News

Since Vectoraster 8 has now been live for a bit more than 2 months we're now discontinuing Vectoraster 7.

Existing users will still be able to get support and re-download the old version from Support: Legacy downloads, but it will no longer be available for download or purchase for new users.

A new major update of the macOS graphics application Vectoraster has now been released. Vectoraster is a tool for creating custom vector and halftones and raster patterns based on images or gradients. Vectoraster 8 adds new dimension with keyframe animation support, letting you animate all raster parameters and source layers.

Vectoraster is built with designers in mind, giving you detailed control over the raster pattern, point shapes and how the points vary, all while giving you a real-time view of the result as you change parameters. When you're done you just copy or export the result as vector graphics or a pixel image, or animations to video file or image file sequence.

Main new features in Vectoraster 8

• Animation support. Animate raster parameters and export the result to video or a sequence of frame files.
• New source layers model. Sources are now more like layers in other graphics software and can be moved, scaled and rotated individually and blended together.
• Improved preview drag editing. Edit source layers, gradients, distortions or raster pattern parameters by dragging graphical handles in the preview.
• Advanced noise sources. New dynamic noise layers generating perlin or billowing noise you can then apply to any parameter across the raster.
• Secondary point transformations. You can now apply two separate dynamic scaling or rotations to raster points, for example adding randomization to a source-based value.
• Apply file raster settings. You can now quickly apply all raster settings from a different VRaster file, while retaining the sources in the current file.
• Dark Mode interface support. Interface now adapts to system interface mode, and lets you switch between dark mode and light mode.

For the full change log with all changes and improvements, check out the
Vectoraster 8 version history.

A new version of Vectoraster 7 has been released. This 7.4.10 update doesn't contain any new features but should hopefully ensure compatibility with the upcoming macOS 11, along with some other small bug fixes.

Another update to Vectoraster 7 has been released. This update adds some improvements in terms of improves support for dragging and dropping image clippings from other applications to use as sources, and fixes some isses related to saving and loading VRaster files with a large number of points in the rasters and a bug withc zooming out too far with track pad zoom gestures.

In addition to this there are also some under the hood improvements to technical logging and error messages in case of various problems.

The next generation of Vectoraster, Vectoraster 8, is now in beta testing. There is no set release date yet, but most major features are now implemented and the plan is to test and improve the new version during the summer for release sometime after that. You can check it out below and sign up for a release notification or if you want to help out beta testing.

Some of the main planned new features in Vectoraster 8:

• Animation support. Animate raster parameters and export the result to video.
• New source layers model. Sources are now more like layers in other graphics software and can be moved, scaled and rotated individually and blended together.
• Improved preview drag editing. Edit source layers, gradients, distortions or raster pattern parameters by dragging graphical handles in the preview.
• Advanced noise sources. New dynamic noise layers generating perlin or billowing noise you can then apply to any parameter across the raster.
• Secondary point transformations. You can now apply two separate dynamic scaling or rotations to raster points, for example adding randomization to a source-based value.
• Dark Mode interface support. Interface now adapts to system interface mode, and lets you switch between dark mode and light mode.

Vectoraster 8 will require macOS 10.13 (High Sierra) to run.

A new update to Vectoraster 7 has been released. This update is very much a regular maintenance update with fixes to a number of smaller issues and adds a couple small of improvements.

• Negative Point aspect values are now allowed.
• Fixed a problem with loading files that use unavailable fonts.
• Fixed a small precision problem in the diagonal spacing of alternating raster points with the same spacing option enabled.
• Improved technical diagnostic information in the support/feedback dialogue.
• Improved connection security and handling of network problems during license syncing.

Another update to Vectoraster 7 has been released. This improves support for importing a whole range of new image 3:rd party formats to be used as source images or custom points, including photoshop psd, tga, raw and more.

In addition to this there are some under the hood fixes and improvements, and you can now access more detailed license information in the About panel.

Another small update to Vectoraster 7 has been released. This updates adds access to your system Photos library via the browse dialogue (under Media in the sidebar) so you can easily use your photos as sources, and also fixes some issues with the font selection panel for Text sources.

I've added Vectoraster 7 to producthunt.com. So if you use that, take a look at let us know what you think!

A small update to Vectoraster 7 has been released today. This is another small patch, this time fixing a precision problem with exporting thin strokes on small filled point shapes.

A small update to Vectoraster 7 has been released today. This update makes some minor changes and fixes a bug with the full screen preview feature.

A new update to the vector halftone app Vectoraster 7 has been released. This new update doesn't add any new exciting functionality like the previous updates, but it fixes a couple of bugs with source blur and importing high-resolution images to use as sources.

