News

A new update of Vectoraster 8 has now been released, fixing some UI issues and restoring the use to dynamic values for some optional parameters.

Fixes and improvements:

• Fixes not being able to dynamically vary optional parameters like additional point scaling and additional point rotation.
• Fixes tabbing between min/max value fields for newly enabled dynamic varied parameters.

You can download and update from free from within Vectoraster, or download the new version via the product page linked below. If you've bought the app via the Apple App Store the update should be rolling out there as well today.

With the 8.5.10 update released today Vectoraster is now also available to purchase on the macOS App Store:

The application will still be available to purchase outside of the App Store as well and this change should not affect the functionality of the application. Future updates will continue to be released both the App Store and non-App Store version, so you'll get the same functionality regardless of version. It will however not be possible to convert an App Store purchase to a license for the non-App Store version or the other way around.

A small update of Vectoraster 8 has now been released. This update fixes some minor compatibility issues with macOS 14 and addresses some sanbox file-access related issues some users have been experiencing.

You can download and update from free from withing Vectoraster or download the new version via the product page linked below.

A new update of Vectoraster 8 has now been released. This update modernizes some underlying file reading and writing code that should improve future (and current) compatibility and might get around some tricky permission issues. Along with this there are a couple of other little fixes and improvements.

Changes and improvements

• Fix generation of innermost spiral raster points when generating line rasters.
• New setting to automatically convert background color colorspace to match point color (for CMYK exports for example).
• Add clipping rect to exported SVGs.
• Changes to export file writing and saving APIs.
• Changes to file reading handling when importing source files APIs.

A new small update of Vectoraster 8 has now been released. This is another small update that fixes some UI issues in recent versions and macOS updates.

A new update of Vectoraster 8 has now been released. This is a smaller update that primarily fixes some issues on macOS 14.

Changes and improvements

• Fix issue with collapsed bottom UI panels still showing on macOS 14.
• Improved load times for files with large source images.
• Removed deprecated EPS export format on macOS 14 and later (still available on earlier macOS versions).

It appears that Apple has removed system support for the EPS format in macOS 14 Sonoma, which means that sadly importing or exporting EPS files in Vectoraster and Patternodes will no longer work on macOS 14.

This was unexpected, so unfortunately current versions of Vectoraster and Patternodes will not give you any warning about this and may behave erratically trying to load/save EPS data as they relied on these system features. It's unlikely EPS format support will come back at this time, so if you're still working with EPS files, now is a good time to switch over to SVG or PDF.

A new update of Vectoraster 8 has now been released. This adds some initial CMYK color support and interface optimizations along with a couple of bug fixes.

Changes and improvements

• Added support for CMYK and other non-rgb color models in static colors (varying dynamic point colors will still convert to RGB in rendering and exports). CMYK colors are only supported in PDF exports.
• Improved interface performance.
• Improved support and handling of pasting graphics as source image layers.

• Fixed bug where exporting to CSV or SVG would result in the preview going blank.
• Fix issue with new source images pasted in getting the wrong initial size.
• Fix issue with importing vector graphics with very large sizes causing memory issues.

A new update of Vectoraster 8 has now been released. This adds some new functionality with support for complex unicode characters in text rasters (like SF symbols and ligatures) and some new point index options where you can chose to vary raster parameters based on the row or columns in the raster pattern for some new interesting effects.

• Added new point Row, Column or Row+Column index source options, letting you base parameters on the row or column of the point.
• Added support for complex multi-byte unicode characters like SF symbols and ligatures in text rasters.
• Added Lost Minds Mastodon link to Help menu.
• Added some more helpful information to error messages when failing to load files.

• Fix issue with importing vector graphics with very large sizes causing memory issues.

Another smaller patch of Vectoraster 8 has now been released with some fixes and smaller changes, this time relating to file imports.

Fixes and improvements

• Fixes issue with incorrect physical sizes when importing image source layers.
• Better error messages on file access permission issues when importing files.

Another smaller patch of Vectoraster 8 has now been released with some bugfixes and smaller changes.

