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A hypnotic ASCII kaleidoscope with mirrored symmetry, rotating patterns, palettes, and live controls.

 _  __     _      _     _                                
| |/ /__ _| | ___(_) __| | ___  ___  ___ ___  _ __   ___ 
| ' // _` | |/ _ \ |/ _` |/ _ \/ __|/ __/ _ \| '_ \ / _ \
| . \ (_| | |  __/ | (_| | (_) \__ \ (_| (_) | |_) |  __/
|_|\_\__,_|_|\___|_|\__,_|\___/|___/\___\___/| .__/ \___|
                                             |_|

ASCII Kaleidoscope

ASCII Kaleidoscope is an interactive ASCII animation that turns plain text into endlessly shifting mirrored patterns. Watch fragments fold into symmetrical shapes as the scene rotates, refracts, and blooms into new formations with every movement. It’s a relaxing, nerdy little demo that makes your browser feel like a living retro kaleidoscope made of characters.

ASCII Kaleidoscope

Renderer

Symmetry

Pattern

Palette

Characters

FPS 30

Rotation 3

Zoom 5

Complexity 5

Speed 5

Instruction

Buttons

Button	Description
Play/Pause	Start/stop the animation
Reset	Restore all settings to default
Randomize	Generate random settings

Effects

Effect	Description
Pulse	Pattern pulses in and out
Color Cycle	Colors rotate continuously
Morph	Blends in a secondary pattern
Trails	Afterglow for smoother motion
Glitch	Random horizontal distortions
Invert	Inverts light/dark values

Settings

Setting	Description
Renderer	DOM, Canvas or WebGL (fastest)
Symmetry	Number of reflections (3–12)
Pattern	Waves, Shapes, Noise, Spiral, Cells, Rings
Palette	Color theme (Rainbow, Jewel, Neon, Fire, Ice, etc.)
Characters	Character set (Classic ASCII, Blocks, Dots, etc.)

Sliders

Slider	Description
FPS	Frame rate (5–60)
Rotation	Rotation speed
Zoom	Pattern scale
Complexity	Detail level
Speed	Animation speed

Acknowledgments and credits

ASCII Kaleidoscope is an original animation created, designed, and programmed by Joacim Wejdin, and developed under the Injosoft brand. You are welcome to use and share the animation as it is, but all rights to the name, source code, design, and implementation are reserved by Injosoft. The code, or any substantial part of it, may not be copied, modified, or reused in other projects without prior written permission. When sharing the animation, a mention or link to ASCII Kaleidoscope on asciiart.eu is greatly appreciated.

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