Lava Lamp
About Lava Lamp
Lava Lamp is a real-time 3D metaball simulation that recreates the mesmerizing fluid dynamics of a classic lava lamp directly in your browser. Sculpt living, flowing blob formations with full control over physics, materials, lighting, and visual style.
Key Features
- Real-time Metaball Simulation — GPU-accelerated marching cubes rendering with smooth, organic blob motion at interactive framerates.
- Full Physics Control — Tune blob count, speed, size, bounce, gravity, and inter-blob attraction to craft any animation style.
- Rich Material System — Choose from built-in material presets (glass, metal, wax, pearl, liquid, chrome) with normal maps and environment reflections.
- Color & Lighting — Customize blob color, background color, ambient light, point light intensity, and environment map for cinematic results.
- Export & Save — Export still frames as PNG, export the mesh as OBJ, capture full 360° animation sequences, and save/load project files (Pro).
- Dark & Light Themes — The interface automatically adapts to your system preference, with a manual toggle for dark or light mode.
Quick Start
- Open the Settings panel on the right (click the chevron or press S) to see all controls.
- Drag the Blob Count slider to add more blobs, and Speed to control the animation pace.
- Pick a Material Preset — try Glass or Chrome for an instant dramatic look.
- Adjust Blob Color and Background to match your mood or brand palette.
- When you're happy with the result, hit Export PNG to capture a still, or Export 360 Sequence for a full animated loop (Pro).
✨ Perfect for motion backgrounds, ambient displays, design mood boards, and creative visual experiments.
Getting Started
Launching the App
Lava Lamp runs entirely in your browser — no installation needed for the web version. Open the settings panel by clicking the chevron button on the right edge of the screen. The panel contains all controls grouped into logical sections.
Choosing a Material
The Material section lets you select from several built-in presets:
- Glass — highly transparent with strong refractive highlights
- Chrome — mirror-like metallic finish with sharp reflections
- Wax — soft subsurface-like diffuse look, great for pastel palettes
- Pearl — iridescent shimmer with a smooth surface
- Liquid — deep translucency simulating coloured fluid
- Metal — matte metallic with anisotropic shading
You can also manually adjust Metalness, Roughness, Opacity, and Refraction parameters for full custom control.
Adjusting Physics
The Physics section gives you real-time control over how blobs move and interact. Key parameters:
- Blob Count — number of active metaballs (2–20)
- Speed — overall animation velocity multiplier
- Blob Size — base radius of each metaball
- Bounce — elastic restitution at container walls
- Gravity — vertical pull force; negative values float blobs upward
- Attraction — inter-blob magnetic pull, produces merging or orbiting behaviour
Color & Lighting
Color Controls
Use the Blob Color picker to set the primary hue of the metaballs. The Background Color picker sets the scene backdrop. Both support full RGB and hex input. Enable Multi-color Mode to assign unique colors to each blob, or use the Rainbow auto-cycle mode.
Lighting Settings
Three lighting parameters shape the final look:
- Ambient Intensity — global fill light; higher values reduce shadows
- Light Intensity — strength of the main point light
- Light Position — orbit the point light around the scene
The Environment Map selector changes the reflection cubemap used for metallic and glass materials.
View Controls
Click and drag on the canvas to orbit the camera. Scroll to zoom. Right-click drag to pan. Press R to reset the camera to its default position. Use the fullscreen button (or F) to enter fullscreen mode for distraction-free viewing.
Exporting
Export PNG
Captures the current frame at full canvas resolution as a PNG file. (Pro feature)
Export OBJ
Exports the current metaball mesh as a 3D OBJ file for use in Blender, Cinema 4D, or any other 3D application. (Pro feature)
Export 360° Sequence
Renders a full rotation of the camera around the blobs and exports each frame as a PNG, then zips them into an archive. Ideal for animated backgrounds or turntable videos. (Pro feature)
Save / Load Project
Saves all current settings — physics, material, colors, and lighting — to a JSON file. Load that file later to restore the exact state. (Pro feature)
Tips for Best Results
Start with a Preset
Material presets are tuned starting points. Load one and then fine-tune individual sliders rather than building from scratch.
Slow it Down
Reducing Speed to around 0.3–0.5 creates an elegant, meditative flow. Great for ambient background loops.
Attraction + High Count
Cranking Attraction with 10+ blobs produces complex, organic shapes reminiscent of soap bubbles or cell division.
Chrome on Dark
The Chrome material looks stunning against a pure black background. Add a warm point light for a jewellery-ad aesthetic.
Keyboard shortcuts speed up your workflow. On macOS the modifier key is ⌘; on Windows & Linux it's Ctrl. All .mod-key labels below update automatically.
View & Navigation
Simulation
Export
Help
End-User License Agreement
This End-User License Agreement ("Agreement") is a legal agreement between you ("User") and Samolevsky.com ("Licensor") for the use of Lava Lamp ("Software"). By installing, accessing, or using the Software you agree to be bound by the terms of this Agreement.
Grant of License
Licensor grants you a non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable license to install and use the Software on devices you own or control, solely for your personal or internal business purposes.
Permitted Uses
- Use the Software to create personal or commercial visual outputs (images, animations, sequences).
- Install the Software on multiple personal devices for your sole use.
- Share output artwork created with the Software without restriction.
Restrictions
- You may not reverse-engineer, decompile, disassemble, or otherwise attempt to derive the source code of the Software.
- You may not redistribute, sublicense, rent, lease, or resell the Software or any portion thereof.
- You may not remove, alter, or obscure any copyright, trademark, or other proprietary notices within the Software.
- You may not use the Software in any way that violates applicable local, national, or international laws.
Disclaimer of Warranties
THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. THE LICENSOR DOES NOT WARRANT THAT THE SOFTWARE WILL BE ERROR-FREE OR UNINTERRUPTED.
Limitation of Liability
TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, THE LICENSOR SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH YOUR USE OF THE SOFTWARE.
Termination
This Agreement is effective until terminated. Your rights under this Agreement will terminate automatically without notice if you fail to comply with any of its terms. Upon termination you must cease all use of the Software and destroy all copies.
🔒 By using Lava Lamp you confirm that you have read, understood, and agree to be bound by the terms of this Agreement.
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