Fixes and improvements

• Point size is now renamed Line length for simple line points.
• Properly deactivate color well and close the color picker when hiding an active color parameter.
• Fixes the preview sometimes not reverting correctly back to the current time after exporting an animation.
• Fixes an issue where the source layers list would not display correctly after reordering sources.
• Fixes some precision issues in applied Multiscale when using the slider instead of the scale field.
• Sparkle version checking framework updated.

A smaller patch of Vectoraster 8 has now been released. This updates some legacy components for future compatibility and fixes some issues introduced in the 8.5.0 update.

Changes and improvements

• Updates components for future compatibility, raising minimum required macOS version to 10.15.
• Fixes a bug where animation exports would not correctly apply a scaled export size.
• Fixes using the animation export panel size slider while the height or width field is active.

A new bigger update of Vectoraster 8 has now been released. The new version brings support for multiple custom point shapes, something that has been requested for a long time. So now you can use a set of different imported shapes or images for the points, and use them in sequence, at random or based on your sources. Along with this the backend has also been rebuilt a little to make rendering and generation more responsive along with a bunch of other improvements and fixes.

Vectoraster 8.5.0 Changes and improvements

• Multiple custom shape support use different imported point shapes based on sources, index or at random.
• Improved generation/rendering with better performance, responsiveness and stability.
• Source opacity point removal with a new alpha threshold parameter. Makes it easy to remove points regardless of size where the source image is transparent.
• Animated GIF import support for Video source layers.
• Point fill opacity can now be applied to bitmap custom shapes as well.

• Fixed a bug with Multi-scale where clicking Apply button while typing in a value would not apply the scale.
• Fixed an issue with quicktime video exports dropping frames if the encoder was busy.
• Fixed a bug where animation export panel size fields would show the wrong values.
• Fixed a bug where some settings would reset when re-opening the settings panel.

Another small update of Vectoraster 8 has been released today. This update fixes a couple of issues with bitmap based format exports and makes the animation timeline a little easier to work with.

• Fixes a bug with jpg export pixel aspect.
• Fixes an export dialogue bug whith bitmap format height/width would not be displayed correctly.
• Clicking in the animation timeline now deselects any selected value field, so you can use spacebar to play/pause.

A small update of Vectoraster 8 has been released today. This update is just a bug fix to a bundle validation issue that caused an error message when trying to start v8.4.9 on some systems.

A new update of Vectoraster 8 has now been released. This update updates SVG support, fixes some bugs and adds a nice new convenience feature to re-center source layers when updating the document size.

8.4.9 Changes and improvements

• Improved SVG image mode imports/rendering (Upgrade to IJSVG 3.0 framework).
• Added an option to re-center centered source layers on document size change, making it easier to resize a document to a new source image.
• Added link to user Discord channel in Help menu.

• Fixed being able to select the source measurement channel parent item in the parameter sources menu and not just the items.
• Removed a tooltip in the sources menu that was interfering with selecting items in submenus.

A new update of Vectoraster 8 has now been released. This update makes a number of small improvements and fixes a lot of issues related to converting/importing more complex projects from Vectoraster 7.

8.4.8 Changes and improvements

• Optimized Randomization distortion.
• Improved generation and rendering progress updates for long processes.
• Updated manual and bundled sample files.
• Improved conversion of legacy source measurement exponent parameters when importing Vectoraster 7 files.

• Fixes a bug with dynamic distortion strength parameters in rasters with raster offset.
• Fixes initial loading preview image incorrect aspect for zoomed in rasters.
• Fixes source color/light filterers not being applied when the document legacy blur setting was enabled.
• Fixes an issue with converting some dynamic distrortion strength settings from legacy Vectoraster 7 files.
• Fixes an issue with importing legacy Vectoraster 7 files with invalid incremental step parameters.
• Fixes an issue with importing use source color mix parameters from legacy Vectoraster 7 files.
• Fixes an issue with converting separate Y spacing in alternating grid legacy Vectoraster 7 files.

Some users have started a Discord channel for users of Vectoraster and Patternodes.

