Point Deform

Displaces point positions using a vector field or uniform value. Stateless -- applied fresh each frame.

Category: Point Ops Menu path: Point Ops > Point Deform

Ports

Port	Type	Direction	Description
points_in	points	input	Source points
field_in	vectorField	input	Spatial field for displacement (also accepts scalarField)
value_in	vec2	input	Uniform displacement vector (also accepts scalar)
amplitude_in	scalar	input	Override for the amplitude parameter
out	points	output	Displaced points

Parameters

Param	Type	Default	Description
mode	enum	XY	Displacement mode: XY, X, Y, Normal, or Tangent
amplitude	scalar	50	Multiplier applied to the displacement
source	enum	Field	Whether to use Field or Value when both are connected

How It Works

PointDeform moves each point's position by a displacement vector, scaled by amplitude. It is stateless -- the displacement is computed fresh each frame from the current field/value, not accumulated over time (unlike PointAdvect).

Modes:

• XY: Full 2D displacement from the field or value.
• X / Y: Displacement restricted to a single axis.
• Normal / Tangent: Uses the per-point rotation attribute (set via PointAttributes) as a local coordinate frame. Normal displaces perpendicular to the point's facing direction, Tangent displaces along it.

Signal paths:

• Field: Evaluates the connected vectorField (or scalarField) at each point's position using eval_bipolar() for [-1, 1] range.
• Value: Applies the uniform vec2 (or scalar) from value_in to all points equally.

When both field_in and value_in are connected, the source param chooses which one to use.

Usage Examples

Basic: Noise displacement

Grid -> PointDeform (field: Noise.vectorField, amplitude: 30) -> DrawPoints -> Transform2D -> Output. Points jitter based on the noise field.

Animated wobble

Connect a Time.seconds output through Math (Sin) into amplitude_in. The displacement pulses over time.

Normal-based push

Grid -> PointAttributes (target: Rotation, field: Noise.scalarField) -> PointDeform (mode: Normal, field: DistanceField.vectorField). Points push outward along their individual facing directions.

Tips

• PointDeform changes positions, which affects bounding box computation -- the engine runs the full deformation in its pre-pass for accurate overscan
• For accumulated motion over time, use PointAdvect instead
• Normal/Tangent modes require a rotation attribute on the points -- set it upstream with PointAttributes
• The field_in port accepts both vectorField and scalarField; value_in accepts both vec2 and scalar

Related Nodes

• PointAdvect -- stateful accumulation through a field (vs. stateless displacement)
• ShapeDeform -- same concept for shape vertices
• PointAttributes -- set rotation attribute needed for Normal/Tangent modes
• Noise -- common field source
• DistanceField -- shape-proximity field for push/pull effects