Sphere and dome planner
Spheres and domes layer by layer. Choose the size and whether it is hollow or filled, and build it row by row. Click blocks you have placed to keep track of where you are.
Lower makes it flatter, higher turns it into an egg or a stretched dome.
Cross-section
shellinsideA cut through the middle. Click a layer to view it on the right.
Build breakdown
Per layer, from bottom to top
| Layer | Width | Compared with the layer below | Blocks |
|---|
Layer 1, row by row
| Row | Start | Pattern | Blocks |
|---|
Build tips
- First put a pole in the middle up to the full height. That way you find the centre again on every layer.
- Start a dome at layer 1, the widest layer, directly on your wall or floor. After that every layer gets a little smaller.
- Build a full sphere from the bottom up. Put a scaffold of blocks under the lowest layers and break it away later. The top half is the mirror image of the bottom half.
- Use the lightly coloured layer below as a check: every new layer has to line up neatly with it.
- Water and mobs cannot pass through diagonal gaps, so Thin is often enough. Choose Closed if you also want no light or view through the gaps.
- For a glass dome you can build the same pattern with Glass. A few layers of normal blocks at the bottom give you a solid rim.
3D and layer-by-layer build plan
To Minecraft
Download the design as a schematic file and paste it into your world with WorldEdit, or rebuild it from a hologram in Litematica.
Shopping list
Add the amounts of this design to your list. There you see everything together, converted to stacks and shulker boxes.
How it is calculated
History and fun facts
Archimedes and the sphere
Around 250 BC the Greek mathematician Archimedes found that a sphere has two thirds of the volume of the cylinder around it. He thought this was so important that he wanted it on his tombstone.
For Minecraft this means that a solid sphere takes about two thirds of the blocks of a cylinder with the same width and height.
The Pantheon in Rome
The Pantheon was built around AD 125 under Emperor Hadrian. The dome is about 43 meters wide and the top is also about 43 meters high. So an imaginary sphere fits exactly inside the building.
The Romans built the dome from concrete. At the bottom the concrete is thick and heavy, at the top it is thin and light. It is still the largest dome of unreinforced concrete in the world.
Domes on churches and mosques
Hagia Sophia in Istanbul received a huge dome on four arches in 537. In Florence, Filippo Brunelleschi built the dome of the cathedral between 1420 and 1436, without a wooden frame under the whole vault.
Later came the domes of St Peter's Basilica in Rome and St Paul's Cathedral in London. A dome makes a large building easy to recognize from far away.
Building layer by layer
Real domes were often built in rings. Each ring sits a little further inward than the ring below. That way you do not need a support frame everywhere.
In Minecraft it works the same way. You build a dome from the widest layer upward. Each layer is a circle that is a little smaller than the one before.
Spheres and domes in Minecraft
Builders use spheres for planets, glass greenhouses, underwater bases and dragon eggs. Domes go on mosques, observatories and palaces.
A glass dome with a stone rim at the bottom is a classic design. For a tower spire or onion dome you can use the tower roof planner.
Did you know?
- The dome of the Pantheon is about 1,900 years old.
- In the middle of the Pantheon dome there is a round opening, the oculus, about 9 meters wide.
- The dome of Florence Cathedral was consecrated in 1436.
- According to the Roman writer Cicero, Archimedes had a sphere and a cylinder placed on his grave.
- An igloo is a dome of snow blocks laid in a spiral going up.
- In Minecraft a solid sphere has about 52 percent of the blocks of a cube with the same width.
About this tool
The Sphere and dome planner is a free Minecraft sphere generator. You choose between a dome and a full sphere and set the diameter from 3 to 100 blocks. With the height you make it flatter or stretched, like an egg. The Make perfectly round button sets it back to a true half or full sphere.
You choose whether it is hollow or filled. For a hollow sphere you pick a thin or closed shell and the wall thickness. A thin shell uses fewer blocks. A closed shell lets no light or view through the gaps.
The cross-section shows the shape in one picture. Click a layer to see it row by row. The layer below is shown in a light color, so you can see how everything lines up. Click blocks you have placed to keep track of where you are.
The 3D view and the layer-by-layer build plan show the result from every side. With the block palette you can make stripes or a gradient from bottom to top, for example. The materials calculator converts everything to stacks and shulker boxes.
Download your Minecraft dome as a .schem file for WorldEdit or Litematica. It is handy for greenhouses, planets, mosques and palaces.
Frequently asked questions
How do I build a sphere in Minecraft?
First put a pole in the middle up to the full height. Then build from the bottom layer upward, with a temporary scaffold underneath. Follow the row-by-row list for each layer. The top half is the mirror image of the bottom half.
How do I put a dome on my building?
Choose Dome and a diameter that matches your wall. Layer 1 is the widest layer and goes directly on the wall or floor. After that every layer gets a little smaller. Use the circle planner with the same diameter for the round wall underneath.
What is the difference between a thin and a closed shell?
With Thin some blocks only touch diagonally. Water and mobs cannot get through, so that is often enough. With Closed all blocks touch along a side. Then no light or view gets through the gaps either.
How many blocks does a sphere take?
You see it under Total, also in stacks. A hollow sphere takes far fewer blocks than a filled one. Make the sphere hollow if you only see it from outside. Put the design on your shopping list to add it to your other builds.
Can I make a glass dome?
Yes. Build the same pattern with glass. When you download, pick glass as the block. A few layers of normal blocks at the bottom give a solid rim.
Does this work in Bedrock?
The layer-by-layer plan works in every edition. The .schem file is for Java Edition with WorldEdit or Litematica.