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Displace

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Transform

Distorts an image using a displacement map, where pixels shift based on the brightness or color of a second input.

Displace uses a grayscale or color map to push pixels around. In Luminance mode, the brightness of the map drives both horizontal and vertical displacement. In Red-Green mode, the red channel controls horizontal shift and the green channel controls vertical shift (the standard UV displacement format).

The amount controls set how far pixels can move in each axis. Edge Mode determines what happens at the boundaries: Clamp repeats edge pixels, Wrap tiles, and Transparent reveals empty space.

Parameters

Section titled “Parameters”

Pins

ImagePixels
InputRequired
Displace MapImage
InputOptional
ImagePixels
Output

Displace

Amount XNumber · px/%
Default: 10.0 Range: -500.0–500.0 px / -100–100%

Horizontal displacement amount

Amount YNumber · px/%
Default: 10.0 Range: -500.0–500.0 px / -100–100%

Vertical displacement amount

ChannelChoice
Default: Luminance

Source of the displacement vector field

  • LuminanceGrayscale brightness drives both X and Y displacement equally.
  • Red-GreenRed channel drives horizontal (X) and green channel drives vertical (Y) displacement independently.
Map MidpointNumber
Default: 0.50 Range: 0.00–1.00

Map value treated as zero displacement:

  • 0.50 = signed: mid-gray neutral, darker pushes negative, brighter positive (default).
  • 0.00 = height map: black neutral, brighter values push outward (positive only).
  • 1.00 = inverted: white neutral, darker values push inward (negative only).

Amount X/Y stays the peak offset at any midpoint.

Filter

InterpolationChoice
Default: Bilinear

Resampling filter

  • NearestNo interpolation, so hard pixel edges are preserved. Best for pixel art.
  • BilinearSmooth blending between pixels, with good general-purpose quality.
  • LanczosHighest quality with sharp detail preservation, best for final output.
Edge ModeChoice
Default: Clamp

Behavior at image edges

  • ClampEdge pixels repeat outward, so displaced areas at the boundary show stretched edges.
  • WrapPixels wrap around to the opposite edge, which maintains tileability.
  • TransparentOut-of-bounds areas become transparent.

Usage Tips

Section titled “Usage Tips”
  • Wire a Noise node as the displacement map for organic, wavy distortion effects.
  • Use Red-Green channel mode with a custom displacement map for precise directional control.
  • Map Midpoint sets which map value counts as zero displacement. Leave it at 0.5 for a signed offset (mid-gray is neutral, darker and brighter pixels push in opposite directions). Lower it toward 0 to read the map as a height field, where black is neutral and brighter values push outward only; raise it toward 1 to invert that.
  • Keep amounts small (5–20px) for subtle warping; crank them up for dramatic distortion.
  • Use Wrap edge mode when displacing tileable textures to maintain seamlessness.
Section titled “Related Nodes”