Warp Lab by @MaxsonRichards

Installation

Download the Warp Lab plugin
Unzip the downloaded zip file
Drag the Warp Lab.zip file onto the Cavalry interface
Find Warp Lab in the Add Layers window

Info

Warp Lab is a projection and warping filter for Cavalry. Use it to curve type, wrap gradients and textures, create lens effects, or build radial patterns from existing artwork.

Quick start

Make a rectangle with a gradient or procedural texture. A composition-sized source is a useful starting point for abstract backgrounds.
Apply Warp Lab. Leave the filter's Blend Mode at Replace to see the projected result clearly.
The default Plane to Sphere projection creates a rounded patch. Adjust Plane Scale to change its angular coverage.
Try Source Rotation and Projection Rotation to change the patch's orientation and position within the projection.
Open the Warp tab and add a small amount of Bend, Twist or Pinch / Bulge.
For a radial pattern, enable Kaleidoscope, choose a segment count and adjust its rotation or center.
If an isolated layer is clipped, increase Output Padding under Source & Edges.

For warping without projection, set Projection Amount to 0%. Bend, Twist, Pinch / Bulge and Kaleidoscope can still operate.

Recommended workflow

Establish the source and its dimensions first. Choose a projection, then set its field of view and scale before adjusting rotations. Add warps once the overall composition is working, and finish with edge addressing, feathering and seam blending.

For textures, try Cavalry's native Distortion before Warp Lab to break up a gradient or pattern. For type and logos, begin with a modest Bend or Twist so the structure remains readable. Animate a few related controls rather than changing every setting at once.

Practical tips

Give isolated layers enough room

Warp Lab starts with the incoming layer's bounds. A star, word or small logo can project beyond that rectangle and be clipped. Increase Output Padding to reveal the surrounding result. Padding expands the output area; it does not resize the source or change the projection's proportions.

Choose how the source continues

Transparent edges are useful when you want a separate projected shape. Repeat or Mirror is usually a better starting point for a texture that should fill the frame. Clamp extends the nearest boundary color and can create stretched bands.

Use feathering and seam blending for different jobs

Bounds feathering fades the mapped source rectangle toward transparency. It does not trace the alpha outline of text or an irregular shape.

Use Seam Blend to soften a wrapped color join. Adding bounds feather to that join can reveal the background instead of blending the two sides. Seam Angle can also move the join to a less noticeable part of the image.

Keep a rounded outline without a soft edge

Plane Corner Radius changes the actual source-plane boundary in Plane to Sphere. Keep both edge axes Transparent to use it. The default 50% radius is the maximum; lower it for a more rectangular patch. Feather is a separate adjustment.

Pick the feather space that suits the shot

Source Percent gives the fade a width relative to the source. The projection stretches or compresses it along with the artwork. Output Pixels aims to keep its visible width more consistent. Neither is a general feather for arbitrary shape outlines, and output-pixel widths are approximate near extreme compression.

Animate continuous controls

Rotation, centers, offset and warp strengths are good choices for motion. Kaleidoscope Segments changes the number of sectors in whole steps, so changing it can cause a visible structural jump. Animate Kaleidoscope Rotation or Center for smoother movement.

Check quality at the delivery size

Smooth sampling is the default and a useful starting point. Use High when compressed detail or boundaries benefit from it. If a strongly enlarged edge already contains limited input detail or coverage, increasing output samples may leave it unchanged. Input Interpolation gives another choice of host sampler, but cannot recreate detail lost upstream.

Keep Input Interpolation at its default, Nearest Neighbour, unless you need to address a specific sampling issue. It usually gives the clearest result. Other modes can soften detail or introduce dark fringes near sharp edges.

For procedural detail you intend to magnify, keep the source shaders' Filter or Input Filter set to None wherever that option is available. Check the upstream shader chain too. Filtering can soften detail before Warp Lab samples it; disabling it does not resolve every viewport-quality limitation.

When Warp Lab strongly magnifies certain procedural shader inputs, Cavalry's viewport can show softened detail below 100% zoom, even when the final render is sharp. View these projects at 100% zoom or higher to assess the magnified detail accurately. This preview limitation does not indicate the quality of the final render; check a rendered frame at the intended output resolution when judging delivery quality.

Control reference

Defaults below describe a fresh Warp Lab instance. A disabled control retains its value and becomes active again when its required mode is selected. Pixel centers are offsets from the incoming source rectangle's center, with positive X to the right and positive Y upward.

Blend Mode

Cavalry's inherited filter Blend Mode determines how the filtered result combines with the input. Replace is the default and is usually the clearest starting point for projections with transparent areas.

Projection

Chooses the projection model.

