# Deformers

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Animation in modo is directly applied as an items transform, producing a rigid uniform movement to all the geometry in an item layer. Soft, non-linear types of animation are achieved through the application of deformers. Rich explains and demonstrates all the different deformer types in modo, and their main uses. Following that, he provides a real world example of how one might use the various Deformers to animate an item naturally.

Users can jump ahead to a specific section by using the Chapter selection widget on the right side of the player or by directly clicking any of the Chapter Title links below.

Tab | Time | Chapter | Description
1 | 00:07 | Deformer Def | Location and Options of the 'Display' viewport panel.
2 | 01:48 | MDD Deformer | Applying Labels to items in the viewport for easier identification.
3 | 09:28 | Morph Deformer | Various draw options available to items in the 3D viewports.
4 | 18:43 | Weight Deformer | Locator Draw options available.
5 | 30:56 | Deformers in Use | All the various Locator Shape options covered in detail.
| 48:36 | Total Video Time |

Frequently Asked Questions--

Q.) Are these deformers what Luxology considers a complete deformation effort?

> A.) No. The handful of deformers we have now in modo are just to get us by while a real deformation system is developed for a future version of modo.

Q.) Do MDD files play nice with motion Blur?

> A.) Yes they do, modo is smart enough to look at the progression of the deformation and calculate motion blur properly.

Q.) Can a MDD file contain information about more than one mesh at a time?

> A.) No it can't. That is why you do not see the Fish's eyes in the demo, they had to have separate MDDs applied since they are separate items (and I didn't want to confuse things during the illustration :)

Q.) What is "Firing Order"?

> A.) This refers to the order in which modo evaluates its deformations. Deformers will move some points, then another deformer will move the same points but relative to how the previous deformer did. This is not strictly unique to modo, but it is a concept that other apps don't typically make much use of.

Q.) What is the "Subdivision" Weight Map that seems to be part of every mesh item?

> A.) The subdivision weight map is used for apply creasing to a subdivision surface. Check the subdivision surfaces section of the docs for more info.

Q.) WeightMap deformers kinda look like "Bones" or "Joints" from other applications, are they the same?

> A.) Yes and no. Yes they act on points and if you are careful you can link them together and get an effect similar to other applications "Skeletons". The problem is that modo does not have a way to "normalize" the weighting easily... which makes putting this kind of effect together difficult. So short answer is yes it can be done, but no its probably not worth the effort.

Q.) Can you reorder vertex maps in the vertex map list?

> A.) No. Modo enforces the order alphabetically.

Resources--

Links to the modo in-line help system
Docs: Deformers
Docs: Info and Statistics
Docs: Falloffs

Links to other pages in this training
Training: Preferences
Training: General UI Elements
Training: KeyFraming and DopeSheet
Training: Channels
Training: Components vs Items
Training: Transform Items
Training: Constraints

File--

Links to the modo scenes used in the video
(click to open in modo)
File: Deformers_Advanced.lxo
File: Deformers_AngelFish.lxo
File: Deformers_Planes.lxo
File: Deformers_Planes2.lxo
File: Deformers_SharkHead.lxo
File: Deformers_SharkHead2.lxo

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