Hello everyone.
I wonder if this software can be used for video editing, for vector graphics (svg), for 3D modeling and animation, for music production and for raster graphics editing.
I downloaded the non-commercial version and I had a look at its interface and some nodes, but I’m still uncertain about these features.
If this can do all of this, I’m really interested in learning it and buying it.
Thanks in advance for any help.
Bye, Ivano.
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Searching some more on google, I found TouchDesigner allows music production (I heard an example on soundcloud), video editing, raster graphics editing, 3D modeling and animation (but I don’t know if can it export a [rigged] mesh) and appears it’s no vector graphics support.
Please, give me some more information and tell me if I’m right.
Thanks in advance.
Bye, Ivano.
Your original question is bit vague, so it’s hard to answer in one sentence. For instance ‘Video editing’ is a very broad description, so you need to be more specific in what sort of features exactly you need.
Yes you can export a Mesh from TD, yes there are some options to work with Vector graphics.
TouchDesigner is a visual development platform or programming language, which means you can build almost anything with it, but you have to program it yourself. Maybe best to compare it with a box of Lego, you can build a castle with it but you’ll have to place all the blocks yourself before you can walk through the gates.
See some of TD features here: derivative.ca/088/Applications/Default.asp
Other examples what artists have built with it are here derivative.ca/Blog/
You can play with the free version as long as you like, to see if it meets your needs, and use it to learn TouchDesigner.
As for video editing, something simple like cut, join, resize, picture in picture, green screen…
How do I export a mesh from TD?
Can a vector image be exported in let’s say SVG?
Thanks in advance.
all forms of compositing are easy to do in TD.
Rightclick a SOP and choose ‘Save Geometry’. You can save a Mesh as .TOG, .HCLASSIC (houdini format) and FBX.
You can import a SVG vector image as Texture, but then it would be rasterized.
You can import a SVG file as XML and read all the point out of it and use it ro render a 3d Mesh, and work from there.
There is no native ‘save as SVG’ option, you would have to export a Mesh to an XML file with all the points in the format of a SVG file, but this would require some custom work on your part.
Thanks a lot.
Now I know I need to learn TD.
It’s a sin for the vector graphics, but hey…
Thanks again.
Bye, Ivano.
Hello there. I have some more questions about TD.
Here they are:
Please, answer (question number) - Yes/No
I’m asking just out of curiosity, I don’t mean to have all of this inside TD.
Thanks in advance.
Bye, Ivano.
I’d say you can make it do all those things, except maybe 7, 14, 24.
But instead of just talking about it, why not try a few simple tutorials to see what YOU can make with it?
For some quick results, I advise these 5-minute tutorials. Each one teaches you to make something in 5 minutes - and the end result is quite cool! The tutorials were are made for an older version of TD so the interface is slightly different know, but I think you can still follow along: Create a Warping Smiley Face
find the other ones on the Tutorials page, scroll to “…In About 5 Minutes” title.
Thanks a lot.
I already had a look at the wiki, but I prefer to have quick answers instead of just trying and failing.
I’m really interested in TD by the way, and I downloaded the open source book.
In the next few days I’ll follow it along with the video / tutorials I’ll find around.
Thanks again.
Bye, Ivano.
Please, can you confirm TD can capture images/videos from webcam, desktop and scanner?
Thanks in advance.
Bye, Ivano.
Also, I need to know if the answers you provided are meant as “yes, you can code it” or as “yes, you can just with provided nodes”.
Thanks in advance.
Bye, Ivano.
And one last question: Is it possible to UV Map a mesh? I mean unwrap it inside TD.
Thanks in advance.
Bye, Ivano.
here’s my attempt… this is a crazy mad list to be asking BTW, maybe you should direct this sort of enquiry to Derivative, with some context. I’ll help where I have an answer, but I’m pretty much a novice so I cannot guarantee the accuracy of my response. Where I say “yes” it means it’s in a single node or near enough.
Also beware, some features that work under Windows are not available under OSX and some features are nVidia only. It’s all documented on Derivative’s website.
Can it capture images from scanner and/or webcam? - yes, using a video device in top [capture live stream], or a folder DAT [monitor for files]. if you wanted it to trigger a scanner you’d have to do some noodling and python-ing
Can it rasterize text? it’s own text can be generated as rasters or polygon based, and there is an option for creating “3d” text as polygons. If text is generated as a texture/TOP it is rasterised by definition. Text Top and Text Sop
Can it do ASCII-Art? I am sure it could, you would need to write/noodle this sort of thing
Can it do OCR? I am sure it could, you would need to write/noodle this sort of thing
Can it do Trace? (raster vectorization) there is a Trace SOP which can trace textures and convert them to 3d geometry
Can it do vector graphics? it has an SVG in top which can convert an SVG to a rasterised tecture/TOP. It can also parse data into 3d geometry which could be analogised to “vectors” but it is not like illustrator or flash.
