Place Repeating Architectural Elements on Points with Blender Geometry Nodes

What will you learn in this guide?

With Blender Geometry Nodes, you can use one geometry as repeating instances at points on another geometry. This method is useful for arrangements such as sun-shading elements on façades, repeated objects in a landscape, or modular elements in an interior. The guide focuses on the Instance on Points node, which uses the points’ positions for placement and takes the geometry to be instanced from a separate input.

This approach uses instances of the same geometry instead of creating a separate copy in the scene for every element. The point geometry determines the placement pattern, while the relevant inputs control the instances’ appearance and orientation. This lets you control the distribution and the instanced element independently.

Requirements and preparation

This workflow requires Geometry Nodes in Blender. The official manual pages for Instance on Points, Sample Curve, and similar related nodes do not specify a particular setup, computing requirements, or user account requirements. The Instance on Points page also does not specify a particular Blender version, so the steps below are not a version-specific setup guide.

Before you begin, identify two geometries:

• Point geometry: Holds the positions where instances will be placed. Each point can serve as a placement location for an instance.

• Instance geometry: Represents the module, object, or other geometry to be displayed at the points.

Instance on Points works with geometry types that have a Point domain, such as meshes, point clouds, and curve control points. This guide explains how to place instances on existing point geometry, not how to create the points.

Step-by-step Instance on Points setup

1. Separate the points from the geometry to be instanced. Each position in the point geometry is a location where an instance can be placed. The instance geometry is the element that appears at those locations. For example, think of the façade module as the instance geometry and the positions where the modules will sit as the point geometry.

   If the input geometry already contains instances, Instance on Points can also place new instances on points within those instances. This creates nested instancing. When setting up this kind of arrangement, account for the fact that the resulting transformation may be affected by both the new instance’s Rotation and Scale values and the transformations of the parent instances.

2. Connect the basic inputs. Connect the geometry containing the points to the Points input and the geometry to be duplicated to the Instance input. The node’s Instances output carries the created instances; you can use this output in the next part of the Geometry Nodes flow. Keeping the inputs separate reduces the need to rebuild the instance geometry when changing the distribution.

3. Choose which points to use. The Selection input controls whether an instance is created at each point. If the value for a point is true, an instance is created; if it is false, that point is skipped. This lets you disable specific locations and manage gaps in the distribution based on the selection.

4. Set the orientation and size. The Rotation input takes an Euler rotation for each instance. The Scale input determines the size of the instances. When alignment to the points’ direction vectors is needed, you can use the Align Rotation to Vector node. If you need directional information along a curve, the Tangent output of the Sample Curve node can also be used in this kind of alignment setup.

   Sample Curve can find a position on a curve using either a distance from the start or a fraction of the total length. Length mode uses a distance, while Factor mode uses a fraction of the total length. The node also returns the Position, Tangent, and Normal values at the sampled position. When there are multiple splines, the position can be found using the cumulative total of their lengths; the All Curves setting determines whether length is considered across all curves or within the selected curve.

5. Select an item from the instance list. If the Instance input contains multiple instances, the Pick Instances option lets you select a specific item at each point rather than use the entire list. The Instance Index input determines the selection; the manual describes using this feature with the Collection Info node.

   If the index exceeds the size of the list or is negative, it wraps around from the other end. By default, the point’s ID value is used; if there is no ID, the point index is used instead. If an unexpected item is selected, check these values and the order of the instance list.

6. Decide whether you need to convert the instances into real objects. The node’s output consists of instances. If you need to create objects from the instances in a later stage, you can use the Make Instances Real operator. This conversion is not required in every workflow; consider it only when the next step requires real objects.

Use in architectural and visualization workflows

Instance on Points lets you manage repeating patterns through point geometry in façade, landscape, and interior projects where the same element appears in many locations. Controlling the point placement and instance geometry through separate inputs makes it easier to keep the element fixed while changing its positions, or preserve the distribution while changing the element.

When using a list of different modules, Pick Instances and Instance Index can determine which item is selected for each point. In a curve-based setup, Sample Curve can provide position and direction data along the curve. However, these pages do not provide information about compatibility with specific render software, performance gains, or hardware requirements. The workflow should therefore be tested separately in the production scene.

In particular, decide in advance whether the instances need to be real objects for delivery or later editing. Also check that the point geometry contains the expected placement positions, that the Selection values cover the correct points, and that the Rotation data matches the intended orientation. These checks help catch instances appearing in the wrong place or facing the wrong direction early.

Common mistakes

• Mixing up the Points and Instance inputs: Points carries the placement positions; Instance takes the geometry to be repeated at those positions.

• Overlooking the Selection input: Its values determine which points receive instances. Check the selection if you see unexpected gaps.

• Using direction data without verifying it: Rotation takes an Euler rotation. When alignment to a vector is needed, make sure the correct direction data and the Align Rotation to Vector node are being used.

• Failing to check the instance index: When Pick Instances is enabled, Instance Index determines the selected item. Review the list order and index values.

• Converting instances into real objects unnecessarily: Make Instances Real creates objects from instances; you do not have to use it unless a later operation requires the conversion.

• Ignoring nested instancing: If the Points input already contains instances, new instances may be added to points within those instances. In this case, remember that the parent instances’ transformations may affect the result.

Next steps

Start with a simple point arrangement and a single instance geometry. First, verify that the Points and Instance inputs are connected correctly; then use Selection values to disable some locations and see how the Rotation and Scale inputs affect the result.

When using multiple elements, set up the instance list with Collection Info and test the Pick Instances and Instance Index connections. For a curve-based arrangement, get positions from Sample Curve using the Factor or Length method; check whether the Tangent and Normal outputs suit your orientation needs. Finally, decide whether the next stage requires instances or real objects before choosing whether to convert them.

Sources and license

This guide has been adapted into Turkish using information from the Instance on Points and Sample Curve pages in Blender’s official manual. Both sources are licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.