So if you're interested in discussing the apps, looking for help or want to connect with other users with check it out: Vectoraster and Patternodes discord

A new smaller update of Vectoraster 8 has now been released. This fixes some smaller issues after the recent macOS sandbox security update.

• Fixed missing Print permission in sandbox entitlements.
• Fixed drag highlight outline being shown on file areas even if the dragged file was not in a supported format.
• Fixed incorrect disk write protection warning in the technical log.

A new update of Vectoraster 8 has now been released. The primary change in this update is making Vectoraster a sandboxed application, a security measure that puts strict limitations on access to system features like file access. Everything should still work as before, but you might see a couple of extra confirmation dialogues at first about granting access if you export multiple files for example. In addition to just being better from a security perspective this change is also a step to ensure future macOS compatibility for when Apple decides to make this type of security mandatory for all applications.

• Improved SVG custom point shape path mode imports.
• Application Sandbox for improved security and future macOS compatibility.
• Updated Sparkle version checking and updates library.

An update of Vectoraster 8 has now been released. This new version brings adds new dithering raster patterns, GIF animation export support and a couple of other fixes and improvements.

• Added three new dithering raster patterns: Burkes, Atkinson and Bayer 4x4.
• Added support for exporting animations as animated GIFs.
• Added new preferences setting for default in/out easing type of new added keyframes.
• Fixed using trackpad pinch gestures to zoom in the preview.
• Fixed some issues with the export progress bar during repeated animation exports.
• Character point shape baseline pivot option is no longer turned on by default.

A new small update of Vectoraster 8 has been released. This update fixes some issues when exporting complex rasters with a lot of points to SVG or CSV data.

A new small update of Vectoraster 8 has now been released. This update fixes an issue with exporting animations to numbered files and makes some improvements to the interface.

• Changed preferences interface so changes are applied immediately.
• Fixed an issue with exporting animations to numbered PNG or JPEG files.
• Interface performance improvements.
• Changed the default video export codec to H264.
• Added some improved error messages for export issues.

A new update of Vectoraster 8 has been released. The new 8.4 version brings support for using video sources, just like images. This means you can now make animations with moving images and use Vectoraster to generate complex video halftone filters/effects. Along with this the existing animation timeline means you can also dynamically animate all raster parameters to change along with the video, bringing a lot of possibilities.

• Video source layers allowing you to apply raster effect to video and export the animated result.
• Greatly improved video export rendering performance.
• The YouTube videos links now correctly lead to the Vectoraster 8 videos playlist.
• Fixes the display raster / source slider opacity not updating the preview.
• Fixes an issue with the export progress panel hiding when the application was inactive.
• Smoother handling of remotely deployed license unlocking, not showing the trial mode notice while the license is verified.

After the release of the new Patternodes 3, a smaller update of Vectoraster 8 has now also bee released. This update fixes a couple of bugs and brings improvements to SVG imports along with a new app macOS 11-12 style icon to match the new Patternodes icon.

• New macOS 11-style application icon.
• Improvements to SVG custom point shape parsing.
• Fixes some issues with UI panel animations.
• Fixes to some dark mode UI issues.
• Fixes holes still appearing in exports if exporting immediately after unlocking the full version.
• Updated to Sparkle 2.0 version checking and updating library.

Another update has now been released for Vectoraster 8. This update adds a new Unsharp mask sharpening filter you can use on all source layers and fixes a couple of bugs.

• New Unsharp mask sharpening filter available for all source layers.
• Fixes an issue where the Export dialogue could become unresponsive on macOS 12.1 when opening it a second time.
• Handle loading or setting invalid animation duration or framerate better.

Another update has now been released for Vectoraster 8. This update brings an asortment of bugfixes and improvements to various parts of the application. Thanks to everyone who has reported bugs and submitted feedback! And if you haven't checked out the sample files in a while, this could be a good time. Maybe you'll find inspiration for something new added in recent updates.

• Added support for drag and drop importing new source image layers.
• Fixed preview drag editing of position for distortions in rotated and offset rasters.
• Fixed the animation keyframe value field not updating the raster after changes.
• Fixed undo/redo of editing animation duration, framerate and loop settings.
• Fixed animation framerate setting not loading correctly from saved files.
• Fixed bug where raster would stop drawing after turning both point fill and storke off, even if they were turned on again.
• Updated sample files.