Plane to Sphere: maps a flat source plane into an equirectangular spherical view. Useful for curved patches and rounded abstract forms.
Sphere to Plane: reads the source as a panorama and maps it into a perspective plane view. Useful for looking through or opening up panoramic textures.
Stereographic: uses a stereographic lens mapping for expansive circular and tunnel-like effects.
Fisheye: uses a fisheye lens mapping for wide-angle, circular views.
Cylinder: projects the source into a cylindrical angular view for curved bands and horizontally wrapping effects.
Polar: maps source angle and radius around a center, producing rings, radial flows and spirals.

Default: Plane to Sphere

Projection Amount

Controls the strength of the selected projection. At 100% the projection is fully applied; at 0% it returns to unprojected source coordinates, including recovery of source tiling and offset. The Warp controls and bounds feathering remain independent, so this is not a master bypass for the whole filter.

Default: 100%
Range: 0–100%

Amount Behaviour

Selects the transition used by Plane to Sphere. UV Blend blends mapped source coordinates and keeps a distinct rounded-patch character through much of the range, with smooth recovery toward the source near zero. Continuous Plane changes the perspective mapping throughout the range, producing a different geometric transition. Both reach the unprojected source at zero and the same full projection at 100%.

Default: UV Blend
Options: UV Blend, Continuous Plane
Applies to: Plane to Sphere

Field of View

Horizontal and vertical angular coverage. For Plane to Sphere and Cylinder, this sets the angular output window. For Sphere to Plane and the lens modes, it describes the source panorama's coverage. In Fisheye, X also sets the lens angle. A 360° horizontal and 180° vertical view covers a complete equirectangular sphere.

Vertical values above 180° extend beyond the poles for creative effects. Use Pole Handling to choose how that continuation behaves. Polar does not use this control.

Default: X 360°, Y 180°
Range: 1–360° per axis

Plane Scale

Sets angular plane coverage. Larger values make the plane occupy more of the spherical view in Plane to Sphere and change the perspective view in Sphere to Plane. Cylinder uses the horizontal angle for its plane coverage.

Default: X 150°, Y 155°
Range: 0.1–179° per axis
Applies to: Plane to Sphere, Sphere to Plane, Cylinder

Plane Scale Basis

Independent Angles uses the X and Y angular values independently. Source Aspect also accounts for the incoming rectangle's width-to-height ratio; equal X and Y angles then preserve the source's proportions on the plane.

Default: Independent Angles
Options: Independent Angles, Source Aspect
Applies to: Plane to Sphere, Sphere to Plane

Source Rotation

Rotates the source orientation about X, Y and Z, in that order. In Plane to Sphere this tilts the source plane and changes the patch's boundary. Use it to orient the artwork within the projection.

Default: X 0°, Y 0°, Z 0°
Range: No fixed numeric limits
Applies to: All projections except Polar

Projection Rotation

Rotates the projection's orientation about X, Y and Z after Source Rotation. Use it to move through spherical space or reframe the projected result.

Default: X 0°, Y 0°, Z 0°
Range: No fixed numeric limits
Applies to: All projections except Polar

Warp

Twist

Turns a local region into a spiral. The angle is strongest at Warp Center and fades toward Warp Radius. Positive values turn visible content counterclockwise. Twist is separate from Polar Twist and works with every projection, including at zero Projection Amount.

Default: 0°
Range: -1440–1440°

Pinch / Bulge

Reshapes the local region around Warp Center. Positive values expand central content into a bulge; negative values compress it into a pinch. Uses the same radius and falloff as Twist.

Default: 0%
Range: -100–100%

Warp Center

Positions the shared center for Twist and Pinch / Bulge. Moving it changes which part of the source is affected. It is independent of Projection Center, Bend Center and Kaleidoscope Center.

Default: X 0 px, Y 0 px
Range: No fixed numeric limits

Warp Radius

Sets the circular influence area for Twist and Pinch / Bulge. The percentage is relative to half the smaller source dimension. Outside the radius, these local warps have no effect. Values above 100% include more of the surrounding artwork.

Default: 100%
Range: 0.1–1000%

Warp Falloff

Controls how the local warp fades toward its radius. Zero gives a broad, smooth influence. Higher values concentrate the deformation nearer the center. The transition to the unaffected exterior remains smooth.

Default: 0%
Range: 0–100%

Bend

Curves the artwork along Bend Direction. Positive values bend upward at a direction of 0°; negative values reverse the curve. Its strength describes the change in centerline tangent across a reference span based on the longer source dimension, rather than a circular wrapping angle.

Bend affects the whole mapping and does not use Warp Radius or Warp Falloff. Zero disables it.

