Soft Bodies (2018)

Soft bodies is a graphics experiment, written for the browser that makes use of OpenGL shaders and the “ray marching” algorithm.

This is a technique that uses distance functions, rather than geometry to produce 3 dimensional imagery. Because no geometry is being manipulated its possible to manipulate the resulting shapes fluidly.

What I found while experimenting with this technique is that the resulting imagery can look surprisingly organic. Though clearly abstract, the shifting fleshy forms occasionally have flashes of resemblance to body parts; a knee-cap, shoulder or clavicle.

The shader that produced these images should be visible below. If it does not appear, try refreshing the page or opening this page on a different device.