Wire pictures, channels, geometry and sound live, the way you already work. Then sculpt the character, pour the liquid, play the synth and run the lights in the same file. Free for paid work, on every machine in the venue.
a scanned figure on a wall, moving with the person in front of it
The patch behind the demo
VideoCaptureInterface
LocalAIImageToBodyMesh
3DGeoRigRetarget
3DGeoSplatSkin
3DGeoSceneRenderToImage
Scan by Erant (superspl.at), CC BY 4.0.
You already know this
TouchDesigner terms in Kinematic.
There are no operator families here. One palette holds every node, and each port's type tells you what plugs into what. This is where your habits land.
two noise fields, colored and composited
In TouchDesigner: TOPs
Image nodes
Chain pictures the way you chain TOPs, and every node shows its frame right on the canvas. Noise, color, composite, key, blur, warp and hundreds more.
ImageNoiseGenImageColorMapImageComposite
a sine, a saw and a square, as channels
In TouchDesigner: CHOPs
Channels and audio
Numbers and sound ride their own wires. LFO, lag, math and filters for channels, FFT and beat detection for sound, and every wire opens as a graph, spectrum, table or heatmap.
ChannelDataLFOChannelDataLagAudioFFT
ten thousand cubes riding a noise field
In TouchDesigner: SOPs and instancing
3D nodes
Build geometry, copy it onto points and render it. Here ten thousand cubes ride a moving noise field, each one driven by its own value.
3DGeoCopy3DGeoSceneRenderToImage
an oil-slick pattern, written in GLSL
In TouchDesigner: GLSL TOP
Custom shader
Paste GLSL or write WGSL. TouchDesigner helper names such as TDInput still resolve in GLSL, a Shadertoy body runs with one switch, and errors point at your own lines.
ImageShaderShaderMaterial
dots leaving fading trails through a feedback loop
In TouchDesigner: Feedback TOP
Feedback
Last frame comes back into this one, with a reset. Trails, ink and reaction-diffusion take a few nodes, and 3D has its own feedback for points.
ImageFeedback3DGeoFeedback
a synth panel: knobs, an envelope, meters, a keyboard
In TouchDesigner: Panel COMPs
Panels
Sliders, dials, XY pads and buttons are nodes you wire like any other. Lay them out in the panel editor and pop the panel into its own window.
UISliderUIDialUIXYPadUIPanel
a Glow knob on its panel, and the ball it lights
In TouchDesigner: Exports and references
Wires and drivers
Wire a knob straight into a material, or drag a channel onto any number to drive it. Type time * 0.5 for a live expression.
UIDialPbrMaterial
a short Python script and the twelve rings it built
In TouchDesigner: Python in the project
Python
Python nodes on the canvas, a console, and an API that can build the whole network from a script.
PythonScriptNode
F1Perform Mode
Escback to the editor
In TouchDesigner: Perform mode
Perform Mode
Press F1 and the editor steps aside, so the output takes the screen. Esc brings the editor back. A kiosk launch and a show lock are there for long runs.
Twelve of the operators you reach for most, and the node that does the job here. Parameter expressions become drivers, and custom parameters become a component's public properties.
Pin a picture to a wall, warp it with a grid, blend two projectors into one, and pixel-map the same picture onto a wall of fixtures. It all lives in the patch, so a beat, a camera or a fader can move any of it.
Quads and freeform shapes with holes, each filled with its own picture
ProjectionMapper
Corner pin, grid warp and edge blend for every surface
ImageCornerPinImageGridWarpImageEdgeBlend
Line a projector up through a camera with a structured light scan
StructuredLightCalibration
Pixel-map onto fixtures over Art-Net or sACN, with more than 1,500 fixture profiles
light mapped onto a room, a person stepping into itthe Projection Mapper editor640 RGB lights over four DMX universes
What you gain: sound
Sound and music in the same patch.
Synths, samplers, effects and your own plugins sit beside the visuals. A kick from the mic can flash the strobes and raise the ground under the camera, with no second app and nothing to route between them.