Today a new update for Vectoraster 8 has been released. This update adds new features that bring new possibilities working with text and font characters for point rasters, now allowing sets of multi-character words for the point shapes and more importantly a way to pick character or word based on a source.

This means you can define a set of characters or words and vary which one is used for each point actross the raster. Combined with all the different raster and point shape parameters already in place this gives you a lot of new possibilities!

• New source-based text modes. Pick point text characters dynamically based on source layers. Paint by numbers or ASCII-art!
• New word text modes. Use a set of words instead of just characters as point shapes. Make word clouds or generate data-driven labels!
• Some changes for more consistent handling of fonts for text raster points and text source layers.
• Fix a bug where changing the document random seed wouldn't update the seed for all random properties.
• Fix a bug where the document random seed wouldn't be properly loaded from saved files.
• Performance improvements.

Another update has now been released for Vectoraster 8. This update brings a couple of improvements to working with animations and keyframes in the animation timeline, fixes some issues in recent version with using source layer color for points and a couple of other little fixes and improvements.

• You can now edit animation keyframes while the animation is running.
• You can now quickly revert values being edited by pressing Esc.
• Disabling a parameter that has an active animation track now also disables the animation track and adds a warning icon to it.
• Removing a source layer or pattern distortion that has animated parameters now also properly removes these animation tracks.
• Fixed a bug where removing the last source layer could leave an orphaned source settings panel.
• Fixed couple of issues in v8.2.3 and 8.2.4 with using source layer color for point stroke or fill.
• Changes to visibility toggle buttons for source layers and animation tracks to reduce interface clutter.

Today another little update to Vectoraster 8 has been released, this time a bit of a hot fix of a bug that prevented opening legacy files with raster pattern distortions in v 8.2.3.

• Fixes an issue with opening files with raster distortions in v 8.2.3.
• Fixes some interface button alignments on macOS 11.

After a bit of a summer break another smaller update to Vectoraster 8 has been released today. Version 8.2.3 contains mostyl interface-related improvements, many relating to importing source images and dealing with resizing sources and the artboard.

• Adding a new source image layer now opens a browse dialogue right away.
• Added a new Import source image menu item to quickly create a new source image layer.
• Improvemed handling of imported source image sizes when replacing a layer image.
• Added a new separate scale source layers option when changing the document artboard size.
• Improvements to tabbing between value fields and opening/closing interface panels.
• Document window size and position is now saved in VRaster files.
• Improved labels and tooltips to help make isometric raster patterns using the same spacing toggle.
• Improved interface panel animation performace.

Today another smaller update to Vectoraster 8 has been released, 8.2.2 contains some improvements around exporting animations to video, with better preview feedback stability and improvement.

• Improved performance and stability during animation exports.
• Better previews of the animation during the animation export process.
• Better raster pattern panel previews when using large artboard sizes.
• Source layer actions button now show on hover as well as selection of the layer.
• Fix missing VRaster document icons on older versions of macOS (again).

Today another smaller update to Vectoraster 8 has been released, 8.2.1 contains some smaller fixes and tweaks after the 8.2.0 update. Thanks again to all the users who've reported issues and sent us suggestions and ifeature requests. It really helps making our software better and more useful for everyone!

• Fixed source invert filter not working after the 8.2.0 update.
• Fix preview not updating correctly when a source layer is removed.
• Better raster pattern preview for varied density rasters.
• Fix text source layers not updating on the first click when changing font in the font panel.
• Fix missing VRaster document icons on older versions of macOS.
• Adjustment of some dark mode text label colors.

There's now a new feature video showing off the new stippling/dithering raster patterns introduced in Vectoraster 8.2. If you're interested in Vectoraster the rest of the Vectoraster playlist will give you a quick overview of new features and possibilities in Vectoraster 8.

The Vectoraster 8.2.0 update released today brings four new dithering raster patterns, primarily useful to make stippling style designs with constant point size but varying density of the points. There are also a number of improvements to custom point shape importing, with better support especially for EPS and SVG files generated by Affinity software.

