Shape Deform

Displaces shape vertices procedurally using a vector/scalar field or a uniform value. Preserves topology -- only vertex positions change.

Category: Shape Ops Menu path: Shape Ops > ShapeDeform

Ports

Port	Type	Direction	Description
shape_in	shape	input	Shape to deform
field_in	vectorField	input	Spatially varying displacement field (also accepts scalarField)
value_in	vec2	input	Uniform displacement vector (also accepts scalar)
amplitude_in	scalar	input	Override for amplitude param
out	shape	output	Deformed shape

Parameters

Param	Type	Default	Description
mode	enum	Normal	Displacement direction: Normal, Tangent, XY, X, or Y
amplitude	scalar	50	Displacement magnitude in pixels
source	enum	Field	Signal source: Field or Value

How It Works

ShapeDeform visits every vertex in the input shape and displaces it based on the selected mode and signal source:

• Field source: The field_in port provides a spatially varying signal. Each vertex samples the field at its position using eval_bipolar() (range [-1, 1]). A scalarField connected to field_in is also accepted.
• Value source: The value_in port provides a uniform displacement applied equally to all vertices.

The amplitude parameter scales the displacement. The mode determines the direction:

• Normal -- displace along the vertex normal (perpendicular to the path)
• Tangent -- displace along the path tangent (parallel to the path)
• XY -- displace in both X and Y independently
• X / Y -- displace along a single axis only

Only vertex positions are modified; path topology, point IDs, and attributes are preserved. This means downstream nodes like DrawShape see the same structure but different vertex locations.

ShapeDeform runs in the value pre-pass (before GPU evaluation) so that downstream nodes like Transform2D and DrawShape use accurate deformed bounds for overscan computation.

Usage Examples

Basic: Wavy edges

Rectangle -> ShapeDeform (mode: Normal, field: Noise.scalarField) -> T2D -> DrawShape -> Output. The rectangle's edges ripple based on the noise field. Animate Noise evolution for flowing deformation.

Organic shapes

Circle -> ResampleShape (count: 64) -> ShapeDeform (mode: Normal, field: Noise.vectorField, amplitude: 30) -> DrawShape. Resample first to add enough vertices for smooth deformation, then displace along normals for blob-like organic shapes.

Uniform shift

Rectangle -> ShapeDeform (source: Value, mode: XY, value_in: MakeVector) -> DrawShape. Use a MakeVector node to create a displacement offset, applying the same shift to all vertices.

Tips

• Resample your shape upstream (ResampleShape) if it doesn't have enough vertices for smooth deformation -- a Rectangle with only 4 corners will deform coarsely
• Noise with Curl type produces smooth, divergence-free deformation that avoids self-intersection
• ShapeDeform is terminal in content bounds computation -- it reads the pre-pass AABB rather than passing through, because deformation changes the shape's bounding box
• Amplitude is animatable -- keyframe it for deformation that grows or shrinks over time

Related Nodes

• ResampleShape -- add more vertices before deforming for smoother results
• Noise -- primary field source for procedural deformation
• DistanceField -- SDF field source for distance-based deformation
• Transform2D -- rigid spatial transform (no deformation)
• DrawShape -- rasterize the deformed shape