The macOS vector raster and halftone gradient app Vectoraster 7 has been updated today. The new version adds another exiting way to vary any dynamic parameter, based on the point index. In less technical terms this lets you vary things based on the order of the points, like rotating every other point in the raster. This can let you make many interesting patterns in th eraster points that you can then combine with gradient or halftone-variations on other values. Make sure to check out the new included Alternating stars sample file as an introduction.

Along with this there are also the usual batch of bug fixes and smaller interface improvements to make Vectoraster easier to use.

• Index-based values You can now vary parameter based on point order, for changing the color or transformation of every other point in the raster.
• Some interface fixes and adjustments.
• Improvements to mouse wheel zooming and scrolling.
• Added link to the lost code form in license code entry interface.

The vector halftone and pattern app Vectoraster 7 has been updated again today. This time it's mostly just a fix of a bug in the previous 7.4.0 update that caused point fill and stroke color controls to be disabled incorrectly in some cases. Sorry about that! This new update also updates the Sample files included along with Vectoraster 7 (you can find them in the Help menu), so if you haven't taken a look at them yet this could be a good time to do so.

• Fixes a bug where Point fill and stroke color wells would be disabled.
• Updates to sample files (Available from the Help menu).

The vector halftone and pattern app Vectoraster 7 has been updated today. The new version adds three new source combinations modes letting you use a combination of multiple sources to vary any raster or point parameter. For example using data from an image combined with a dynamic gradient to set the point size as shown in the example above.

Along with this there are also a bunch of bug fixes and smaller interface improvements to make Vectoraster easier to use.

• Adds new combined sources mode for all variable parameters, letting you control them with a combination of multiple sources.
• Adds a new toggle button to quickly enable/disable Raster pattern distortions without removing them.
• You can now zoom with mouse option-scroll wheel or trackpad pinch gestures.
• Improvements to interface and preview rendering.
• Apple application notarization (New Apple security requirements).
• Fixes a bug with undo/redo of some raster pattern distortion properties.
• Fixes a bug with linear gradient sources with small sizes.
• Fixes a bug in the Align raster to edges utility.

The vector halftone and pattern app Vectoraster 7 has been updated today. The new version fixes some bugs and adds some small improvements, while also updating some under-the-hood frameworks to the latest version in preparation for the 7.4 update which is planned to bring some more substantial new features.

• Preferences panel reorganized.
• Fixes some bugs related to changing document artboard size.
• Fixes a bug with raster distortion strengths in imported Vectoraster 6 files.
• Parameter interface layout tweaks.
• Updates to frameworks for updates, license handling and general macOS support.

Another update to Vectoraster 7 released today. The new version fixes a couple of bugs we found after the last update and adds the support for negative shape smoothing values, letting you make new pointy shapes. While it might seem like a small change it also tweaks the way the parameter value sliders adjust their value range dynamically, which we think will be a major improvements to working with the software.

• The Smoothing parameter for polygon point shapes (and more) now accepts negative values, letting you make new pointy shapes.
• Improved adaptive value ranges for parameter sliders.
• New setting to toggle GPU accelerated interface rendering on/off. Default is on for retina macs.
• Fixes a bug with launching Vectoraster by double-clicking some .VRaster files.

Today another update to Vectoraster 7 has been released. The new version primarily improves performance, both in rendering rasters and interface responsiveness in general, especially on macOS 10.14 systems and retina macs. There are also som bugfixes and new options in the Multi-scale utility to let you scale stroke parameters as well.

• Performance improvements, especially on macOS 10.14 and retina macs.
• Multi-scale can now also scale point stroke along with pattern and point size.
• Fixes a bug with Multiscale not scaling radial raster patterns from the center.
• The disable interface animations setting now works as intended.

Today a new update to the vector halftone and gradient software Vectoraster 7 has been released. The new version includes some under the hood fixes and improvements, along with new variable point parameters for stroke and fill color opacity. So now you can vary your raster points in yet another way.

• New variable point fill and stroke opacity parameters.
• Improvements to display zooming.
• Improvements to Finder quicklook previews and file thumbnails.
• Fixes some interface bugs on macOS 10.14.
• Fixes a rare network full version unlocking bug.

Today a new update to the vector halftone generator Vectoraster 7 was released. The new version comes with the usual set of little fixes and tweaks, along with some more substantial new features related to how you can use gradient sources (and others) to vary different point properties with new periodic functions.

• New varied parameter functions: Sinus, Square wave and Sawtooth, with variable periods and offset.
• New varied parameter sources: Position X and Y, letting you easily vary any property based on position without needing to make a new Gradient Source.
• Improved Gradient source precision and performance.
• File loading performance improvements.
• Raster calculation stability improvements.
• Updates to license entry and trial-mode interfaces.
• Bug fixes to precision angle parameter inputs.
• Apple Hardened runtime security features.

The new version is now available as an update in the application, or to download and try out for free.