Audio-Reactive Particles in TouchDesigner

In TouchDesigner, you can do a bunch of cool things with particles. Although many of these require some complexity, the one I share with you here is enough to get started with audio-reactive particles before continuing with more complex subjects. You might also be interested in learning How to Create More Audio-Reactive VJ Visuals in TouchDesigner.

In this video tutorial, though I use a simple circle as a particle source, you can use any other kind of SOP geometry for this purpose. You can also use a second SOP geometry as a collision source; in this way, your particles will collide with your TouchDesigner SOP. The surface attractor is another alternative; in this case, the SOP will attract your particles.

In TouchDesigner, besides the turbulence force, you can also add external forces by connecting a Metaball SOP to a Force SOP, and this one to the force input of the Particle SOP. By doing so, you can get a vortex force or a spiral force that acts over your particles.