EXPERIMENTS

TOUCH DESIGNER - IOT - PROGRAMMING

SANDBOX FOR ADULTS

What makes TouchDesigner so remarkable is how it seamlessly integrates all my skills and knowledge into one platform. Whether it’s 2D or 3D visuals, audio, physical input/output, spreadsheets, or even real-time API data, everything can be programmed and interconnected in a cohesive way. This aligns perfectly with my vision as a designer and artist: creating bridges between the physical and digital worlds. It’s not about replacing one with the other but enhancing the new while respecting and preserving the old.

MODULARITY

TouchDesigner also allows me to develop systems and maintain clarity in complex projects. Its modular workflow makes it easy to reuse techniques or smaller systems across different applications without having to start from scratch, ensuring efficiency and creativity go hand in hand.

TouchDesigner holds a special place in my creative journey, and I’m excited to continue learning and creating with this powerful tool.

JUST A BUNCH OF SILLY PROJECTS

PROJECT MADONNA

When I first heard the remix of the original Frozen track, it gave me instant chills. The song transported me back to my younger self, vividly recalling one of my earliest moments of awe: watching the iconic music video on MTV. Madonna, dressed in all-black, floated mysteriously before suddenly collapsing and transforming into a flock of crows.

That scene was a gateway to my imagination and when I heard the remix those came back to me again. Starting with a crackling electric sound, inspired me immediately to create a real-time visual effect that reacts dynamically to the various frequencies of the sound.

RGB TO XYZ

To execute this project effectively, I needed a system capable of analyzing audio and separating its various layers. Fortunately, TouchDesigner provides a built-in component for this, accessible via the Palette Browser. With some adjustments, I extracted precise values from the individual layers and linked them to different parameters. These parameters generated an image in RGB, where the geometry’s coordinates were mapped in XYZ space.

REACTIVE CAM

To achieve the snapping effect, I made the camera angle and position variable, linking them to audio input—in this case, the snare. This caused the perspective to shift dynamically with the rhythm. To enhance the visuals, I incorporated snippets of the original Frozen music video, creating flashes of the memorable imagery that tied the visuals to the track’s emotional and nostalgic core.

PROJECT SYMB.IOT.IC

This project began as an experiment to explore how to send real-time data from Arduino to TouchDesigner via Serial communication and use that data to drive visuals. To my surprise, the process was incredibly straightforward. Having extensive experience working with Arduinos, I knew exactly which configurations were needed, how to transform the data, and the best ways to interpret it for practical use.

Building on this foundation, I incorporated data from a potentiometer to test whether it could work in parallel with the gyroscope. Integrating both inputs was seamless, thanks to Python’s ease of use within TouchDesigner.

To push the project further, I added audio input from a microphone, allowing the visuals to react dynamically to sound. With these three input sources—gyroscope, potentiometer, and microphone—I created a real-time audio-visual system, where each input controlled a specific element of the visuals.

PROJECT GROOVY

Here i was playing around with the way particles react to real-time motion and how to map color onto 500k particles.

REMEMBER THAT VERY FIRST DAY

Just plain old C++ in OpenFrameworks and an Arduino. No Touch Designer was involved.