For many creating visuals for your compositions can be a cumbersome process, but more and more tools are appearing that simplifies this process. VS’ multi-layered shader system allows you to create complex compositions by blending dynamic graphical elements using powerful controls.

Portuguese developer Imaginando goes full on with the one-to-one relationship between musical elements and their visual counterparts. The underlying engine begins with shader-based materials and multiple layers. Each layer also has “voices” that are “polyphonic”; each note you play can produce visual materials. VS uses graphical shaders it calls Materials to render procedurally generated geometrical visuals which is a complicated way to say that VS generates some really nice stuff.

You have 50 built-in materials which range from wireframe cubes to neon lines, squishy blobs to tunnels of plasma which can be layered up on one of the 8 polyphonic visual layers which sits upon a custom background image or video layer. The visuals then bleed and combine with each other to come up with some rather groovy projections.

Trigger, change and modulate parameters from both audio and MIDI sources, to inject movement into each layer’s “polyphonic visual voices”. From ambient geometric loops, to rhythmically pulsating patterns, VS extensive modulation options ensure you are always in control.

Shaders
The core of VS is a collection of graphical shaders called materials, which render procedurally generated geometry in real time, based on each material’s set of unique parameters. VS comes loaded with 50 beautifully hypnotic materials for you to customise and combine, to create mesmerising displays. Be inspired and get up and running in an instant too, thanks to the factory bank of presets created by audio-visual new media artist Perplex On!

Polyphonic Visual Voices
We’re taking polyphony into the visual domain with the concept of VS’ polyphonic ‘visual voices’. Just like pressing multiple piano keys produces the sound of several notes together, each VS layer can display multiple visual voices of it’s material.

The licensing model is novel, too. You can try the desktop version for free (iOS is paid only, but talk to Apple about that). 5 computers are included per desktop license. You can pay upfront, or use monthly payments you can pause.

https://www.imaginando.pt/products/vs-visual-synthesizer