Sound Project 2: Etcha-Sketch
This project was to build a patch using max/msp/jitter software.
I decided to create modify a old PC fan speed controller to act like an etcha-sketch when plugged into max/msp so that a user could draw pictures which would then be converted into sound using max/msp.
my patch consisted of one main patch and 5 sub-patches, the main patch took input from the i-cube which my modified fan controller was plugged into and manipulated to draw on a ‘lcd’ display in max. using one of the 4 dials you can turn on the fan controller you could draw like you would on a traditional etcha-sketch using two of the dials, and using the other two you could manipulate the size and colour of the pen that is drawing the picture.
The limit-ect sub patch ensures that the data coming from the two drawing dials is within the confines of the lcd patch by passing it through a pictslider with similar dimensions.
The recorddraw sub-patch records all of the drawing done on the lcd display so that the user can play it back to see how it sounds and also save it as a text file to their hard drive if they like what they have done, the text file can be loaded back into the patch another time if they wish to hear it again at a later date.
The patcher-synthesis sub-patch translates what is being drawn on the lcd display or being played back from what has been saved into sound using a fairly basic synthesis method, taking parameters from the X and Y position of the pen, and also the colour and size of the pen to generate a synth sound.
Finally i added a simple sampler patch witch allowed the user to choose a sample to loop behind their sound generated with the drawing so that there was some sort of backing to the synthesis they created.
screen shots of some of the patches below.
