https://thenodeinstitute.org/courses/ws24-td-01-integrating-ai-with-touchdesigner/
October 16th, 6 – 9 PM, Berlin TimeIn English Language / Online via Zoom or as RecordingRecordings are available and accessible for one year after purchase.
This course is also available as part of the TD Professional : Winter 24 Bundle
https://thenodeinstitute.org/ws24-td-professional/
Brooklyn-based interaction designer Lyell Hintz, also known as DotSimulate, will demonstrate how to integrate AI into TouchDesigner components through hands-on demonstrations and shared project files.Building on his Summer Season 24 course, Lyell will focus on operator design and workflows. Lyell will focus on operator design and workflows. The course will place less emphasis on ComfyUI itself (for a deeper dive into that, consider checking out Luna Nanes’ NODE Toolkit course, ComfyUI – Generative AI for Professional Production). Instead, the focus will be on design decisions when creating workflows in ComfyUI for use in TouchDesigner, as well as addressing common challenges. Lyell will demonstrate how to implement a specific workflow in TouchDesigner while providing resources to generalize the approach for broader applications.
He will introduce a collection of techniques aimed at making his operators more transparent and generally applicable, enhancing TouchDesigner’s core functionality with custom operators and AI-driven components.
Additionally, Lyell will break down a few functional AI TouchDesigner components (such as LivePortrait and ChatTD) to illustrate how he employs extensions, Python passthrough tricks, and OSC to communicate with external processes. This will offer participants an optimized template for experimenting with new techniques and models. Finally, Lyell will share how he leverages tools like Claude or other large language models (LLMs) to support initial research and accelerate the coding process.
What You’ll Learn:
- Integrate AI into your TouchDesigner Projects:
- A deep dive into AI driven workflows and operator design within TouchDesigner.
- Strategies to understand and approach working with generative AI models in projects and systems.
- ComfyUI workflow case study:
- Implement a single workflow in both ComfyUI + TouchDesigner ‘ComfyTD’ integration
- Show common pain points when working with ComfyUI browser versus the TD operator
- Effective automation using ComfyTD for generating pre-rendered content.
- Dissecting AI Integrations:
- Dive into a few functional AI TouchDesigner components (LivePortrait, ChatTd, + maybe others).
- Cover the power of TouchDesigner extensions + go to techniques to speed up development
- How to work with external python libraries + using them both in and out of TouchDesigner
- Tricks when working with external processes via OSC or web api
- How to customize and expand these tools to fit your own creative needs.
- Utilizing Large Language Models (LLMs) for TD development:
- How to use tools like Claude or other LLMs for research and coding assistance.
- Speeding up the development process with AI-powered research techniques.
What You’ll Get:
- Downloadable resources, including project files, AI-driven components, and templates.
- Access to a private community forum for networking, feedback, and support.
- A certificate of completion to showcase your expertise in integrating AI with TouchDesigner.
Why Enroll:
This course offers a unique opportunity to learn from Lyell Hintz, aka DotSimulate, an expert in interaction design and AI integration. By mastering the tools and techniques to incorporate AI into your TouchDesigner projects, you’ll be equipped to integrate new AI models and techniques into your work.
Requirements
This module is designed for participants with an intermediate understanding of TouchDesigner and some familiarity with Python. or a more basic introduction to AI integration, please refer to Lyells Summer Season course. If you just getting started, please visit our Beginners Course first.
- A recent PC or MAC Computer (discrete GPU recommended) with stable internet connection
- The latest build of TouchDesigner installed
- All techniques teached in this course will work on MAC, but note that the generation time for certain things will be considerably slower.
- Be prepared to download and store some of the larger model files beforehand (~20GB)
- 3-Button Mouse recommended
About the Instructor
Lyell Hintz, aka dotsimulate, based out of Brooklyn, New York, is a creative/technical artist passionate about building memorable interactions with technology. With a background spanning theater, performance, graphic design, and music, Lyell excels at translating narratives into abstract creations of new media and technology. For the past four years, he has been focused on generative simulations and procedural animation, and more recently, experimenting with AI within creative workflows.His passion for exploring the potential of technology has led him to developing tools using TouchDesigner as his primary development tool. Through his Patreon, Lyell shares many custom tools, tutorials, and feedback with a community of artists and enthusiasts, searching for ways to empower himself and others to develop and learn new ways of creating.