Houdini 20.5 Nodes Geometry nodes

Bone Deform geometry node

Uses capture attributes created from bones to deform geometry according to their movement.

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Since 17.0

Tip

This node supports the character muscle/joint/etc. deformation workflow. To do a cage deformation of geometry, use the Lattice node.

Bone Deform works in conjunction with a Bone Capture nodes (Bone Capture, Bone Capture Proximity, Bone Capture Biharmonic) to deform geometry. As the bones move, this node displaces the points on the geometry according to the point weights.

Typically one or more Capture Regions are placed in an object (usually a bone) and named “capture_region”. The object is then read into a Capture operation through the object’s hierarchy. The object is moved to deform the Capture operation’s geometry with a Deform operation.

Bone Deform can use Linear, Dual Quaternion or mix both solutions linearly to compute the deformation.

Since Houdini 18.0, Bone Deform can also be used with point attributes in its second and third inputs. The capture paths in the boneCapture attribute in its first input are matched with the point name attribute in the second and third inputs. Instead of using the rest transform within boneCapture, it is taken from the second input’s P and transform (matrix3) point attribute values. Instead of using the transforms from bone objects, they are instead taken from the third input’s P and transform (matrix3) point attribute values.

Attributes

boneCapture

This required attribute defines the rest transforms and skinning weights for the deformation. It can be created by various SOPs such as: Bone Capture Biharmonic, Bone Capture Proximity, or Bone Capture.

Parameters

Group

Optional point and/or primitive groups to limit the points which are deformed.

Skeleton Root Path

Specifies the parent OBJ for the bones attached to the input geometry. The pCaptSkelRoot detail attribute is used by default when this parameter is empty. If this parameter is non-empty, it overrides the pCaptSkelRoot detail attribute in the input geometry.

Skinning Method

Choose the bone deform method.

Linear Skinning

The standard, fastest method. However, artifacts can occur for twisting geometry between two bones, producing volume loss. To fix these artifacts, introduce additional bones to even out the deformation.

Dual Quaternion Skinning

Dual quaternion skinning is an alternate way of computing the deformation from bones. This method is better for deforming twisting geometry and preventing volume loss than the traditional Linear Skinning method. This is often used for body parts, such as the shoulders of characters.

Blend Dual Quaternion and Linear Skinning

Blends the deformation computed using both methods together based on a point attribute. For this method, a float point attribute must be supplied in the Blend Attribute parameter. A blend attribute value of 0.0, will use the Linear Skinning solution. A blend attribute value of 1.0 will use the Dual Quaternion solution. A blend value of 0.5 will mix both solutions together evenly.

From Input Geometry

When selected the deformSkinMethod global attribute gives the method where the string value linear specifies Linear Skinning skinning, dualquat specifies Dual Quaternion Skinning skinning, and blenddualquat specifies Blend Dual Quaternion and Linear Skinning skinning. The deformDualQuaternionBlendAttrib global attribute also gives the Blend Attribute name.

Blend Attribute

The name of the point attribute to use when blending dual quaternion and linear solutions together.

Transforms Path

An optional path to a CHOP node that contains channels for the world bone transforms, overriding the current state of the bones. In CHOPs, the Extract Bone Transforms node can be used to capture the bone transforms.

The deformTransformsPath detail attribute is used by default when this parameter is empty. If this parameter is non-empty, it overrides the deformTransformsPath detail attribute in the input geometry.

Other Attributes

Name of other attributes (beyond positions and normals) to deform. This is typically a list of attribute names separated by spaces, but pattern characters such as '*' can also be used to match multiple attributes. An attribute’s type qualifier (see the Attribute Create SOP) is used to determine whether the geometry can be transformed. Only attributes with the “transforming” type qualifiers of Position, Vector, Normal, Quaternion, or Transform Matrix can be deformed. Attributes that don’t have these type qualifiers are ignored.

Deform Normals

Deforms the normals to match the deformation of the points.

Note

If Deform Normals is turned off, this also prevents the deforming of normals that are matched in the Other Attributes parameter.

Delete Capture Attributes

Delete capture attributes lighten the geometry data such as boneCapture, pCaptAlpha, pCaptSkelRoot, pCaptFrame.

Delete Point Colors

Delete point color attribute to lighten the geometry data.

Inputs

Geometry to Deform

The skin geometry to deform. It’s required to have a boneCapture attribute (eg. created by Bone Capture Biharmonic).

Rest Point Transforms

The capture paths from the first input’s boneCapture attribute are matched with the name point attribute in this input to provide rest transforms that override the values found in boneCapture. These transforms are provided from the input’s P and transform (matrix3) point attribute values.

Deform Point Transforms

The capture paths from the first input’s boneCapture attribute are matched with the name point attribute in this input to provide deformation transforms instead of obtaining them from Bone nodes in the scene. These transforms are provided from the input’s P and transform (matrix3) point attribute values.

See also

Geometry nodes