Throb - Animated Tool

Throb is a Lua script for Aseprite designed to instantly generate frame-by-frame expansion, contraction, and pulsating effects for your pixel art.

Whether you are animating a glowing streetlamp in a dark alley (as in the preview, a little fan art from the awesome game “The Drifter"), a magical aura, creeping shadows, or a pulsating force field, Throb automates the tedious process of drawing growing and shrinking boundaries frame by frame. Just select your starting cel, set your parameters, and let the script do the heavy lifting!

 Key Features

• Customizable Growth & Shrink: Control exactly how many pixels (PX) the effect expands or contracts, and over how many Frames the animation should span.
• Multiple Animation Types: Don't just settle for uniform outlines. Throb includes unique spreading patterns to give organic life to your animations:
  • Uniform (Standard outline growth)
  • Directional (Top -> Bottom, Bottom -> Top, Left -> Right, Right -> Left)
  • Radial (In -> Out, Out -> In)
  • Diamond * Random (Perfect for noisy, organic effects like glitching or dissolving)
• Directional Control: Restrict the effect to only grow on the Horizontal or Vertical axis, giving you precise control over the shape of the expansion.
• In & Out Modes: Choose whether your pixels expand outward (Out), erode inward (In), or combine them to create a full pulsating "throb" loop.
• Non-Destructive Workflow: The script intelligently creates new frames and cels for the generated animation, leaving your original starting frame perfectly intact.

 How to Use

1. Select a specific cel containing the drawing or shape you want to animate.
2. Run the Throb script.
3. Dial in your distance (PX), frame count, and desired style.
4. Click Allons-y! and watch your new animation generate automatically.

 Perfect For:

• Dynamic lighting and glowing effects.
• Magical force fields, shields, and spell impacts.
• Organic movements like slime, creeping corruption, or liquid spreading.
• Disintegration or dissolving animations (using the 'In' mode + 'Random' type).

💬 Feedback & Support

I love seeing how you use Throb in your projects. If you have questions, ideas, or just want to share what you’ve made, feel free to leave a comment or reach out directly. It’s always great to see your work in action.

If you found this tool useful, taking a moment to leave a rating really helps. Thanks for the support ❤️