Can it do vector animations? If you’re happy with the above explanation [vectors = geometry] then yes. Animation COMP
Can it add text to a vector image? it can add text in 3d or 2d to either 3d geometry or 2d textures. Text Sop and Text Top
Can it embed subtitles in a video? I don’t think it can in a single node… [I may be wrong]… You would need to parse SRT files and synchronise the output to a video, noodling and python probably required. Use multiple DATS
Can a video be used as a texture for a 3D surface? Yes of course, via the MATS family
Can it add text to a 3D scene? Yes, as a 2d overlay or even as a 3d mesh. Text Sop and Text Top
Can it do constructive solid geometry? (boolean join, intersect, subtract, etc, in both 2 and 3 d) Yes, within reason. There are examples in the operator snippets of the boolean functions. Just don’t expect it to be anything like C4D, 3d studio or Rhino. Composite Top or Boolean Sop
EDIT: touch can export an FBX file from a SOP… this could be a 2d set of geometry or 3d planes, however it has been parsed. If the geometry contained therein is manifold [solid] then you are in luck
[i]As an aside much of the exciting 3d stuff is taken care of using a method called instancing which exists solely on the GPU. This means that you cannot really recover exciting 3d transformations from that element of the pipeline. If you plan on doing complex geometry and then taking that data out of touch, you might struggle. If all of your geometry is done using SOPs you can recover the 3d data, but your computer will need to be super hardcore.
Can it simulate particles? Yes. Particle Sop or Convert Sop
Can it mux or demux video? That depends on what you mean? The audio and video engines are separate, you can play audio at the same time as playing video, and separate the two, but this is real time… why would you want to mux/demux? movie file in TOP or audio movie CHOP or audio file in CHOP
Can a raster image be inserted in or extracted from a video? yes. movie file in TOP or Composite Top
Can it capture a video from webcam or the desktop? yes. video device in top or the very useful screen grab top
Can a raster image be used as a sound? (maybe like a spectrum or so) yes you can convert and image to a waveform. you’d need to noodle to make it sound like anything though. top to chop
Can it convert an audio stream to a raster image? yes audio file in chop [or device] chop connected to a chop to top
Can it render a MIDI file to a sound file? I don’t think it can parse a midi file off the bat, but it could receive midi in from other software and trigger sounds… but there are better bits software out there for this sort of thing
Can it edit MIDI files? You could probably build/code something but I’m not sure why you would want to reinvent the wheel, touch plays really nicely with many other apps
Can it export MIDI files? No idea, I’m not sure if you can out put a *.mid file, but see above
Can it be used with a MIDI controller? Yes, noodling required to apply midi data to a specific parameter
Can it do speech synthesis? Probably with some noodling and coding
Can it do speech recognition? Not sure, that might require some serious noodling and coding
Unwrapping UVs… this is a little contentious, there are ways but they are a little convoluted. There isn’t a magic button that will render a mesh’s UV map so that you could bake in lighting effects and perspective illusions. Although it has been requested. It’s no problem modifying meshes or retexturing or applying UV maps to them.
Best thing to do is try it and see if it works for you. Everyone’s needs are different, and it’s difficult to know if something is feasible until you try it using the array of tools available to you. And then it’s a case of making the tools work for you to deliver the results you want/expect.
Touch has some epic learning resources, I’d suggest starting at the very beginning and bit by bit most of those things that you’ve asked about will become apparent.
I’ve been using it for 8 months and I’d feel comfortable with about 80% of the things you have asked…
Nick
Thanks a lot for your help.
As I already said, I need to learn TD. Now more than before.
Please, look at bisentertainment.altervista.org/ … oject.html to see why I asked all of these weird questions.
I believe TD is the great project.
I’m interested in TD because it allows to study a single program to do 2D and 3D graphics, Audio and Video, instead of studying various packages, interfaces, modus operandi, etc.
I’ll use Unreal 4 along TD for my projects.
Thanks again.
Bye, Ivano.
good man, good luck with learning it’s great fun, and I hope your project goes well…
Thanks again. I’ll do my best.
i would like to export vector images。