Summary

In this chapter, we studied the technique of vertex displacement.

We first explored how it can help us to create basic 3D animations in a procedural and tweakable way, such as giving some basic wobble-like movements to a fish or transforming a simple quad into a butterfly flapping its wings.

Then, we discussed how it can be applied to game environments and, in particular, to make sinusoidal waves on a water plane. We saw the importance of having the right resolution in our base geometry, and we studied how, sometimes, the displaced normals of a mesh can be computed exactly thanks to mathematics.

Finally, we mentioned several external resources and tutorials of creators that use vertex displacement to create interesting shaders, with valuable techniques to deepen our understanding of this type of shaders.

Throughout these few examples, we saw how vertex displacement can be useful to bring life to our 3D models efficiently, thanks to the power of shaders and GPUs...