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Fridays for Fusion: Displace Plus Plus reaches Reactor

Manuel Kotulla
03.07.2026
A GPU Fuse for Fusion uses maps for XY, linked XY, angle/radius, rotation and image-gradient displacement.
A vibrant, abstract background features an array of swirling colors, blending from deep blue to bright orange and vivid green. The word "DISPLACE" stands boldly in the center, its letters intricately designed with shimmering textures, surrounded by fluid lines that create a dynamic sense of movement and energy.

For those who don’t know the tool: Displace Plus Plus is a GPU Fuse for the Fusion page in DaVinci Resolve and Fusion Studio. It sits in 2D warp compositing, using one image as a map to distort another, and now also lives in Reactor.

Map-driven warping for Fusion

Displace Plus Plus is a Fuse for Fusion that uses a foreground map to displace the background input in a better way that the native displace node does. In Reactor it appears as version 0.3, dated 3 April 2026, under Tools/Warp, and deploys Fuses/stibs_fuses/DisplacePlusPlus.fuse. The current Fuse presents five modes: X / Y Displace, Linked XY Displace, Angle / Radius, Rotate and Image Gradient. Channel selection covers red, green, blue, luma and alpha, so a comp can use conventional RGB maps, luminance maps or alpha maps without the ritual node pile.

A user interface displayed on a dark background, featuring the 'Inspector' panel from a software tool. It includes labeled sliders for 'Use Map Channel' with options for 'Red', along with adjustment controls for 'Displace X' and 'Displace Y', providing a technical aesthetic.

Gradient mode and edges

The tool started with X/Y offset, X/Y scale, angle/radius and gradient displacement, then gained rotate mode and explicit canvas overflow choices in the refactored build. The current overflow control offers Wrap, Clamp and Transparent.

Image Gradient mode samples neighbouring pixels in the selected map channel and uses the local change in value to drive the displacement. The package positions this mode for glass-like effects, which is a practical target for motion graphics and comp sweetening.

A blurred black-and-white background creates a soft, abstract texture behind bold, striking typography that reads "DISPLACE++". The letters are thick and slightly translucent, adding depth and a modern flair to the composition.

Under the hood

The Fuse source registers DisplacePlusPlus as a Fusion tool, exposes a samples slider for gradient mode, and runs separate DVIPComputeNode kernels for XY, angle/radius, rotate and gradient displacement. Fuses are plugin-like plain-text tools for Resolve and Fusion; the Blackmagic Fuse SDK documents on-the-fly compilation and GPU processing for them.

The license header uses the Anti-Capitalist Software License v1.4. The file grants free-of-charge use only under its stated conditions, so this is not a conventional permissive open-source freebie for every studio. Check the license before using it in facility work. Test it on duplicate comps before production, especially where license policy, edge handling or exact sampling behaviour could affect delivery.


https://codeberg.org/stib/stibs_fuses
https://www.steakunderwater.com/wesuckless/viewtopic.php?p=56029
https://gitlab.com/WeSuckLess/Reactor

Manuel Kotulla Author
Manuel Kotulla works as a freelance Creative Director, Motion Designer, and 3D / VFX Artist in Hamburg. Previously, he spent many years as Creative Director for Animation & VFX at the Serviceplan Group. He has a passion for Houdini, cinematic lighting, and his Fuji camera.