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Metaball Effect

Bright blobs grow over one tonal region of your picture and fuse into thick clusters wherever their fields overlap.

The same portrait covered in a grid of bright green dots that swell and merge into blobby clusters over the light hair and skin.
Back of a person's head with short bleached blonde hair, a shaved neck and a small hoop earring, against a flat cobalt blue background.
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Made with Metablob

Works in

The metaball effect lays a grid of bright blobs over your picture, sized by its tones, and lets neighboring blobs melt together into gooey clusters. The look starts on highlights with large, well-merged blobs in bright green. You can switch to edges or shadows, change the color, spacing and merge, and invert the result.

Same effect, different settings

12 photos, each with its own settings. Try it on yours

  • Metaball Effect on a photo of a smile with gold grills
  • Metaball Effect on a photo of two pears on linen
  • Metaball Effect on a photo of a basketball player mid-jump
  • Metaball Effect on a photo of a man in a suit under yellow light
  • Metaball Effect on a photo of a woman biting her finger
  • Metaball Effect on a photo of a hand holding a floating rock
  • Metaball Effect on a photo of a man with pink hair on green
  • Metaball Effect on a photo of a man in a white shirt
  • Metaball Effect on a photo of a woman in orange glasses and a knit collar
  • Metaball Effect on a photo of a woman in an orange turtleneck
  • Metaball Effect on a photo of two runners on a track
  • Metaball Effect on a photo of a purple aster

Use Metaball Effect in Photoshop, After Effects, Illustrator, Affinity or Figma

The plugins are free with an account. Paid plans add bigger renders and your own filters. See pricing

Settings worth touching

Drive Region
Chooses where blobs grow: edges, shadows or highlights. The look starts on highlights, so bright areas gather the densest clusters.
Blob Pitch
Sets the spacing of the blob grid. Low values give fine, dense dots; the look starts at 40 for large, open blobs.
Merge / Bleed
Controls how readily neighboring blobs fuse. Higher values join them into thick, liquid bands; lower values keep separate round dots.

Frequently asked questions

What is a metaball effect?

Metaballs are round shapes whose fields add together, so nearby blobs melt into one smooth mass instead of overlapping. This look builds them from your picture's tones, so the blobs follow its light and structure.

How do I make a metaball effect in Illustrator?

Select your artwork, store it as the source in Nexus and run the look. The result comes back as an embedded image, not vector paths, because this look outputs pixels only.

Can I use the metaball effect in Figma?

Yes. Select a frame or image, run the look with the Nexus plugin, and the result drops back into your file as an image. The plugin is free with a Nexus account.

Is this the same as a blob effect?

Yes, the blob effect people search for is the same idea: soft round shapes that merge where they touch. Raise Merge / Bleed and Spread for bigger, gooier blobs.

Can I try the metaball effect without paying?

Yes. Open the look in the Nexus web editor and try it on your own image without an account. Exporting needs a free account, which exports images up to 720px and video up to 720px with the Nexus mark.

Related effects

Try Metaball Effect in your browser

Free to try. Exporting needs a free account.

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