by Erf Studio
Darkroom
A modular photo instrument: drop effect modules on a patch surface, wire them in any order, and play the whole thing live with your mouse. Any module's output can drive any other module's knob, so one dial can steer another. Deterministic, shareable by link, export a full-resolution PNG or record the live canvas to video. Nothing is uploaded.
Runs entirely in your browser. Nothing is uploaded.
How to use
- The board opens on a working patch: a source feeds a ripple, into a halftone, into the output. The display on the left shows the whole graph live.
- Drop a photo anywhere on the display to run the modules over your own image, or leave the test card. Nothing is uploaded.
- Drag any knob to shape a module. Drag from a module's output dot to another module's input dot to rewire the signal; click a wire to cut it. Add more modules from the row under the patch.
- Right-click a knob to ride it with an LFO. Alt+right-click to drive it from a gamepad or from another module's output, so one dial steers another. The default board already wires the ripple's motion into the halftone's angle.
- Export a full-resolution PNG, record the live canvas to a video, or copy the link: it reopens the exact patch for anyone, on the test card, so your image never leaves your machine.
Examples
- A rippling halftone press over a portrait, the dot angle sweeping as the ripple moves.
- A clean halftone screen on a product shot, exported full resolution with no watermark.
- A short looping clip of the live patch, recorded straight off the canvas for a social post.
- A shared link that drops a collaborator into your exact patch to remix, with no upload and no account.
Frequently asked questions
Is this AI?
No. There is no AI anywhere. Every module is deterministic math you control. The same patch produces the same result on any machine.
Does my photo or video upload anywhere?
No. Everything runs in your browser. Your image never leaves your machine, and a shared link carries only the patch settings, never your pixels, so it reopens on the test card.
Do I need a game controller?
No. The whole board works with a mouse or trackpad. A gamepad is one optional way to play a knob if you have one plugged in, never required for anything.
What does "one module drives another" mean?
Any module exposes a live value, like the ripple's motion, that can be routed onto another module's knob. So the ripple can sweep the halftone's angle automatically. Alt+right-click a knob to pick a source.
Can I share or embed a patch?
Yes. Every patch lives in the page link and is deterministic, so a copied link reproduces it exactly for anyone who opens it.
