Hiroshi Kanazawa animates 2D-style "anime" explosions made with Blender's Geometry Nodes

Hiroshi Kanazawa, an extremely talented Japanese 3D artist, has recently updated their work on creating explosion effects in Blender.

On October 8th, they shared their initial version, which allowed artists to simulate 2D-style explosions using geometry nodes. This tool was noted for its efficiency and the simplicity with which it could be integrated into a scene, just by tracing with a pen.

It provided significant customization options for a more illustrative style in 3D environments. Kanazawa mentioned their intention to add animation to these explosions, recognizing that while the simulation node was a useful addition, animating these effects would be a complex task.

By November 11th, Kanazawa had made substantial progress, successfully adding motion to the explosion generator.

This new feature gave users precise control over the animation, such as setting the start time and adjusting the speed.

They expanded the tool's functionality, allowing the effects to be attached to various objects and enabling different methods to activate the explosions, including a scattering effect that resembles a burst of fire.

On November 12th, Kanazawa followed up with further technical details, explaining that they used a conditional branch of the geometry node as a custom node to control the movement of the explosion effect. This adjustment allowed for important points in the animation to be connected and managed within Blender, demonstrating the tool’s flexibility.

While Kanazawa's updates are shared in Japanese, the visual results speak to the universal language of digital art, showcasing the potential applications of the tool for animators seeking to incorporate dynamic, 2D-style effects into their 3D projects.

If you're as blown away by this as we are (sorry!) then why not drop Hiroshi a follow on Instagram and X? We're sure there's much more to come!