Randomill
Randomill is a plugin for Adobe Illustrator that serves as the ultimate randomization and generative art plugin, allowing users to quickly and easily create cohesive, but non-repetitive patterns, textures, and more.
I developed this plugin as a side project after constantly encountering scenarios in which a plugin like this would be useful. I couldn’t find anything like it on the internet, and figured there would be a sizable market for it.
Randomill uses Adobe’s CEP Platform, which means that the Randomill user interface is essentially a web page that’s rendered a chromium instance running inside of Adobe Illustrator. The frontend is built with ReactJS, and uses Adobe’s CSInterface API to send commands to Illustrator. Commands inside of Illustrator are carried out using ExtendScript (an old version of JavaScript with some additional, proprietary Adobe features).
Adobe Illustrator
Host software that Randomill runs within and sends commands to.
Adobe Common Extensibility Platform (CEP)
The platform that allows extensions built with the HTML5/JavaScript interface model to run within Illustrator.
HTML/CSS/JS + ReactJS
The user interface is essentially a standard web page, using ReactJS, HTML, CSS, and JavaScript
Chromium
Browser used for remote debugging and development of the Randomill front-end.
Bolt-CEP + Vite.js + Yarn
Bolt-CEP is a boilerplate for building Adobe CEP extensions in React. Helpful for automating build processes, compilation, hot module replacement, etc. Vite.js was used for the Bundler and Yarn was used as the package manager.
Visual Studio Code + ExtendScript Debugger
IDE and extension used to write and debug the ExtendScript running in the back-end within Illustrator
Gumroad
Distribution platform for end users to buy and download Randomill, and also used for license key generation/management. Gumroad was chosen specifically for its low seller fees, and more importantly, for its built-in license key generation/management functionality.
WordPress
Used to build out Randomill.com.
Adobe Photoshop + Adobe Illustrator + Adobe InDesign + Adobe AfterEffects
Used to create promotional and marketing materials to advertise Randomill, as well as create graphics assets used within the user interface. This included graphic design, video editing, web design, etc.
Open Broadcast Studio (OBS)
Used to record video demos and usage scenarios of Randomill for educational and marketing purposes.
As of 2022, Randomill has over 1000 customers, and has become the most successful randomization plugin for Adobe Illustrator on the market.
Client:
Personal Project
Year:
2020
Services:
Software Development,
Web Development,
Web Design,
UI/UX Design,
Graphic Design,
Video Editing,
Marketing/Advertising,
Search Engine Optimization
UI Screenshots
Sample art created with Randomill
