Patternodes is a tool for creating graphical vector patterns, animations or illustrations. This is done using a node-based interface where you define a sequence of connected nodes that describe the design, each representing graphical elements, changes or repetitions. You might call this a sort of parametric design or visual scripting for 2d applications.
The node sequence is completely non-destructive, so you can change any step in the sequence at any time without having to redo the rest. The parameters that control each node can also be connected to other nodes, establishing complex relationships, or animated to create animations.
Patternodes is designed from the start to stimulate playful use and experimentation. Therefore the result is always shown in the preview view, repeated for patterns and updating in real time.
Earlier versions of Patternodes 2, compatible with macOS 10.10 can be found here.
Inspiration
There is a collection of projects that could work as inspiration for what you could use Patternodes for here on Behance:
"... once you get the hang of it, Patternodes is much easier to create ever more complex patterns, even animated ones, than any other pattern-creating app or plug-in I've ever reviewed."
"All in all, once you climb the initial learning curve, creating patterns with Patternodes will surely become much easier than with any other illustration application"
If you're interested in Patternodes and want to get started with some basics there's now a tutorial with an introduction to animation in Patternodes over at Generative Hut. Just click below!
A new version of the pattern creation and animation app Patternodes 2 has been released. This new update add support for encoding exported videos in h.264 codec for improved compression, and all export settings are now saved per file. The update also fixes a couple of interface bugs and layout issues in the built in node reference.
You can find the full change log in the version history. Download the new version and try it out today, or update in the app.
2020-06-01
Patternodes 2.3.1 update
A new version of the pattern creation and animation app Patternodes 2 has been released. It seems like the performance optimizations in Patternodes 2.3.0 caused a couple of bugs with the previews flickering or not updating correctly and the new update mainly focusses on fixing those problems.
Version 2.3.1 changes and improvements
Fixes flickering or lack of updates in the main preview in some situations.
Fixes a bug where the selection markers wouldn't update properly after deleting multiple nodes.
Fixes node previews not updating correctly when graphic input is removed or the node is disabled.
Node element caching is now always on instead of being a performance option.
Adds deprecation warnings shown when using some legacy node types, along with a new option to turn these warnings off.
Improvements to the Feedback dialogue technical info logs
2020-04-30
Patternodes 2.3.0 update
A new version of Patternodes 2 has been released. This new updates adds some new features with new functionality related to animation and randomization nodes, but primarily it brings a lot of performance improvements and bug fixes. The update also fixes a couple of issues related to working on a retina mac and some problems importing legacy files from Patternodes 1.
Version 2.3.0 changes and improvements
Greatly improved performance especially for working with animations and files with many elements.
New Plateau Animated value function making it easier to make interesting animations where a value transitions between two constant levels.
New Randomize Deep Change option in Group Randomize and Randomize Color nodes for applying individual changes to all sub elements without needing to flatten the group first.
You can now rename Color nodes just like Value nodes.
New setting for default new document size.
New setting to include a set of default nodes or not in new documents.
Improvements to editing values of linked node parameters.
Connection context menu now shows total number of sub elements in multi-level groups.
Fixes
Fixes fullscreen preview being incorrectly scaled on retina screens.
Fixes a potential hang when importing some legacy Patternodes 1 files.
Fixes long delay when closing files with a lot of pattern elements.
Fixes importing legacy Patternodes 1 files Randomize and Randomize Color nodes.
Fixes a bug where the bottom pattern preview view would be the wrong size after closing the separate preview panel.
Fixes a bug where drag offset markers wouldn't be properly updated when opening or closing the separate preview panel.
Fixes incorrect total update times in the render info panel.
2020-03-16
Patternodes 2.2.91 hotfix
The original 2.2.9 update to Patternodes had a bug in it that prevented new created unconnected nodes from displaying correctly. So now there's a quick fix 2.2.91 version available that fixes this problem. Thanks to everyone who reported this problem right away so we could fix it quickly!
2020-03-12
Patternodes 2.2.9 update
Another update to the pattern creation and animation app Patternodes has been released. This time the focus is on fixing some bugs reported by users along with improving the memory management.
Version 2.2.9 changes
You can now pan around the node graph by dragging with middle mouse button.
Improved memory management.
Fixes animation export as numbered PDF files.
Fixes problem with properly loading some connections to Change node selection parameters.
Fixes Element index menu node icons being the wrong size.
2020-01-22
Patternodes 2.2.8 update
The pattern creation and animation app Patternodes has been updated again. This time mostly a bunch of smaller tweaks and improvements.
Version 2.2.8 changes
Added/fixed support for importing many more image formats, including photoshop psd, tga, raw and more.
Improvements to the Finder Quick Look file .pnds previews.
Improved interface performance.
Additional license information is now available from the About window.
Improved connection security and handling of network problems during license syncing.
Rendering info statistics panel is now an overlay in the main preview instead os a separate panel.
2019-11-08
Patternodes 2.2.7 update
A new update for the vector graphics pattern and animation tool Patternodes 2 is now available for download. This new updates brings some new features and improvements to the Text node and Clipping mask node, as well as numerous other small fixes and improvements.
Version 2.2.7 changes
Improved Text element node with support for dynamic value based text and a new Text box mode with for better aligning and layout control. NOTE: This may mean some layout changes are needed for files using the old text node multi-line mode.
Improved Clipping mask node now has an invert option that lets you use what's outside the clipping mask instead, and can be used to remove existing clipping paths.
Math nodes now resize automatically to fit longer formulas.
Fixes a bug where clicking out of the Artboard node size fields would revert values instead of applying changes.
Leaving value fields empty now set them to 0 instead of showing a formula parsing error.
Fixes a couple of issues with importing legacy Patternodes 1 files.
Fixes bug with renaming artboard layers in some situations.
Fixed a bug where the animation duration would initially be incorrect when loading longer animation files.
You can now access pictures from your Photos albums when browsing to import graphics.
Improved performance.
2019-09-24
Patternodes 2.2.6 update
A new update for Patternodes 2 is now available for download. This is a smaller update that primarily improves artboard layer management and node reference, but it also fixes some interface issues on macOS 10.13.
Version 2.2.6 changes
Artboard layer management. You can now add, remove, rename and rerorder the layers in the Artboard node.
Fixes a bug causing node connections to render incorrectly on macOS 10.13.
Fixes and improvements to the Node reference interface.
Fixes a bug with the menu items for selecting linked nodes were disabled.
2019-09-09
Patternodes 2.2.5 update
Another update for Patternodes 2 is now available for download. This version add two new nodes, Distribute and Pack, to let you work with spacing for elements in a group. For example useful if you first want to to some controlled randomizing of the lements, and then space the elements in a controlled way based on their new positions or sizes. Along with this the update also brings another set of fixes and improvements to various other areas of the application. Enjoy!
Version 2.2.5 changes
New Group Pack node letting you pack elements in a group horizontally or vertically with a set margin.
New Group Distribute node letting you distribute elements in a group evenly horizontally or vertically.
Fixes some graphical glitches in the preview view on high zoom on macOS 10.14.
Better feedback when value fields fail to parse expressions or parameter formulas.
Fixes some bugs with preview display scale after exporting.
Smoother opening/closing of the separate preview panel.
More improved node warning messages and warnings interface components.
Better handling of problems when loading corrupted/unsupported and legacy files.
Fixes some incorrect descriptions in the node reference.
Purchase process
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