Default: 0°
Range: -160–160°

Bend Direction

Rotates the axis along which the bend varies. At 0°, the axis runs horizontally and the displacement is vertical. At 90°, the axis runs vertically and the displacement is horizontal. Direction rotates counterclockwise, with a fixed curvature reference so a wide or tall source does not amplify the bend at quarter turns.

Default: 0°
Range: No fixed numeric limits

Bend Center

Positions the line where bend displacement is zero. Only the center component along Bend Direction changes the result: X at 0° or 180°, Y at 90° or 270°, and both at diagonal directions. This is expected for a directional bend.

Default: X 0 px, Y 0 px
Range: No fixed numeric limits

Kaleidoscope

Repeats the completed projected and warped result around a radial center. Mirror reflects a half-wedge to make continuous coordinate joins. Repeat copies a full wedge and can show cuts where its sides differ. Off skips the symmetry mapping.

Kaleidoscope also works at zero Projection Amount. It is global and does not use Warp Radius or Warp Falloff.

Default: Off
Options: Off, Mirror, Repeat

Segments

Sets the number of radial sectors. Values are rounded to whole numbers. Changing the count changes the pattern's structure, so count animation can jump between arrangements.

Default: 6
Range: 2–64

Kaleidoscope Rotation

Rotates the visible pattern counterclockwise. The sampled source wedge remains directed to the right from Kaleidoscope Center. A full 360° turn returns to the same orientation.

Default: 0°
Range: No fixed numeric limits

Kaleidoscope Center

Positions the radial origin. Moving it changes the piece of source used to build the repeated pattern. Increase Output Padding if you want to reveal more of the surrounding result.

Default: X 0 px, Y 0 px
Range: No fixed numeric limits

Mapping

Projection Center

Moves the projection's mapping center relative to the incoming source rectangle. It does not move the centers of the independent Warp effects.

Default: X 0 px, Y 0 px
Range: No fixed numeric limits

Projection Scale

Scales the projected output independently in X and Y. Use it to adjust framing or stretch the result. Plane Scale controls angular coverage instead.

Default: X 100%, Y 100%
Range: 0.1–1000% per axis

Seam Angle

Offsets the longitude or polar angle, changing where the wrapped join falls. A 360° change completes one cycle. Move the join out of an important part of the composition before adding Seam Blend.

Default: 0°
Range: No fixed numeric limits

Pole Bias

Redistributes latitude in Plane to Sphere and Cylinder. Positive values expand the equatorial band; negative values expand the polar regions. Pole Handling determines what happens when the latitude extends beyond a pole.

Default: 0
Range: -3–3
Applies to: Plane to Sphere, Cylinder

Pole Handling

Hold at Poles holds latitude at the polar limits. Continue Across Poles allows it to pass through the poles, creating additional folded views or copies with wide vertical fields of view and rotation. Those copies can be useful parts of an abstract pattern.

Default: Hold at Poles
Options: Hold at Poles, Continue Across Poles
Applies to: Plane to Sphere, Cylinder

Lens / Polar Radius

Sets lens or radial size relative to half the smaller source dimension. Changing it affects the mapping, but does not expand the output bounds. Use Output Padding if the result needs more room.

Default: 100%
Range: 0.1–1000%
Applies to: Stereographic, Fisheye, Polar

Polar Radial Power

Changes how radius samples the source in Polar. A value of 1 is linear; larger values stretch the central region. Use it to redistribute detail between the center and outer parts of a radial pattern.

Default: 1
Range: 0.05–8
Applies to: Polar

Polar Twist

Adds source-angle rotation as radius increases, making a polar pattern spiral. The angle is measured per mapped radial unit. This is separate from the local Twist control on the Warp tab.

Default: 0°
Range: No fixed numeric limits
Applies to: Polar

Source & Edges

Source Tiling

Sets source repetitions independently in X and Y at full projection. Use Repeat or Mirror edge addressing to see repeated content beyond the source rectangle. Larger values fit more repeats into the mapped source area. Tiling recovers smoothly to the original source as Projection Amount reaches zero.

Default: X 1, Y 1
Range: 0.01–64 per axis

Source Offset

Shifts the sampled source coordinates by a percentage of its width and height. Animate it to move a texture through a projection. The offset recovers to zero with Projection Amount; Plane to Sphere follows the selected Amount Behaviour.

Default: X 0%, Y 0%
Range: No fixed numeric limits

Edge X

Chooses horizontal addressing outside the source rectangle. Clamp extends its boundary color. Repeat tiles it. Mirror alternates reflected copies. Transparent leaves the exterior empty.

Default: Transparent
Options: Clamp, Repeat, Mirror, Transparent

Edge Y

Chooses vertical addressing, using the same options as Edge X. Set the axes independently for combinations such as horizontal repeats with a transparent top and bottom.

