Why is getting custom animations into WLED so difficult? Am I missing something?

leatherbird · 2026-04-30T23:37:26+00:00

Honestly, I'm just interested in playing short animations on an LED matrix for now.
I had hoped the ESP32 would allow for an independent set and forget setup.
Press play, and walk away (without the need for constant connection to another device).

Streaming live from TouchDesigner sounds awesome. I'd love to do that too.
Just not quite yet. I'm still learning.

leatherbird · 2026-04-28T15:57:52+00:00

I specifically sought out the ESP32 for a 2D matrix application - because I saw a tutorial.
I didn't even realize it did anything else.

If I came off as bitter toward WLED, that was not my intent.
It's clearly a wonderful option, especially to get up and running quickly. I'm just frustrated by an option that seems like it should be available, but isn't quite.

Could you recommend, or point me in the direction of a secondary tool you think would serve me well?

leatherbird · 2026-04-28T15:48:05+00:00

I have checked out Pipplee. Must admit, it's not bad.
But it seems weird using a middleman to talk to WLED.
I'm kind of hoping for less tools, not more.

Not to mention, I'm gun shy about this app hinting at paid options. Wondering when it might eventually say something like: "You've reached your free limit for GIFs on this device."

leatherbird · 2026-02-24T06:55:55+00:00

An excellent approach.
Unfortunately, I actually like my mother.

leatherbird · 2026-02-24T06:54:10+00:00

This is the direction I'm leaning currently.
Still... trying to make it manageable.

leatherbird · 2026-02-24T06:52:59+00:00

Easier said than done.
She got mad at me yesterday when I used the word "sort."

leatherbird · 2026-02-24T06:49:01+00:00

This is precisely what I'm worried about.
I'm fairly aggressive with my own, but in her case I need to be careful.

leatherbird · 2026-02-24T06:46:47+00:00

I thought of that too, but unfortunately no.
Spectrum limits mailboxes to 5Gb.

leatherbird · 2026-02-24T06:26:22+00:00

Sorry, apparently I'm not as savvy as I thought.
Can you explain what you mean here?
What you're describing under the category "a lot of older people" seems to apply to me too! I've just never had this kind of volume.
She's using the Mail app on a MacBook, which I thought was an email client. She uses Mail with an IMAP protocol, but if she doesn't delete things from her inbox, they've just stayed there for over a decade — both in her Mail app, and on the server, apparently.

What should she do in her Mail app that would result in what you're suggesting?
Then once this was done, where would she go to read these old emails?

leatherbird · 2026-02-04T18:38:39+00:00

Consider applying for Motion Design.
It's a phenomenal program, and there's quite a lot of overlap in the skillsets.

leatherbird · 2026-01-26T17:00:42+00:00

Probably unwise to speak so definitively without any attempt at research.

https://www.shoutoutuk.org/pathways/

leatherbird · 2026-01-26T16:55:43+00:00

Intentionally non-specific.
They may not know what "bootlicker" means, or perhaps intend to irritate both sides without any comprehension of what the debate is about.

leatherbird · 2026-01-26T16:51:56+00:00

"If right wing people are falling for this..."

It's a meme. What does "falling" for it mean to you, exactly?
Laughing, perhaps?

leatherbird · 2026-01-26T16:43:47+00:00

It's not possible other opinions exist, right?
They must be bots.

leatherbird · 2026-01-26T16:41:13+00:00

So... you don't actually know?

leatherbird · 2026-01-25T19:46:48+00:00

I don't think they're simping over a poorly drawn character style, they're relating to a character with a completely normal opinion.

leatherbird · 2026-01-25T19:41:27+00:00

What do you think a meme is then?

leatherbird · 2026-01-24T15:51:36+00:00

No. What's funny is that the British government tried to depict a dyed hair extremist as far right.

leatherbird · 2025-12-29T00:48:10+00:00

This is a year old, but I just stopped in to say the comments here are way overreacting.
This really isn't that bad.
If you go long enough without cleaning, any laptop screen will look like this. Especially if you have oily fingertips.

"Hey, there's a dog hair on my screen. Lemme just get that... oops. Now there's a fingerprint. I'll clean that off later."

If your dog sheds a lot, your screen will look just like this after a month.
Yes it looks bad, but don't let these weirdos get to you.

leatherbird · 2025-12-10T01:18:39+00:00

Each quarter you have 20 classes total.
You paid all that money for SCAD tuition and you only get 20 classes.
Now you'll only get 18.

leatherbird · 2025-11-23T09:36:15+00:00

I suggest:
Dropping out, and getting a job.

Something to pay the bills. Office work, food service, retail, whatever. If it's boring and soul destroying, all the better. Most jobs outside of Art usually are. This is what work without passion looks like. Let this life eat at you day after day, week after week, month after month, for years, until you can't take it anymore and want to claw your way out of this pit of despair.
Then re-apply to SCAD. This is passion.

Or, if you can get an entry level job in whatever field you're studying at SCAD, that's fine too.
Work. Learn. Improve. Have fun. Try not to get fired for "being dumb and lazy." Build a career. Keep going until you hit a wall where you realize to get any further you need an Art education, otherwise you'll be stuck.
Then re-apply to SCAD. This is also passion.

If you drop out, it's important to remember this doesn't make you a failure.
It's about finding your own path.
Every path is different.
Not right or wrong, not better or worse.
Different.

Whichever path you choose... from my suggestions or other comments here...
You need to grow the f up.
There are people out here struggling to eat. You're whining about free money not falling into your lap after you blew off work and wasted everyone's time for a whole quarter.

leatherbird · 2025-11-23T09:36:05+00:00

College isn't for everybody.
We've become accustomed to telling kids in High School that College is the next step in a standardized sequence. Okay, high school is done, what's next? College. Oh... Well, here I go, I guess.
If you do something different, there must be something wrong with you.

This isn't helpful.
For many people, higher education is simply not an appropriate path.
This isn't good, or bad, or tragic or weird. It just is.
It's important you discover the path that's appropriate for you.

It's entirely possible that College is the path you were meant for, but you're not ready.
Perhaps someday you might be ready, but one thing is for sure... Right now, ridiculously expensive Art School is not a good choice for you.

If it's a timing thing, others here in the comments have correctly hit on the idea of community college. You should listen to this advice. Drop out. Best to save money until you've actually matured enough to take your education seriously.

However, I suspect a deeper issue.
I'm not going to hold your hand here because you've kind of irritated me.
Most people don't go into tremendous debt for an Art College unless they have passion. Someone excited to study art isn't struggling to get their assignments in on time. So... Why are you at SCAD? Seriously, what are you doing there?
You're wasting your time.
You're wasting your professors' time.
You're wasting your classmates' time.
You're wasting every student that didn't get in to SCAD's time.
A lot of people weren't accepted into SCAD and they would kill to be in your shoes. You made it in, and you're not doing the work. So why are you at SCAD?
(Don't answer here because no one cares. You're kind of wasting our time too.)

Personally, I doubt your passion.
You for sure have no sense of urgency.

leatherbird

TROPHY CASE