Here's a quick glimpse at one of the cooler user interface experiments going on at Aviary. Peacock, the Flex based pattern generator, is a tool that is already a great deal of fun to play with. With our new node-based UI, it's about to get even more fun!
The concept is very simple: Pattern objects follow a path to eventual generation on the canvas. Depending on the different points along the path, the generated patterns can be filtered, blended with other patterns and masked.
Using it is easy. You can drop as many nodes onto the canvas as you like. 
Then it's simply a matter of drawing a line between the node connectors to link them, ultimately linking the Canvas node. From there Peacock can automatically work it's magic!
You can add new filter nodes to the path quite easily, which changes the outcome of the final project.
Nodes can be easily repositioned by dragging with your mouse. The linked paths will automatically curve to help maintain their visibility when you move the nodes.
Pattern paths can be infinitely complex, depending on how many nodes you want to add. In case you need more room for a very complex graph, you have the ability to zoom out and pan around your path. These paths can be saved so that you can resume your work on them at a later date.
You can see an example of a semi-complex pattern path below. 
Editing the individual nodes is easy: Just select the particular node you want to make changes to and change its settings in the properties panel. It's really incredible to watch the pattern change immediately as you tweak the settings.
I really can't wait for this particular tool to be released! To try it out, sign up for an Early Bird Invitation on our home page and choose Pattern Generation from the drop down list.
Happy Thanksgiving from everyone at Aviary!
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Posted by Mark on 2007-11-22 09:49:33
I've been using a tool for several years that seems very similar in nature to Peacock for texture creation in my 3D projects: <a href="http://www.darksim.com/html/dt25_description.html">DarkTree</a>. Were you inspired by DarkTree? Is Peacock procedural based as well? I've always loved the node-based interfaces. While I think this is great that you have been able to create such a tool with Flex, do you see many advantages of Peacock over DarkTree?
Posted by Mark on 2007-11-22 11:30:23
Sorry, here's the link for DarkTree: http://www.darksim.com/html/dt25_description.html
Posted by Stefanlo on 2007-11-22 12:11:22
cool pattern generator ;)
Posted by Avi Muchnick on 2007-11-22 17:47:39
Darktree looks fantastic! Peacock isn't quite the same as DarkTree, but there are definitely some similartities, including the interface. I don't remember offhand which product influenced our decision to try out a node based UI, but I believe it was a Mac product. I'll post it here when I've had a chance to look up the name. We decided to go with Node based because it was so much more flexible (and powerful) than a layer based interface in terms of creating complex designs. It's also a lot of fun to watch the patterns change as they travel through the pipes.
Posted by kan on 2007-11-22 20:51:11
Cooooool~ where is demo? I hope to view demo..
Posted by Juan Sanchez on 2007-11-27 20:37:42
Avi- The node based UI does seem similar to Apple's Quartz Composer application for layering/combining effects to get composite effects. Is this the Mac product you were referring to?
Posted by Avi Muchnick on 2007-11-30 14:25:52
I think that was it! Thanks Juan.