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Home/effects/ASCII Band

ASCII Band

An abstract animated background where luminous violet bands curl, stretch, and flow through deep indigo gradients, creating a continuous landscape of light and motion.

WebGL Shader
DemoDemoDemo

Tune the Real Props

Background

Canvas colour behind the light.

Overview

ASCII Band creates an evolving composition of glowing violet and lavender bands against a dark blue canvas. Broad curves sweep across the screen, forming soft loops and layered waves that continuously reshape into new patterns.

The animation combines bright, diffused edges with darker regions, giving the flowing bands a sense of depth. Smooth transitions between curved formations make the background feel organic, while its restrained colour palette maintains a cohesive visual identity.

Designed for creative studios, digital products, and experimental websites, ASCII Band introduces expressive movement without relying on conventional illustrations or photography. Its flowing composition works particularly well in fullscreen hero sections and minimal layouts.


Usage Code

page
1import AsciiBand from '@/components/effects/ascii-band'2 3const page = () => {4  return (5    <div className="h-screen w-full">6      <AsciiBand />7    </div>8  )9}10 11export default page

Example Production Use Case

Consider a digital design studio launching a portfolio website focused on experimental interfaces and creative technology. The homepage features a bold headline over a dark background, with ASCII Band continuously forming luminous curves behind the content.

The violet bands stretch into flowing loops and gradually dissolve into new formations, adding visual movement while preserving the overall composition. The contrast between bright highlights and dark negative space helps the foreground content remain prominent.

The result is a distinctive hero section that communicates creativity and movement without introducing additional visual elements that compete with the studio's message.


Best Used For

  • Creative agency websites and digital portfolios.
  • Technology and AI product landing pages.
  • Immersive hero sections with dark visual themes.
  • Experimental websites and digital art showcases.
  • Music and entertainment experiences.
  • Abstract brand campaigns and product launches.
  • Minimal websites that benefit from atmospheric motion.

Not For

ASCII Band is less suitable for dense dashboards, administrative interfaces, and content-heavy pages where continuous background animation may compete with information. Its flowing highlights can reduce readability when text overlaps brighter regions.

Avoid combining it with several other prominent motion effects. The animation works best as a primary visual element, supported by clean typography and restrained interactive details.


Performance Budget

Keep the flowing transitions lightweight and avoid unnecessary rendering updates. Smooth gradients, overlapping light bands, and continuous movement should remain responsive without placing excessive demands on the browser.

On mobile and lower-powered devices, simplify the animation where necessary and pause decorative updates when the background is offscreen. Provide a static alternative for reduced-motion preferences.


Accessibility and Mobile

Maintain sufficient contrast between foreground text and the moving light bands. Keep headings, navigation, and interactive controls accessible independently of the background animation.

On mobile, adjust the composition to preserve the flowing shapes without overwhelming smaller screens. Respect prefers-reduced-motion by pausing the animation or displaying a static frame.


Common Mistakes

  • Excessive glow that removes definition from the flowing bands.
  • Abrupt movement that interrupts the smooth visual transitions.
  • Overlapping highlights that create unnecessary visual clutter.
  • Poor text contrast against bright lavender regions.
  • Oversized visual effects that increase rendering costs.
  • Mobile layouts that crop the most distinctive curves.
  • Continuous animation updates when the effect is offscreen.
  • Missing reduced-motion support or a static fallback.

Changelog

Initial release

API Reference

PropTypeDefaultDescription
backgroundColorcolor#000000Canvas colour behind the light.
huenumber0Turns every colour around the colour wheel, in degrees. 0 is the reference violet.
saturationnumber1Colour strength. 0 is greyscale, 1 matches the reference.
intensitynumber1Overall brightness. 1 matches the reference.
softnessnumber1How diffuse the light is. Above 1 spreads the band wider and softer.
grainnumber0.03Film grain strength. 0 turns it off.
charactersstring =+xX80S#@Characters from darkest to brightest. The first is usually a space.
cellSizenumber16Width of one character cell, in px.
glyphOpacitynumber1Strength of the character layer. 0 hides it.
gapsnumber0.22Share of cells left empty, 0 to 1.
flickernumber1.5How often each character re-rolls, per second. 0 freezes the grid.
speednumber1How fast the band drifts. 0 holds it still.
flownumber1How far the band sways and breathes while it drifts.
interactivebooleantrueLet the pointer stir the light like ink in water.
smearStrengthnumber1How far a stroke drags the light.
smearRadiusnumber0.1Width of the stroke, in canvas heights.

Questions, Answered.

What is ASCII Band?

ASCII Band is an animated React background where a band of violet light, pinched at the centre and flaring toward the edges, is drawn in flickering ASCII characters on a black canvas.

How does ASCII Band work?

A WebGL2 shader lights the band, and the screen is divided into character cells that each pick a glyph by the brightness beneath them. The characters re-roll now and then so the grid shimmers, the band drifts and breathes over time, and the pointer smears the light like ink in water.

Can ASCII Band be used with Next.js?

Yes. ASCII Band can be integrated into React and Next.js applications using the appropriate client-side animation setup.

Does ASCII Band require Three.js or WebGL?

No Three.js. ASCII Band is drawn with raw WebGL2 shaders on a single canvas and has no runtime dependencies beyond React. It does need WebGL2: where the browser can't provide it, nothing is drawn and only the background colour shows.

Can I customise the colours and animation speed?

Yes. Colour is set with backgroundColor, hue, saturation, intensity and softness. The characters prop sets the glyphs, and cellSize, glyphOpacity, gaps and flicker shape the grid. Motion is set with speed and flow, and the pointer smear with interactive, smearStrength and smearRadius.

Is ASCII Band suitable for mobile devices?

Yes. It pauses while offscreen or in a hidden tab, caps the canvas pixel ratio, and holds a single still frame when reduced motion is preferred. Raise cellSize on small screens if the characters look too dense.

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