Displace

Displaces background pixels using the input shape's luminance as a displacement map. Create bulge, warp, and distortion effects by pushing pixels outward, inward, or in specific directions.

Like the Blend node, Displace treats whatever is already rendered behind a shape as its "background." The shape's brightness (luminance) controls how much each pixel gets pushed — brighter areas create stronger displacement, darker areas create weaker displacement.

Property name

Description

Compatible datatype

input

Input figure used as displacement map

figure

mode

Displacement mode (bulge, polar, linear, red-green)

text

strength

Displacement intensity. Positive values push outward, negative values pull inward

number

soft

Edge softening in pixels. Higher values create smoother transitions at shape edges

number

angle

Direction in degrees. Available for linear and polar modes

number

Displacement Modes

Bulge — Pushes pixels radially outward from the center of bright areas, creating a magnifying glass or bubble effect
Polar — Displaces pixels in a circular/spiral pattern around bright areas, controlled by the angle property
Linear — Pushes pixels in a single direction based on the angle property
Red-green — Uses the red and green color channels separately to control horizontal and vertical displacement

Lensing with Displace

Because Displace works on the background behind a shape, it creates a "lensing" effect. Any shape with displacement applied will warp, stretch, or distort whatever is rendered behind it — even if those background shapes have no effects at all.

This makes Displace ideal for:

Creating magnifying glass or water droplet effects
Warping backgrounds through moving shapes
Building heat haze or underwater distortion
Combining with other effects for complex visual treatments

Quick tip #1: Displace works wonders if combined with a Post node Quick tip #2: Use a Signal node as input for the Displace, to create ripples and screen-like distortions