PixelToy is intended to create vivid special effects that can be used as background for your videos or to animate a party.
The tool comes with a wide array of actions, which create attractive patterns on your screen. For instance, you can create lines that bounce off the walls and floor, balls that wander around aleatorily, insect swarms that follow the cursor or a random point as well as raindrops that splat on the screen. But that is not all, the application also lets you generate waveforms and spectrum graphs. Similarly, it can simulate waterfalls, snowstorms, and fountains, which respond to the input sound. Likewise, there is the Doodle action, used to draw on the window using the mouse. Finally, you can even use any text and images as a starting point for effect generation.
In addition to setting base actions, you can use filters to modify them. In this regard, there is a long list of 25 filters, which warp, blur, melt, shrink and fade whatever is on the screen. Besides, you can experiment with various simultaneous filters. Luckily, you can have a live preview of all your actions, so you do not need to wait for them to be rendered.
Once you get an effect you like, you can proceed to export the results. In this regard, the tool allows exporting PNG snapshots or a whole QuickTime movie. Unfortunately, MOV is the only supported output format. There is also the possibility of using real-time generated effects as the tool allows screening the effects on full-screen mode or even on a second monitor.
All in all, PixelToy can create live visual effects that you can use to animate a private party or a whole club. Designers can benefit from this tool as the patterns it creates can be used as background for animations and movies as well. Luckily, this product is free and it is probably what you have been looking for.
Pros
- Multiple base actions
- Long list of filters
- Highly customizable effects
- Effects that respond to sound input
- Live preview of effects
Cons
- Limited range of export formats