The Deformer Add-on lets you deform objects through another object's influence radius. It can sculpt and carve in the mesh.

Links:

Discord: https://discord.gg/D2AZRcZMxt

Check out my other products: https://blendermarket.com/creators/ebtrr

Sketchfab: https://sketchfab.com/ebtrr

If you have any questions feel free to contact me. 

For feature requests and Bug reports, you can use the Discords Channels or the Blender Market Contact Formular.

Usage:

Select a Mesh Object as the Main Object.

You can make an optional Setup Process, which currently adds a Subdivisions Surface Modifier to the object that you can control through the interface.

You can add a new Deformer Object to the Main Object by selecting a Deformer Type and pressing Add.

The Types are Standard, which uses the Vector from Deforming Face to the deformed Face or Normal, which uses the Normal from the deformed Face.

The Deformer Object needs to be a Mesh Object (for instance, Empty Objects and Text Objects will not always work correctly). The Add-on uses Vertices.

You can convert a Text Object by Right-Clicking on it, and under Convert -> Mesh, you can execute the conversion process.

You can move the Object and live the Deformation.

You can increase (or lower) the influence field/range. (Remap)

You can go higher and lower than 2.0 or -2.0. These maximums and minimums are only soft maximums and soft minimums.

You can change the amount of deformation by Multiplication or Addition. (Strength Multiplier or Strength Adder)

The Standard Type has a Normalize Mode, which uses the normalized Vectors for the Face to Face Vector.

Advice:

A precise look at the input values is advised like Remap.

For example, if the Remap Input Factor Min is negative or too low with the Normal Type and you want to set the Deformer Object near the other Main Object, you will get an inversed inner wave with the Normal Type.

The maximum number of Deformer Objects is 20.

Usage Examples:

Dynamic Deformation:

The amount of deformation (Strength Multiplier) in Z is set to zero because we do not want arching in the upper or lower region.

Pillar:

Letter (shaded flat):

Limitations:

In Standard Mode, the limitations are simple. The centre of the Deformer Object can not move over the mesh of the main object.

Normal Mode has the limitation that you have artefacts of normals which deviate much from the normals of the main faces you want to deform.

Rounder and smoother objects work better than angular objects.

The upper faces bend down and not up.

Geometry Nodes Information:

The smoothness of the Deformation depends partially on the smoothness of the Deformer Object.

You normally use a Subdivision Surface Modifier with Catmull-Clark to make the Object smoother.

Torus Example (expected):

Torus Example (actual result):

The reason for this error is that the Subdivisions Surface Modifier, which is the last Modifier in the Modifier Stack, is executed on the Graphic Card.

Geometry Nodes have no access to this transformed data which leads to usage of the original data or the data before the Subdivisions Surface Modifier.

This is not a limitation of the implementation of the Add-on. It is a general Blender Geometry Nodes limitation because the data gets not normally transformed and loaded back.

There are some ways to solve this. You can disable the GPU Acceleration in Preferences -> Viewport -> Subdivision -> GPU Subdivision.

You can apply the Subdivision Surface Modifier if it is the only Modifier or you do not have this Modifier as your last Modifier.

Extras:

You will get a Blend-File with all the Geometry Nodes Presets used in this Add-on, plus and reduced version of the Standard Setup.

The difference between the Standard Setup and the reduced Standard Setup is that it uses fewer nodes, but the effect with bulge starts earlier.

The effect already starts when the first point of the Deformer Object intersects with the main object.

Perhaps some Variations of the Deformation Nodes Setups will be released in the future.