• New dithering raster patterns. Dynamic source based Floyd-Steinberg, Stucki and Sierra error diffusion dithering patterns and new Bayer 8x8 ordered dithering pattern.
• Improved support for imported SVG and EPS of custom point shapes exported from Affinity software.
• Added support for even-odd fill mode in imported of custom point shapes.
• Fixes an issue with document icons for some macOS 11 users.
• Fixed live raster updates while dragging sliders for some source parameters.
• Better handling of problems when importing custom vector point shapes from EPS/PDF/SVG files.
• Removed some redundant screen printing export settings.
• Some interface optimization.

Download the new version and try it out today, or update in the app.

The Vectoraster 8.1.3 update, released today, is another smaller update with fixes to a couple of bugs and smaller improvements.

• Added button to re-center offset source layers.
• The artboard size dialogue now has added presets for current image source sizes as well as original sizes.
• Performance improvements for raster distortions and gradient source layers.
• Clarified and corrected a number of tooltips and help messages.
• Updates to the manual.
• Some small macOS 11 interface adjustments.
• Updated Sparkle version checking library.

Download the new version and try it out today, or update in the app.

The Vectoraster 8.1.2 update, released today, is another smaller update with fixes to a couple of bugs and smaller improvements.

• Improved calculation progress updates for long regeneration processes.
• Improved handling of warnings when incompatible raster settings are selected so no raster can be rendered.
• Fixed some number formatting issues with export size fields when using comma as a thousands separator.
• Value fields should now correctly show comma as the decimal separator based on your system settings.
• Fixes a double regeneration bug after changing the artboard size.
• Removed a redundant search field from the Help menu

Download the new version and try it out today, or update in the app.

Another Vectoraster 8 update, this time 8.1.1 has been released. This is just a smaller update with fixes to a couple of bugs to get you over the holidays.

• Optimized file loading.
• Fixes a bug with changing sizes in the export dialogue when using points or inches as the length units.
• Fixes a bug with auto-resampling of large source images causing them to be used at the wrong size in v8.1.0.
• Fixed a bug where images sources wouldn't properly update when toggling auto-resampling on/off.

Download the new version and try it out today, or update in the app.

Vectoraster 8.1.0 has been released. This update brings SVG export support that has been requested by many users, and a new simple line point shape useful for plotting, etching and stippling applications. CSV exports have been improved and now include point color information. There are also improvements to preview updating while editing source layers and a new export setting to export the raster pattern blended with the sources at a lower preview opacity. Together these changes open up even more new ways to use the designs you produce in Vectoraster.

• SVG vector graphics export
• New Simple line point shape, simple short line with just stroke and no fill useful for stippling, plotting and etching applications
• Improved CSV-export that now includes point fill color RGBA components in the exported data.
• New export option to use preview raster opacity when exporting, to let you export the raster semi-transparent on top of the sources.
• Improved appearance of composited source layer previews while live editing source parameters.
• Fix preview rendering when raster preview opacity was lower than source preview opacity.
• Interface adjustments for macOS 11 (Big Sur).
• Update to Finder preview quick look component for VRaster files.

Download the new version and try it out today, or update in the app.

Due to technical problems at our payment handling provider paddle.com it's currently not possible to purchase licenses for Vectoraster or Patternodes.

Paddle has acknowleged the problems and are saying that they are working on a solution, you can follow the status of this at their status page. Or you can simply come back a little later here and see if the purchase links have started working again. We apologize for the inconvenience and hope this will be resolved swiftly.

Update: The problems have now been resolved and purchasing should work as usual again.

Another Vectoraster 8 has been released. This time with another set of smaller improvements across the app, from interface tweaks to performance and SVG importing. The new version is also built as a universal binary so it should run natively on both existing Intel macs and the new Apple Silicone macs.

