DSP Motion lets you draw sound effects for animations

Japanese developer Tsugi has released DSP Motion, an interesting new tool that lets users ‘draw’ sound effects for animation, motion graphics and real-time projects.

The $49 app provides an inexpensive alternative to stock audio libraries, translating the motion of your stylus or mouse into abstract sounds that can be exported to editing software or game engines.

‘Draw’ sound effects in time to your animations or motion graphics

We don’t normally cover audio tools on CG Channel, but the basic premise of DSP Motion is so appealing that we felt it was worth running a story.

The software’s procedural audio engine translates the motion of the user’s mouse or stylus into sound, making it possible to ‘draw’ abstract sound effects.

Users simply select a motion property – for example, rotation or scaling – to translate into sound, along with an audio style preset, like fire, water or electricity, or mechanical and animal noise.

Tsugi’s demo videos show users drawing along to existing animations and FX clips in software like After Effects and Unity, creating sound effects matching the visuals in real time.

Retime sound effects to match footage, or generate variations automatically

The resulting sound clip effect can be adjusted through a set of simple parameter sliders and, being procedural, can be retimed to match footage precisely without introducing artefacts.

The software can also generate variations of a base sound effect automatically, helping to avoid obvious repetition when an effect is used frequently in a game or animation.

Completed sound effects can be exported as .wav files for use in editing or compositing software. DSP Motion also exports directly to Unity, generating metafiles and C# playback scripts automatically.

Part of a family of audio tools for game developers

Although DSP Motion is Tsugi’s first product aimed specifically at motion graphics and animation, the firm has an established track record in creating professional audio tools.

Its sister applications include DSP Fantasy, DSP Sci-Fi, DSP Anime and DSP Retro, which create similar sound effects for games, along with a range of audio middleware and sound-processing tools.

The firm also does R&D work for a number of major entertainment clients, including Capcom and Activision.

Pricing and system requirements

DSP Motion is available for Windows only. It costs $49.

by Jim Thacker/Tsugi