ArtMatic Pro 4.1, ArtMatic Voyager, and vTrack 2.1 are three applications developed by U&I Software, a group of developers who want to do what Kai Krause did years ago, but better. ArtMatic Pro lives up to that promise, as does ArtMatic Voyager.

What I remember from the days of Kai Krause was that he wanted to create a completely different interface for designers and artists to work with. His plug-ins and other applications worked well, but they required a plunge in a totally different working method. Not all change is good, especially not if it means you have to adapt to something totally different.

In the time of Krause, I can understand why he wanted to do it differently, with no Mac OS X in sight for years yet. But with Mac OS X and Windows Vista, the computer interface has won in terms of usability and efficiency, and I think it’s a bad idea to change that dramatically.

Art Synthesizer

ArtMatic Pro and Voyager, and vTrack do just that. They want you to adopt to another sort of interface. One that is characterised by uniqueness. Just as with 3D applications like Cinema 4D, you work in a closed environment, and with tools that seem odd at first sight. Nevertheless, ArtMatic Pro and Voyager let you create art in ways that literally are unique.

ArtMatic Pro is a parameter driven graphics synthesizer. It can react to sound that you input, but more importantly, it requires you to connect mathematical formula that are available in different “tiles”. Those tiles are then arranged into a tree. The formula, the tile location inside the tree, and the number of tiles all have an influence on how your art piece will look in the end.

I don’t think I am exaggerating when I say there are millions of combinations possible this way. The only thing is that you must be capable of creating those combinations in order to end up with something that looks the way you wanted it to look. ArtMatic Pro comes with a manual that explains how you can use the interface so you will end up with something that you planned in advance.

Without the manual, you can experiment with tiles and trees and things, but you’ll never end up with what you planned in advance. This can be appealing by itself, of course, but if you’re trying to create a surface map for a 3D landscape that you want to make in ArtMatic Voyager, it is very frustrating. Reading --no, studying-- the manual is not a luxury. It’s a must.

From Wallpaper to Surface Maps

ArtMatic Pro enables you to create visual art and animate it. Most of the “scenes” you will produce are somewhat comparable to fractal art, but ArtMatic goes further than the typical repeating patterns, at least if you know a bit what you’re doing when assembling the tree. Even when you zoom in --and you can do so endlessly-- you will see variations of your art that look like entirely new patterns.

I was stunned by the power of ArtMatic Pro’s creative engine, but not so much with its export capabilities. You can export to QuickTime movie and PICT file. Unless I’ve missed something, that’s it. No TIFF or JPEG. What is it good for? For anything from desktop wallpaper to landscape surface maps and shader patterns for usage in 3D programs like Vue 6 and Cinema 4D.

ArtMatic Pro can also be used for logo art, but to be honest, I never got to learning the application so well that I would succeed creating a logo variation for IT Enquirer, for example. The tutorial in the manual will show you how to do it, but to create something on your own does require extra time that I simply don’t have. Nevertheless, ArtMatic Pro was pretty impressive.

ArtMatic Voyager is a variation on a theme. It’s ArtMatic Pro for landscapes and planets. It’s better than MojoWorld, in my opinion, and it allows you to create high quality scenes. ArtMatic Pro files can be used as shaders and terrain or surface maps.