• Apple Silicon native support.
• Improved performance when updating and compositing source layers.
• Improved SVG path importing, with support for matrix() group transforms often used by Affinity Designer.
• New presets menu in the artboard size change dialogue to quickly change to a preset or source image size.
• Fixes some interface panel animation glitches when enabling/disabling the Use source color fill/stroke settings.
• Exporting without changing any document export settings no longer marks the document as needing to be saved.
• Update to Sparkle updating library.

Download the new version and try it out today, or update in the app.

Another small update to Vectoraster 8 has now been released, with some more fixes and little improvements.

• Fixes a bug where trying to add a new Bulge pattern distortion would instead add a Randomize distortion.
• Some layout changes to the raster spacing controls when using separate X/Y spacing.
• Added item in Help menu for the new system for feedback and voting on future development.
• More helpful error messages when entering incorrect license information.
• New method for logging technical warnings without relying on system log.

Download the new version and try it out today, or update in the app.

We get a lot of feedback and great ideas from you users. This is always very useful, as it helps us understand how the software is used and how we can make it better.

To make it easier to send feedback we've now set up a new simple system for this to help guide the future development of our applications. Basically it's just a simple list, linked from each product page, with ideas for future features. In this list you can then just click to vote on the features you think would be most useful to you.

If you're interested you can also sign up with your e-mail, and if you do we'll notify you if any of the features you've voted for are implemented.

Another small update to Vectoraster 8 has now been released, making it easier to copy and paste in images to use as source layers.

• Added new Paste replace source image Edit menu item to quickly replace the selected source layer image.
• Added keyboard shortcuts for the paste source image menu items.
• Fixed an issue with JPEG exports sometimes failing and causing problems with other exports after this.
• Made the raster-sources display slider more responsive to quick changes.

Download the new version and try it out today, or update in the app.

Another small update to Vectoraster 8 has now been released. This time the focus is on a number of smaller improvements and fixes, mostly releated to working with the new animation timeline in different ways.

• Improved editing animation keyframe values when using drag editing in the preview.
• Fixes an issue where enabling disabled animation tracks would not refresh the preview in some cases.
• Optimized rendering of composited source layer preview.
• Tweaks to preview zoom adjustments when opening/closing the animation panel.
• Fixes a 1px preview edge alignment issue at some zoom levels.

Download the new version and try it out today, or update in the app.

The launch of the big Vectoraster 8 update has been very smooth so far, so this first post-release update doesn't contain any big changes or critical fixes. But all the same, a couple of little things have been fixed and changed.

• Setting a Gradient or Image source layer size height or width to a negative value now mirrors it.
• The progress bar for longer generation processes is now more prominent with a point counter along with rendering percent.
• Better handling when entering invalid math expressions in value fields.
• Adjustments to rendering of some interface elements.
• Correctly (don't) render Text source layers with zero size.

Download the new version and try it out today, or update in the app.

A new major update of the macOS graphics application Vectoraster has now been released. Vectoraster is a tool for creating custom vector and halftones and raster patterns based on images or gradients. Vectoraster 8 adds new dimension with keyframe animation support, letting you animate all raster parameters and source layers.

Vectoraster is built with designers in mind, giving you detailed control over the raster pattern, point shapes and how the points vary, all while giving you a real-time view of the result as you change parameters. When you're done you just copy or export the result as vector graphics or a pixel image, or animations to video file or image file sequence.

Main new features in Vectoraster 8

• Animation support. Animate raster parameters and export the result to video or a sequence of frame files.
• New source layers model. Sources are now more like layers in other graphics software and can be moved, scaled and rotated individually and blended together.
• Improved preview drag editing. Edit source layers, gradients, distortions or raster pattern parameters by dragging graphical handles in the preview.
• Advanced noise sources. New dynamic noise layers generating perlin or billowing noise you can then apply to any parameter across the raster.
• Secondary point transformations. You can now apply two separate dynamic scaling or rotations to raster points, for example adding randomization to a source-based value.
• Apply file raster settings. You can now quickly apply all raster settings from a different VRaster file, while retaining the sources in the current file.
• Dark Mode interface support. Interface now adapts to system interface mode, and lets you switch between dark mode and light mode.

For the full change log with all changes and improvements, check out the
Vectoraster 8 version history.