They gave us simulation!

I woke up. Ordinary morning.

Sat down at my desk. Flipped my laptop open.

Hadn’t worked in Blender for a while. Wait—weren’t they going to release 3.6 soon? Maybe I’ll check…

THEY HAD!

Not only that, but it’d already been out for 6 days!

Such an amazing update, too. Some little features here and there…

…and Simulation Nodes!

Simulation nodes is a new feature in Geometry Nodes. It lets you build a loop, enabling you to change your mesh every frame.

Sound boring? Keep scrolling.

It felt like I’d lost a week of my life. A whole week I could have been playing with this!

I hammered the download button and got it installed.

First thing I did?

Melted the poor monkey.

That’s right—I turned Suzanne into red-hot goo. I even made that file free if you’re interested (it’s a great way to dive into Simulation Nodes.)

Here’s an irresistible button:

So Simulation Nodes.

We need to learn about those.

They’re brand-new, so there aren’t many tutorials about them yet. But don’t give up. You don’t have to resort to the dreaded trial-and-error routine.

Not yet.

You see, I’ve recorded a special, exclusive video showing you how Simulation Nodes work.

It’s 20 minutes long, and it explains the monkey-melting demo in exquisite detail.

Here’s another irresistible button for you:

It’s well worth the $1 it costs to watch.

But if you’re not interested in a detailed breakdown, there are still options for you. Here are some of the best Simulation Nodes videos I’ve found so far:

Sizzle

A reel put together by the folks at Blender to show off people’s work. Not a tutorial but still awesome.

Howto

Blender’s official “how it works” demo.

Particles

A video by Khamurai showing how to add particles trails to an animated character.

Melting

Melt the monkey with this free demo. It’s fun and educational. And destructive.

These videos are all pretty helpful.

Sometimes, though, they don’t explain what every single node is doing.

Sometimes you’re left in the dark, wondering what that node is for.

That’s why my melting breakdown is different:

It teaches you the why for every single node in the demo file.

Not just the simulation, either. You learn about the material, too.

Here’s the link to watch it:

https://samuelsullins.gumroad.com/l/melting-breakdown

Enjoy the video—it really does simplify things.

And happy Independence Day.

— Samuel

Can't think what to blend?

Try something wet and dirty. Anything from a street at night to some filthy laundry.

P.S. I write fiction on the side, if you like that kind of thing. I did the cover of this one in Blender:

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