Minecraft Sphere Generator: Layer-by-Layer Block Charts

What this sphere generator does

Type a diameter and the page draws the sphere one horizontal layer at a time, bottom to top, with the number of blocks in every row. Open Make an ellipsoid to give the width, height and depth separately, for example a wide, squashed ball for a pond or a tall egg for a tower top. Everything runs in your browser, and sizes go up to 100 blocks in each direction.

How the sphere is calculated

A block belongs to the sphere when its center lies inside the ideal shape. The page tests the center of every block in the bounding box and keeps the ones that pass, so the result is symmetric and the counts are exact for the size you type.

Hollow keeps only blocks that have at least one face open to the outside, which leaves a shell you can walk through with no gaps between blocks that share a face. A thick shell also keeps blocks that touch the outside only at an edge or a corner, which gives a sturdier wall. Filled keeps every block.

A hollow sphere is closed at the top and the bottom, so the first and last layers are solid discs and the layers in between are rings that thicken near the poles, where the surface is nearly flat.

Building it layer by layer

Layer 1 is the bottom. Use the slider or the arrow buttons to step up, and compare each chart with the faint gray blocks, which are the layer you just placed underneath. The center lines run through the middle of the build, and the number at the end of each row is how many blocks to place in that row.

• Mark the center column first. An odd diameter has a single center block; an even diameter has a 2 × 2 center.
• Build the bottom disc, then place each ring directly above the ring below it, matching the gray ghost.
• Use Print all layers to get every chart on a few sheets and tick them off as you go.
• Pick Thick shell if you plan to fill the inside with lights or furniture and want fewer see-through corners.