Default: Transparent
Options: Clamp, Repeat, Mirror, Transparent

Plane Corner Radius

Rounds the source-plane boundary before Plane to Sphere projection, independently of sampling and feather. The percentage is relative to the smaller source dimension. The radius fades with Projection Amount so zero returns to the source rectangle.

Default: 50%
Range: 0–50%
Applies to: Plane to Sphere with both Edge X and Edge Y set to Transparent

Feather Space

Chooses the units for fading transparent source bounds. Source Percent follows the mapped source, so projection changes its visible width. Output Pixels estimates a more consistent width in the output. Pixel widths can vary near extreme compression, poles or seams.

Default: Source Percent
Options: Source Percent, Output Pixels

Rectangle Corner Feather

Controls the overlap where two transparent rectangular edge fades meet. Axis Feather multiplies the separate ramps. Rounded Feather uses an elliptical overlap. They behave identically along a single edge, and Plane Corner Radius can remove much of the overlap where their difference would be visible.

Default: Rounded Feather
Options: Axis Feather, Rounded Feather
Applies to: Both edge axes set to Transparent

Source Bounds Feather

Fades transparent source-rectangle boundaries inward as a percentage of the source span. This follows the mapped rectangle, not an arbitrary alpha outline. It can therefore fade interior areas of irregular shapes. Repeat, Mirror and Clamp boundaries are not faded.

Default: 0%
Range: 0–50%
Applies to: Source Percent feather space

Output Bounds Feather

Sets independent X and Y inward fades in approximate output pixels. Like Source Bounds Feather, it affects transparent source-rectangle boundaries rather than arbitrary shape or text outlines.

Default: X 4 px, Y 4 px
Range: 0–1000 px per axis
Applies to: Output Pixels feather space

Seam Blend

Blends sampled colors across horizontal source-repeat joins and wrapped longitude cuts. Its percentage describes the blend width relative to a tile or longitude cycle. It softens mismatches between the two sides; it cannot make unrelated textures identical.

In Sphere to Plane, Stereographic and Fisheye with full 360° horizontal source coverage, and in Polar, positive Seam Blend also wraps Transparent X across the join to avoid an alpha gap. Partial panoramas retain their true boundaries. Other wrapped cases need suitable extended edge addressing; source-repeat blending uses Repeat X. Plane to Sphere enables this control with Repeat X.

This control does not blend the sector cuts of Repeat Kaleidoscope. Use Mirror Kaleidoscope when continuous reflected joins suit the pattern.

Default: 0%
Range: 0–50%

Sampling

Controls output sampling. Draft uses one mapped source sample, Smooth uses four, and High (16 Samples) uses sixteen. More samples can improve compressed detail and boundaries, at a higher rendering cost. They do not change the projection's geometry.

Default: Smooth
Options: Draft, Smooth, High (16 Samples)

Input Interpolation

Selects Cavalry's inherited input image and coverage sampler. Nearest Neighbour retains the original input sampling behavior. Bilinear can soften enlarged pixel steps. Catmull-Rom and Mitchell offer other interpolation profiles. The effect depends on how Cavalry and preceding layers or filters supply the input.

This is separate from Sampling. It does not change Warp Lab's output sample count or increase bitmap resolution.

Leave this at Nearest Neighbour for normal use. Try another mode only when correcting a specific input-sampling issue, and compare the result at your final render size.

Default: Nearest Neighbour
Options: Nearest Neighbour, Bilinear, Catmull-Rom, Mitchell

Output Padding

Adds margins to both sides of each output axis in world-space pixels. X 100 adds 100 pixels at the left and right; Y 100 adds 100 at the top and bottom. It reveals projected content beyond the incoming layer's rectangle without changing the source dimensions.

Padding is manual. Repeated or unbounded mappings still need a finite output area, and larger areas take more work to render.

Default: X 0 px, Y 0 px
Range: 0–4096 px per axis, in whole pixels

Animation

Warp Lab has no automatic animation. Keyframe its controls or connect Cavalry behaviors and expressions to them. Source animation also passes through the filter.

For flowing backgrounds, try Source Offset with Repeat or Mirror addressing. For a changing spherical patch, animate source or projection rotation. For radial motion, try Kaleidoscope Rotation or Center, or Polar Twist. Keep segment count fixed when you want the radial structure to remain stable.

Output quality and scope

Strong magnification can reveal limited detail in bitmap images or soften detail already filtered by an upstream effect. Use a sufficiently detailed source and check a rendered frame at the intended output resolution.

Extreme projection settings can stretch, compress or repeat the source heavily. Check edges and important detail at the intended render size. A smooth geometric boundary and a clean enlarged source edge are separate concerns; extra output samples cannot always fix limited input coverage.