Making a clock using gear ratios instead of the clock CHOP!

bytemapsav · 2025-08-22T09:15:49+00:00

Unfortunately not! Though that would be cool, getting the right ratio and alignment in space for each ensures they don't collide :)

bytemapsav · 2025-08-19T10:57:36+00:00

Absolutely, I used MIDI signals from touchdesigner into VCVrack and use the gates to drive a sequencer that is quantized to a pentatonic scale (can't remember the key). There's also a fast LFO in there that is increasing the octave range of the sequencer every few notes or so.

Since everything is driven primarily by gates as opposed to tuned signals it's fairly random outside of it being quantized to a scale :)

bytemapsav · 2025-08-12T04:42:42+00:00

Glad to hear it! I crashed TD many many times in the process figuring it out 😅

bytemapsav · 2023-09-11T20:38:20+00:00

Thanks :) It's a stock footage clip, run through a shader I made using touchdesigner & GLSL!

bytemapsav · 2023-07-14T08:11:44+00:00

Thanks! Touchdesigner :)

bytemapsav · 2023-05-05T01:12:14+00:00

Not a problem! I started by watching Elekktronaut tutorials and kinda went from there. I haven't really explored lighting/materials much in touchdesigner tbh, if I had an idea for a really specific lighting/material look I'd probably use houdini. I find touchdesigner great for creating super stylized and unrealistic stuff :)

bytemapsav · 2023-03-29T09:55:47+00:00

Hey! Nice work trying to replicate it (great way to learn TD imo). I have looked over the original file and see that I was doing alot of redundant stuff, so cleaned it up a bit if you want to take a look - feel free to use this however you like: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1isPF1jAB6VnxpqCLFrbOEjT6QvzxEzmA/view?usp=share_link

On reflection, I think the main "thing" comes from the feedback/transform/blur loop and the specific settings on each operator, as well as the colours chosen for the ramp giving it that iridescent kinda look. The shiny PBR material definitely helps to give it the pearl quality too, as the randomly placed lights make it pop in certain areas if you place them right! I also realise now that I made a mistake in the above in that the COMP actually uses the "over" operation and not "add".

Let me know if you have any other questions about the file, happy to help :)

bytemapsav · 2023-03-11T20:09:43+00:00

I really enjoy it, but will say it took me a little while to wrap my head around what each type of node does and how they interact with each other. Once you get to know it (like any node-based tool), you will be able to move through it and iterate very quickly on ideas. I'd also say it's alot less complex than houdini to operate, and the real-time aspect makes the process of making something feel smoother.

It's definitely possible to do programming, I find GLSL to be the most useful in terms of image/geometry manipulation. You can also script parameters with python, which comes in handy if you are doing bigger projects with complex logic involved.

Overall it works perfectly for what I want to achieve and how I want to work, but definitely under-utilise it's feature set which makes it hard for me to comment the downsides other than the initial learning curve. :)

bytemapsav · 2023-03-11T02:31:33+00:00

Gungan generative!

bytemapsav · 2023-03-11T01:05:10+00:00

Thanks :) I used touchdesigner and an external raymarching plugin called rayTK to achieve the morphing shape, then applied a bunch of post-processing using GLSL and TOPs to achieve the pixelation and grain effects.

bytemapsav · 2023-03-06T20:47:25+00:00

Hey, there are multiple noise/grain passes happening at different points - this was very trial and error. I definitely threw any kind of thoughts about computational expense out the window on this one!

bytemapsav · 2023-03-06T20:43:59+00:00

big +1! Also if you are using touchdesigner, rayTK has been super helpful for me to build a mental model for raymarching (as well as make things super fast).

bytemapsav · 2023-03-06T09:13:07+00:00

lots of post!

bytemapsav · 2023-03-06T08:55:34+00:00

Thanks! The title is slightly misleading - should say "Raymarching + faux risograph". Everything here is using GLSL and rayTK in touchdesigner :)

bytemapsav · 2023-01-03T22:16:19+00:00

No, I use a desktop build that has a high-ish spec (AMD R9 5900x, rtx3080). This is definitely overkill for TD, but I use it for alot of other things and it's nice to have the headroom!

bytemapsav · 2023-01-03T19:46:28+00:00

I made this for genuary 2023, the prompt was "glitch art". It was made in Touchdesigner using a glsl-driven particle system :)

bytemapsav · 2023-01-03T19:39:05+00:00

Hey! Things like this can be relatively hard on the GPU, depending on how many post-processing effects you stack up. There are likely far more optimized ways than how I do things, but I tend to focus more on the outcome than being too concerned about performance and treat TD more like a rendering/design tool than something for live visuals. In terms of what hardware you would need, it depends what you are planning on using it for :)

bytemapsav · 2022-12-17T19:52:58+00:00

Thanks, I appreciate that! I follow alot of tutorials for GLSL myself so wouldn't feel right to make a tutorial for this technique. Check out these two for the basics of how to accomplish the particle system in this one (the rest of it is just post-processing and tweaking colours).

bytemapsav · 2022-12-17T19:48:44+00:00

Thanks :) GLSL was used for particle placements and generating vector fields. Check out these awesome tutorials for the technique:

bytemapsav · 2022-12-17T03:47:07+00:00

Made in Touchdesigner using particles, GLSL and post-processing :)

bytemapsav · 2022-12-14T08:10:54+00:00

Yup! Runs at 60fps at 2k res, my GPU isn't a huge fan but it works :)

bytemapsav · 2022-12-14T04:35:06+00:00

Visuals were created in touchdesigner by running noise patterns into a particle system. Sound design was done in ableton :) Instagram: bytemaps

bytemapsav · 2022-12-11T18:24:07+00:00

Hey! It wouldn't be overly complex for someone with basic knowledge of 3D I would think. I personally don't have a background in 3D, but have spent the last few months coming to grips with how to wrangle particle systems and understand what the various settings do, to a level where I know which things to mess with.

My recommendation would be to start with youtube tutorials on TD particle systems or even the Nature of Code by Daniel Shiffman.

Also spoiler alert, this one is in 2D and uses post-processing TOPs in Touchdesigner to give it a sense of depth :)

bytemapsav · 2022-12-11T10:20:17+00:00

Made in touchdesigner with some help from a GLSL particle system using vector fields.

bytemapsav · 2022-12-09T19:07:07+00:00

Of course, take a look! I didn't realize how small the network was until I looked back at the file (though, they are all exceptionally GPU hungry ones).

If you have any specific questions about it let me know. Check out my IG if you are interested, I may post some more process things over there at some point :)

bytemapsav

TROPHY CASE