part of the operation.

This is useful for applying a consistent point treatment across multiple meshes.

The custom object reference is not copied.

Randomize Seed

Use:

Randomize Seed

to generate a new random Seed value for the selected MeshCloud objects.

The other MeshCloud settings remain unchanged.

This provides a quick way to explore different random surface distributions, colors, jitter patterns, and other seed-driven variations.

Reset Settings

Use:

Reset Settings

to restore the active MeshCloud modifier to its default settings.

After resetting, MeshCloud also reapplies Auto Fit using the scene's current Target Points value.

Upgrade Older MeshCloud Setups

MeshCloud uses versioned Geometry Nodes groups.

When an older MeshCloud setup is detected, the interface displays an upgrade option.

Click:

Upgrade Modifier

MeshCloud migrates the modifier to the current node setup and preserves compatible settings.

Older animation-type values are also remapped where required by the current version.

Performance Tips

Point-based effects can become expensive at high densities.

MeshCloud displays estimated:

• Render point count
• Viewport point count

The panel can also display warnings for particularly heavy setups.

Improve Viewport Performance

Lower:

Viewport Density

This reduces the number of points displayed in the viewport while leaving render density at 100%.

Dense Point Clouds

For extremely dense effects, lower:

Density

or adjust:

Target Points

and run:

Auto Fit

again.

Instanced Shapes

Instanced spheres, cubes, and custom objects can become significantly heavier than the basic point output.

MeshCloud displays an additional warning when instanced shapes exceed approximately 200,000 viewport points.

Recommended Workflows

Quick Visual Effect

1. Select mesh → 2. Convert to Point Cloud → 3. Choose a preset → 4. Adjust Sampling → 5. Tune Points → 6. Adjust Color/Glow

Scanner Effect

1. Convert → 2. Choose Scanner Sweep → 3. Set Axis → 4. Tune Scan Edge → 5. Add Scan Animation

Animated Point Build

1. Convert → 2. Choose an Animation Quick Start preset → 3. Adjust Easing/Stagger → 4. Use Animate In

Continuous Motion

1. Convert → 2. Select Wave or Pulse → 3. Adjust Speed, Amount, and Frequency

No keyframes are required for these looping modes.

Preserve the Original Mesh

Keep the MeshCloud modifier active for a completely procedural workflow, or use:

Bake to New Object

when you need a separate committed vertex mesh.

External Point-Cloud Workflow

Use:

Export PLY

to create a colored PLY containing XYZ coordinates and RGB color data.

Troubleshooting

I Don't See MeshCloud

Make sure the add-on is enabled and that you are looking in:

3D Viewport → Sidebar (N) → MeshCloud

Convert to Point Cloud Does Nothing

Make sure at least one selected object is a mesh.

MeshCloud operates on mesh objects.

The Viewport Is Too Slow

Lower:

Viewport Density

You can also reduce overall Density or use Auto Fit with a lower Target Points value.

The Point Count Is Higher Than Expected

Check:

• Sampling Mode
• Density
• Min Distance
• Target Points
• Viewport Density
• Animation type

The MeshCloud panel shows estimated render and viewport point counts.

For Smear, the estimated count can temporarily increase because the animation creates duplicate point samples for the trail.

My Points Are Too Large or Too Small

Adjust:

Radius

For automated sizing, use:

Auto Fit

I Need More Random Variation

Try increasing:

Radius Variation

or:

Jitter

You can also use:

Randomize Seed

to generate a different arrangement.

I Need to Keep My Original Model

Use:

Bake to New Object

instead of Apply as Vertices.

My Scan Is Moving in the Wrong Direction

Check:

Axis

and:

Reverse

in the Reveal / Scan panel.

My Gradient Runs in the Wrong Direction

The Gradient mode follows the selected Axis. Adjust the Axis used by the Reveal / Scan controls.

My Animation Does Not Move

For keyframed animation types, make sure Anim Type is not None, then use:

Animate In

or:

Animate Out

For Wave and Pulse, no keyframes are required because they are driven by scene time.

My Custom Object Is Not Being Used

Select the object you want to instance first, then select the MeshCloud object last.

Use:

Use Selected Object

MeshCloud will assign the other selected object as the custom instance.

My Older MeshCloud Setup Is Outdated

Select the affected MeshCloud object and use:

Upgrade Modifier

when the upgrade option appears in the main panel.

Apply as Vertices Is Blocked

If the mesh data is shared by multiple objects, MeshCloud requires the mesh to be made single-user before applying the modifier.

Support

MeshCloud is built around Blender's Geometry Nodes system and provides a procedural workflow for generating, styling, animating, instancing, baking, and exporting point-based effects.

The core workflow remains non-destructive until you explicitly choose to apply the modifier.