SQUASH AND STRETCH EXPRESSION

September 26, 2026 2 min read

DaVinci Resolve Fusion Expression: Create a Squash and Stretch Effect

Want to make a logo or graphic feel more alive in DaVinci Resolve Fusion? A squash and stretch effect can give an animation that exaggerated, cartoon-style movement that makes it feel more energetic instead of simply appearing on screen.

EXPRESSION 6 — SQUASH AND STRETCH

Moving onto squash and stretch, cartoon-style. This is the one you'd throw on a logo that needs to feel alive, not just pop in.

Paste it onto Aspect, right-click, Expression.

Watch the setup

Copy the Expression

:
local target = 1.0
local amplitude = 1.4
local frequency = 12
local decay = 3
local t = time / 30

local wave = math.abs(math.sin(frequency * t)) ^ 0.4

return target + amplitude * wave * math.exp(-decay * t)

Only one number I want you touching for now — decay. This is what controls how long it rattles before locking still. Push it higher, like 5, and it snaps to a stop almost instantly — one hard hit, done. Bring it lower, like 1.2, and it keeps pulsing and wobbling for a good while before finally settling.

Everything else — amplitude, frequency, target — leave those alone for now. They're already tuned for a big, punchy squash.

Watch the animation

Hit play. Watch it slam into an exaggerated stretch, rattle through a few shrinking pulses, and lock dead still — no infinite loop, no drifting. It commits to a stop, same as our very first bounce expression, just louder.

Customize the Squash and Stretch

The main setting to adjust is:

local decay = 3

Increase the value to make the effect settle faster:

local decay = 5

Lower the value to make the animation continue pulsing for longer:

local decay = 1.2

For now, leave the other settings unchanged so you can keep the original exaggerated squash-and-stretch behavior.

See the final result

Final Result

This Fusion Expression gives you a quick way to add cartoon-style squash and stretch animation to logos, graphics, and other elements in DaVinci Resolve. The movement starts with a strong stretch, produces a few shrinking pulses, and naturally settles into a final position without continuing forever.

Just paste the expression onto the Aspect parameter, adjust the decay when needed, and let Fusion handle the animation.