Creating and editing custom materials in VS - Visual Synthesizer with GLSL fragment shaders

Learn how VS’ Material editor works, the specific format required to create shaders and also how to port/convert shaders across from popular shader websites like Shadertoy, ISF and GLSL Sandbox.

Clone and edit your first material in VS, using GLSL shader language to render a simply circle, then learn how to take a shader from GLSL Sandbox and convert it to work with VS - Visual Synthesizer.

00:00 Intro
00:30 Clone an existing material
00:43 Material text editor
01:00 What is a GLSL Fragment shader?
01:24 The Book Of Shaders Web resource
02:33 Pasting Circle code in VS editor
02:50 VS Material Manifest
04:07 Editing code in VS
05:16 Normalising the render origin with ‘texCoord’ variable
07:22 Declaring a radius parameter
09:22 Declaring x and y parameters
12:30 Color brightness and opacity parameters
14:52 Save and rename
15:31 Default color
16:35 How to port existing shader code (GLSL sandbox)
19:40 Ring shader code
21:11 Configure drawing origin point
23:29 Playing with variables - Happy little accidents
25:00 Setting min/max parameter values
27:22 Brightness/color/alpha parameters
29:31 Final material - author details

VS - Visual Synthesizer:

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[Iain]

This is game changing… brings both music and generative art together on the iPad… love it!

[monophreak]

The code editor in VS is excellent. Thank you for this video Nuno, I have now managed to import 20 shaders (with full control over speed, xy coordinates, colour, glow and size - attached to the VS dials) and I am picking up speed all of the time.

[mpfmax]

I appreciate this video a lot, I managed to import and fix some new materials successfully. The part about how to map the parameter to the VS knobs was very important. Wish you would put out more tutorials or videos like this. VS is an amazing app and I wish to learn it more in depth.

[jongdonglu]

Oh sweet its actual coding to make these this makes it even better! more control and more fun! thanks for the link to this video.

[stig]

Very interesting 🧐 this needs a lot attention 😎👍🏼

[soltec]

I acknowledge that this may not be the proper tool for all artists and their creative visions, but I would like to say you have created something really fantastic here. For me it is a literally like you read my mind. I'm coming from Coge Vj app and was able to use the quartz composer patches and map the controls/parameters to midi. I'm looking forward to seeing what future development is coming for this awesome app.

[tobytodelafontena]

This is great to allow that for your users. But in my case, I'm afraid I don't have any time or appetite for coding. Making music and mastering DAWs and plugins is already a complex enough and endless task. Thank you preset makers for saving my time !!

[phatmatt]

this is great! I wonder if you might be able to set up a patchstorage page for these? it might be a good place for VS users to share and get feedback on shaders.

[Nomo_Popo]

Thanks for the vid and inclusion to VS. I actually downloaded KodeLife a couple weeks ago to start learning shaders so this is a nice coincidence :)

[PsychedelicGoo]

I love the fact that VS can run in your DAW and react to audio and midi within it! The only reason I hesitate to buy is, I worry I wouldn't be able to produce my own style of visuals, just be tweaking someone else's. I wish there was a mid- way option between tweaking presets and hardcore programming. I wonder if a material could be made like the cathode ray tube simulator in Cathodemer?

[ItsWesSmithYo]

And I thought Blender was nuts. Thanks dudes.

[joebowbeer]

20:10 suggest adding a velocity parameter in rotations per unit of time. 2PI radians is one full rotation. What units is time in?

[ReHiHo]

Is it possible to record the output of Visual Synthesizer ?

[laughingthrushmusic]

Can I connect my ipad VS to external display for live shows?

[nabbalight]

Hi!, I want to make a video with photos & geometric images mixed together, using Adobe After Effects, could this also be used to incorporate the visuals it provides in with Adobe, as one video with various layers, with this software as one of those layers? :)

[TerenceKearns]

This is very cool. I grabbed it because of this feature. Looking forward to adapting some shaders for VS.

[vini_artist]

Hi, is it working on the last iOS (iPad) version?

[RePeterPod]

It makes no sense that you guys put out a program for 100 bucks with and no way of editing them without learning to code. . How am i supposed to remove the grid from the synth wave sun . I dont need two grids on the scene this is infuriatingly frustrating. I cant recommend this product to people who cant code

[VoragoMaster]

I know these videos are free and all but this one is very badly explained. I understand it might be because of a poor command of the English language but still...

[LeRoy]

I bought this. I want my money back. It is rubbish.