Building Patterns
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Overview:
Patterns are everywhere in the world. From mosaic tiles to kaleidoscopes, repeating transformations of images are a powerful visual technique for creating compelling designs. In TouchDesigner there are numerous ways we might use TOPs to create these types of patterns. In these examples we will look at how we might explore a few of these ideas with just a few operators.
One useful TOP is the Tile TOP, which can be used to create overlapping patterns that are reflected or mirrored. The Transform TOP also has a Tile page where you can control how the TOP behaves during rotation and scaling operations.
The Mirror TOP can also be used to create tiled patterns similar to a kaleidoscope. Like with the Tile TOP, a Transform TOP can be useful when creating repeating patterns.
The Composite TOP has a useful parameter called Translate Step, and by using both the translate and tile parameters you can build a tile block that can then be adjusted to create detailed repeating sequences.
References:
- TOPs – Derivative Wiki
- Tile TOP – Derivative Wiki
- Composite TOP – Derivative Wiki
- Mirror TOP – Derivative Wiki