Yader

Here's an easier method, which avoids a costly for each loop: If you have QLib installed, it has a really handy point deform capture sop which let's you define an attribute to partition your incoming geo, (this should be part of the regular point deform sop) so the capture weights and points are generated accordingly. Just use a regular point deform afterwards and set it to deform only.

What exactly is the error, when you use compile block?

I meant a sop solver, not in your dop network Nevertheless, here's one way to do it (slow but stable), merging the points with a sop solver, copying lowres and highres on those points and then using a foreach to go through each single geo to point deform. Pretty sure, there's a more elegant and faster way to do it but it works. softbodies_proxy_yader02.hiplc

You can generate rest geometry with a sop solver, by accumulating your emission points and copying your lowres spheres onto those points. By the way, are those spheres placeholders or your real geo?

- Grid set to Rows - Random Selection of Points - Group Expand to fill up "holes" between random selection of points (avoids triangles) - Offset group in Z Direction See attached scenefile: SciFy_Grid_Yader_02.hiplc

Downloaded, installed and tried it out. Great helpers - thanks! The only one I couldn't output something useable was the point feature hda. Could you provide an example file for that? Thanks in advance!

How does your texture and surface look like?

Attached is the 17.5 version of the example above Protruded_Vellum_Shape_02_H175.hiplc

Jupp, that's the reason. I'm using H18 nodes. Let me see if I can make a 17.5 version (The basic workflow should be the same)

Here's an example file illustrating the above: Protruded_Vellum_Shape_02.hiplc

One way to achieve this with Vellum could be to animate rest blend geometry from flat to protruded and reference that into the Vellum Rest Blend DOP.

And here's another example, utilizing existing sop nodes instead of custom VEX Disable the Channel SOP for tweaking, as recalculating the delay effect takes its computational toll... Feather_Mystique_01.hiplc

Here's a scenefile to illustrate what toadstorm mentioned. A couple of ways to vary packed geo for the Copy to Points SOP, all of them basically create a random integer attribute with values between 0 and 2. Vary_Copies.hiplc

Love it, here are some Pollocks made with a slight variation on your technique.

The ray method works better than I thought, see attached file. Looks like a one to one match nr_foot_outline_yader.hiplc