Yusuf's Thoughts

Organic Amoeba (Fluid Point Geometry)

4 min read

Inspired by: Okamirufu Vizualizer

Inspired by the biomechanical and organic aesthetics of Okamirufu Vizualizer, this recipe shows you how to create a “living,” pulsating point cloud that looks like a microscopic organism or a floating amoeba.

Operator Families in this Recipe

  • POPs (Point Operators): GPU-based point manipulation.
  • SOPs (Surface Operators): Converting points back to geometry.
  • TOPs (Texture Operators): Post-processing and “oily” feedback.

Part 1: High-Resolution Point Source

  1. The Container: Create a Geo COMP and enter it.
  2. The POP Bridge: Create a POP SOP. Double-click to enter the POP network.
  3. The Shape: Add a Circle POP.
    • Divisions → 500 (or more for a super smooth silhouette).
    • Radius → 1.5, 1.5.
  4. The Motion: Add a Noise POP after the Circle.
    • Noise Type → Simplex 3D.
    • Amplitude → 0.5.
    • Transform (Translate Z) → absTime.seconds * 0.2. This “scrolls” through the 3D noise field, making the amoeba shift and pulse.
  5. The Attributes: Add an Attribute POP.
    • In the Color tab, set the Expression for RGB:
      • R: me.inputPoint.pos.x
      • G: me.inputPoint.pos.y
      • B: me.inputPoint.pos.z
    • This maps the point’s position to its color, creating a shifting iridescent effect as it moves.

Part 2: Converting to Mesh

Back in the Geo COMP (one level up):

  1. Connect the POP SOP output to a SOP to POP (if you want to process more) or directly to a Convert SOP.
  2. Convert To → Particles.
  3. Particle Type → Point Sprites.
  4. Apply a Point Sprite MAT to the Geo COMP.

Part 3: The “Oily” Feedback Loop

To get that characteristic fluid look, we use a feedback loop in the TOP world after rendering:

  1. Render TOP → Feedback TOP.
  2. Feedback TOP → Blur TOP (Filter Size: 3).
  3. Blur TOP → Level TOP (Opacity: 0.98).
  4. Level TOP → Composite TOP (Operation: Screen or Add).
  5. Drag the Composite TOP back onto the Feedback TOP.
  6. The Trick: Add a Displace TOP inside the feedback loop, driven by a small Noise TOP. This makes the trails “wiggle” and look like liquid ink.

Part 4: Final Polish

Add a Luma Blur TOP at the end of your chain to create a depth-of-field effect, making the amoeba feel like it’s being viewed through a microscope lens.

Parameter Tuning & Behavior

ParameterBehavior
Circle DivisionsHigher = ultra-smooth silhouette; Lower = jagged, crystal-like amoeba edges.
Noise AmplitudeHigher = more violent, “stretching” distortions; Lower = calm, subtle pulsing.
Noise Z-SpeedHigher = rapid shape-shifting; Lower = slow, lava-lamp-like evolution.
Feedback BlurHigher = softer, “glowing” ink trails; Lower = sharper, more defined liquid movement.
Displace StrengthHigher = more “oily” turbulence in trails; Lower = straight, clean motion trails.

Network Architecture

To visualize how the data flows, here is a map of the final network:

[ POP NETWORK ]
Circle POP (500 Divs) 
      │
      ▼
Noise POP (Simplex 3D) ───[ Animate Transform Z ]
      │
      ▼
Attribute POP (Pos to Color)
      │
      ▼
[ POP SOP ] ───▶ [ Convert SOP ] ───▶ [ Geo COMP ] ───▶ [ Render TOP ]
                                                             │
                                                             ▼
[ TOP FEEDBACK LOOP ] ◀──────────────────────────────────────┘
      │
      ▼
[ Feedback TOP ] ──▶ [ Displace TOP ] ──▶ [ Level TOP ] ──▶ [ Composite TOP (Screen) ]

Data Flow Explanation

  1. Generation: The Circle POP creates the raw point data on the GPU.
  2. Displacement: The Noise POP moves these points in 3D space. Because it’s a POP, it can handle thousands of points with zero lag.
  3. Shading: The Attribute POP calculates a color for every point based on its current position. As the “amoeba” moves, its color changes.
  4. Feedback: The Render TOP output is fed into a Feedback TOP. The Displace TOP inside the loop uses a noise texture to “warp” the trails, creating the oily liquid look characteristic of the Okamirufu style.

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