UI Screenshots

View the screenshots below to see what the settings for this function look like within the Randomill panel.

Overview & Description

Oscillation is the idea of bouncing back and forth between two things over time. For example, a sound wave oscillates between troughs and crests. In this case, Randomill can be used to iterate over multiple objects in a selection and bounce their opacity values between two numbers of your choice.

Example Settings and Result:

For example, lets say you have 10 squares lined up next to each other with the leftmost square being the top object in the layer stack. All squares are at 100% opacity. If you oscillate the opacity of this set of squares from 0% to 100% over 3 steps, you would get this result:

Square 01: 0% Opacity
Square 02: 33% Opacity
Square 03: 67% Opacity
Square 04: 100% Opacity
Square 05: 67% Opacity
Square 06: 33% Opacity
Square 07: 0% Opacity
Square 08: 33% Opacity
Square 09: 67% Opacity
Square 10: 100% Opacity

The first square’s opacity was set to the From value, and took 3 Steps to get to the To value. Another 3 steps were needed to get back to the From value.

Usage in Adobe Illustrator & Sample Art

Oscillating various properties of objects is great when working with dense, uniform object groups. For instance, a grid of squares can have their opacity modified in an oscillatory manner to create really interesting wave like effects. Combined with other Randomill functions like stroke weight randomization or scale shifting, the opacity oscillation function can be a great addition to your creative toolbox.

A simple closed loop that takes a blob-like shape in the center-left of a blank canvas.

Guilloche (Before)

Functions: Duplication (Count) + Stroke Color (Blend) + Rotation (Oscillate) + Position (Shift) + Opacity (Oscillate) + Stroke Width (Oscillate)

A complicated line loop pattern twists in on itself as it moves towards the center of the canvas and becomes smaller. Reminiscent of traditional Guilloche patterns.

Twirl (After)

While this design appears complex, it only consists of a few operations. With just duplication, rotation, and scale, you can make it in under a minute. Rotate each copy sinusoidally, while shifting scale by a small, negative amount, and you're most of the way there. Oscillate the opacity between 0% and 100% over 200 steps and that will be the finishing touch that adds that blur effect on the periphery of the design.

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