Node Nuggets 002 – Point Deform (Houdini) (Patreon)

One of the most useful and flexible tools in Houdini is Point Deform. Let’s have a look!

You can use Point Deform to attach geometry to an animation or simulation. Here I created some animated ripples. I used Point Deform to make it so this cube bobs along with the motion.

Note that I packed the cube first.

If you don’t, it will deform every point, leading to this:

You can often leave all settings at their defaults, but sometimes increasing the Radius is helpful.

Point Deform is also great for matching high resolution meshes to low resolution simulations.

Here I made a Vellum simulation using a low resolution grid with high bend stiffness.

This wouldn’t look good in a render, plus you lose out on any surface details you might want to model or sculpt.

So, I used Point Deform to transfer the simulation to a higher resolution grid. Much better!