Hear the room: drum hits, tempo and chords from a live input
AudioOnsetDetectAudioBPMDetectAudioChordAnalyze
Host CLAP and VST3 plugins, LV2 on Linux, in their own process if you like
PluginHost
Follow Ableton Live's tempo, beat and bar, and fire its clips
AbletonLiveLinkAbletonClipFire
Chase MIDI clock, MIDI timecode or LTC on the timeline
white strobes on every beat over sweeping color beams, in the 3D previewa song raising the groundan acid bass panel, playing
What you gain: making
Model and sculpt what you show.
Sculpt a creature from a ball, rig it and walk it across the stage, or pour a liquid into the scene. Every viewport tool adds a node, so the model is one more part of the patch, and its render is a picture like any other: send it to a projector, a pixel wall or NDI.
Model and sculpt in the viewport, with pen pressure and tilt
3DGeoSculpt
Rig and animate characters, or bring them in with their bones from FBX, glTF or USD
3DGeoRigCharacterImport
Liquids, fire and smoke, cloth and particles, on the GPU
Sims and models render live, ready for the output chain
a creature sculpted from a ball, then painteda fox walking, playing livea falling stream turning a waterwheel
What you gain: cameras
Cameras that track bodies, hands and faces.
Bodies, hands, faces, depth and masks are built in, as nodes. Each model downloads once and then runs on your machine, so nothing you film leaves the room.
Body and whole-body pose, hand keypoints and gestures
LocalAIImageToBodyPoseLocalAIImageToHandKeypoints
Face keypoints and 52 expression sliders for puppets
a moving pattern lands on the dancer and nowhere elsebackground dropped, body trackeda face puppet on live values
Moving over
Moving over from TouchDesigner.
Your words, your files and your other machines all come along. Here is what to expect in the first hour.
01
Type the name you know.
Press Space over the canvas and type the operator name your hands remember. Quick-add offers the Kinematic node under its own name, with a plain hint, so you pick up the new names as you go.
Ramp TOP, Render TOP, Movie File In TOP, Copy SOP, Camera COMP and more all find their node.
Spacethen type
quick-add in the app, with three TouchDesigner names typed
02
Keep TouchDesigner running while you switch.
Nobody has to move a whole show at once. Build the new part here and pass it across.
No (these are proprietary). Patches are rebuilt rather than converted. Quick-add understands the operator names you type, and your media, models, LUTs and shader code open as they are.
Can I paste my GLSL?
Yes, into the custom shader node, with WGSL as the other choice. TouchDesigner helper names resolve in GLSL. In WGSL, use the KIN names. You can also point the node at a shader file and keep your own editor open beside it.
Can it run a show unattended?
Yes. Perform Mode, a kiosk launch and a show lock are built for installs that run for a season.
What about Spout on Windows?
NDI works today on every platform, and Syphon on a Mac. Spout on Windows is on the roadmap.
Is it really free for paid work?
Yes. No license for commercial work, no resolution cap and no seat count.
Projection mapper freeformFreeform shapes routed through the projection mapper. Press E and drag the corners.In the Demos browser
Swirls on a projectorThree patterns through the mapper, to a preview and a full-screen projector at once.In the Demos browser
WebcamAudio kaleidoscope feedbackYour webcam in a kaleidoscope feedback loop that turns and shifts with the mic.In the Demos browser
Webcam, MicrophoneDance visualizerEdge lines, trails and sparks from your wrists, colored by the room sound.In the Demos browser
WebcamHand tracking synthPlay a synth with your hands: pitch on one, tone on the other.In the Demos browser
GPUUniforms live editGlowing rings from a shader. Change any value while it runs.In the Demos browser
Audio deviceDJ performance controllerAn XY pad, trigger pads, a step row, dials and a crossfader, all nodes.In the Demos browser
WaterwheelA falling stream turns a waterwheel. The water does all the work.In the Demos browser