I envisioned a cosmic entity floating gracefully in the void, reaching out with ethereal tentacles. On a deeper level, it represents human consciousness—a single, radiant center of self that we constantly try to hold together as our thoughts and energies scatter into the unknown.
The technical foundation of this network relies on two parallel branches in TouchDesigner. The first begins with a grid geometry manipulated by noise, twist, and fractal operators to generate the reaching, wave-like tendrils. The second branch utilizes a sphere to drive a particle system, forming the dense, luminous core at the center of the structure.
To bring this entity to life, I integrated an audio analysis setup. By isolating specific frequency bands, I directly controlled the displacement and turbulence of the tentacles. As the track plays, the tendrils pulse and stretch outward with the music, while the core pulls them back in, mimicking the constant, delicate struggle to maintain our structural and mental integrity.
The ghostly, drifting aesthetic was finalized in the post-processing phase. I built a custom feedback and blur network to soften the sharp geometry into smooth, lingering trails. This smearing effect, combined with the stark, glowing white contrast against the pitch-black void, completes the illusion of a living, breathing cosmic mind.
