Digital live painting to use as mask

[Donleavy]

Are there any new possibilities to paint live (on the computer) on a a layer (which is used as mask) in the newer versions of VDMX? How would you do it? Syphon? Or is there a paint fx? It also looks like it’s possible to connect an iPad as an external source. Perhaps it’s also possible with my ViewSonic TD1655 usb-c touch screen?

Br, Donleavy

I found this thread from 2019:

Live Drawing with VDMX

I have done this with an artist drawing on an iPad Pro with apple pencil with a drawing app called Procreate. The iPad is connected to the mac with AirServer (making the mac an AirPlay receiver) and then from AirServer to VDMX with syphon. Procreate has a mode which allows you to have second screen sent out via AirPlay without any gui from the app. I have also done this with photoshop and captured the window and sent it to VDMX

[Donleavy]

Hmm, perhaps the web source as input on a layer with an online paint html5 app like kleki.com (or any other)…

UPDATE:

• I tried using source input ‘Web’ with Kleki.com, but I can’t interact with the webpage, so no drawing.
• I tried using Windows input from Firefox with Kleki.com, but VDMX crashed the first time I tried, but it seems to be working now…

PS: I am not trying to promote the website above, it’s just a random drawing site I found…

[ProjectileObjects]

I’ve seen some people do it with Max patches. Maybe there’s a way to do it with Vuo or touch designer?

[Donleavy]

But no default way to do it in VDMX, right? There isn’t a paint fx/module? (Like Modul8 has)

[hrpating]

I’m guessing you still could use my method with Procreate on iPad and Airserver. Draw everything in black and white and use that layer as a mask?

[Destroythings]

You could do this just in VDMX.

Create 3 layers, Group the top 2 layers and set the group blend mode to Multiply.fs
In the layer group add a circle.isf generator and set the color to white and connect the X & Y position to be controlled by your track pad (or other drawing input device), Add the Echo Trace effect to this layer and drag the Threshold to just below .50, If using the track pad set a button that temporarily reduces the circle size to 0 when you want to mimic lifting the pen
In the lower layer of the group add a color solid and set the color to black.
Set the Blend Mode of each layer within the group to Over.
Add content to the 3 layer that will sit below the layer group.

[Donleavy]

Thanks! That’s a nice idea! How would I map the X/Y to the track pad?

[ProjectileObjects]

Create 3 layers, Group the top 2 layers and set the group blend mode to Multiply.fs
In the layer group add a circle.isf generator and set the color to white and connect the X & Y position to be controlled by your track pad (or other drawing input device), Add the Echo Trace effect to this layer and drag the Threshold to just below .50, If using the track pad set a button that temporarily reduces the circle size to 0 when you want to mimic lifting the pen
In the lower layer of the group add a color solid and set the color to black.
Set the Blend Mode of each layer within the group to Over.
Add content to the 3 layer that will sit below the layer group.

Cool, didn’t even know that!

[Destroythings]

The track pad shows as one of the option when you right click to map it

[Emptyhead]

I’ve just had photoshopped running on a separate monitor and have VDMX pick up the application window internally to live draw. You have to target photoshop (have it as active app) for this to work, so any other VDMX controls /effects I want available/editable have to be set to a different external device (MIDI, OSC/query, control panel) beforehand. I output fullscreen to another monitor.

My use case was more live drawing and compositing with VDMX effects, taking videos and screen grabs in VDMX as I used PS to re-compose in VDMX, and much more a method for mixed media still works more akin to non digital mixed media. Will it work for masking within VDMX or be useful to anyone else? I dunno.

[Donleavy]

I have tested with a painting app (either online on a web page or offline app on OSX) on the top layer with source 'Window input" and the other layers below with the fx ‘Layer mask’. This works for me. I will also try with an iPad when I get one. Thank you everyone!