Content:

A geometry node setup to scatter rocks instances on a given geometry.

I have been using those rocks many times for space and sci-fi pictures. All instances come with UVs, plus 3 procedural shaders with bump\displacement options. This setup can be tweaked to scatter plants or grass, for instance. 

Blender version is 3.4.1.

How to use it:

Choose your emit geometry and give it a property node geometry, then choose GeoN_Scatter_Rocks. It is recommended the geometry has applied transforms. 

Move up the rocks you want into the Selected Rocks collection. They will randomly be scattered on your geometry surface. If you want one instance more frequently than others, duplicate it the appropriate number of times to increase its probability and add it to the selected_Rocks collection.

Parameters:

Density: density is relative to the surface so if you raise or shrink it, the total of instances will follow.

Seed: Change all random values

Min_Scale: Minimum size of instances

Max_Scale: Maximum size of instances

Magnitude: Global scale factor

Void_Effect: reduce the number of instances with a Noise\Voronoi texture. 

Height-Effect: reduce the number of instances and their scale to reproduce the fact that the stones tend to block the hollows and shift the heights. 

Align to normal: align instances to the nearest face normal. 

position_Z: move up and down instances, it can be done on the local (normal) or global (Z) axis.

Delete by volume: (0 is Off, 1 is On) all instances inside the given volume are deleted. 

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License: for any use, personal, educational or commercial.

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By Sébastien Garnier, February 2023

Contact, feedback, requests: [email protected]