Shimmering

 It's one of those magical evenings where the light is shimmering on the snow. I asked

Copilot for python code with this shimmer effect. One can adjust the parameters and run it 

on top of an image:

                                                                               

The code:

import matplotlib

matplotlib.use("TkAgg")   # Force a reliable backend for animations

import numpy as np

import matplotlib.pyplot as plt

from matplotlib.animation import FuncAnimation

# ----------------------------

# Parameters

# ----------------------------

WIDTH, HEIGHT = 10, 6

N_CRYSTALS = 350

MIN_SIZE, MAX_SIZE = 80, 200   # size in points^2 (large enough to see)

FRAME_INTERVAL = 50

MAX_ALPHA = 0.45

FADE_SPEED = 0.15

ON_PROB = 0.05

OFF_PROB = 0.08

# ----------------------------

# Figure setup

# ----------------------------

fig, ax = plt.subplots(figsize=(WIDTH, HEIGHT))

ax.set_facecolor("white")

ax.set_xlim(0, WIDTH)

ax.set_ylim(0, HEIGHT)

ax.set_xticks([])

ax.set_yticks([])

ax.set_aspect("equal")

# ----------------------------

# Crystal properties

# ----------------------------

x = np.random.uniform(0, WIDTH, N_CRYSTALS)

y = np.random.uniform(0, HEIGHT, N_CRYSTALS)

sizes = np.random.uniform(MIN_SIZE, MAX_SIZE, N_CRYSTALS)

base_colors = np.array([

    [0.7, 0.85, 1.0],

    [0.8, 0.95, 1.0],

    [0.9, 0.9, 1.0],

    [0.9, 0.8, 1.0],

    [0.85, 0.9, 1.0],

    [0.8, 0.9, 0.95],

])

rgb = base_colors[np.random.randint(0, len(base_colors), N_CRYSTALS)]

# Start fully visible so you SEE something immediately

alpha = np.ones(N_CRYSTALS) * 0.35

is_on = np.ones(N_CRYSTALS, dtype=bool)

colors_rgba = np.concatenate([rgb, alpha[:, None]], axis=1)

scat = ax.scatter(

    x, y,

    s=sizes,

    facecolors=colors_rgba,

    edgecolors="none"

)

# ----------------------------

# Animation update

# ----------------------------

def update(frame):

    global is_on, alpha, colors_rgba

    turn_on = (~is_on) & (np.random.rand(N_CRYSTALS) < ON_PROB)

    turn_off = is_on & (np.random.rand(N_CRYSTALS) < OFF_PROB)

    is_on = (is_on & ~turn_off) | turn_on

    target_alpha = np.where(is_on, MAX_ALPHA, 0.0)

    alpha += (target_alpha - alpha) * FADE_SPEED

    alpha = np.clip(alpha, 0, MAX_ALPHA)

    colors_rgba[:, 3] = alpha

    scat.set_facecolors(colors_rgba)

    return scat,

# ----------------------------

# Run animation

# ----------------------------

ani = FuncAnimation(

    fig,

    update,

    interval=FRAME_INTERVAL,

    blit=True,

    cache_frame_data=False   # ← FIX for the warning

)

plt.show()

                                                                           *     *     *

🌟 What this version guarantees

- You will see crystals immediately  

- They will shimmer and fade  

- No blank window  

- No warnings  

- No backend issues  

This is the “it just works” version.

---

If you want, I can also:

- Add drifting snowflakes  

- Add parallax layers  

- Make the crystals rotate  

- Make it full‑screen  

- Port it to Pygame for buttery‑smooth animation  

Just tell me what direction you want to take it.

                                                                  *     *     *

What is pygame?

Pygame is a Python library for making graphics, animations, and games — but you don’t need to be making a “game” to use it. Think of it as a fast, simple way to draw things on the screen at high frame rates.

Here’s the essence of it:

🎮 What Pygame is

A Python toolkit for real‑time graphics

Lets you open a window and draw shapes, images, particles, text

Runs at 60+ frames per second, so animations look smooth

Great for:

screensavers

particle effects

interactive visualizations

ambient animations (like your shimmering snow)

🌟 Why people use Pygame instead of Matplotlib for animations

Matplotlib is designed for scientific plots, not fast animation.

It can animate, but it’s not optimized for it.

Pygame, on the other hand:

draws directly to the screen

handles thousands of moving objects easily

gives you full control over timing, colors, blending, transparency

feels more like a “canvas” than a plotting tool

For your shimmering ice‑crystal effect, Pygame would give you:

smoother motion

more natural flickering

the ability to add drifting snow, glow effects, blur, etc.

full‑screen mode if you want it to feel like a winter ambience display

                                                              

                                                                             

🧠 Should you use Pygame?

If you want:

a smooth, ambient, real‑time shimmering snow effect

something that looks like a screensaver

the ability to add drifting, glowing, sparkling particles

Then yes — Pygame is the right tool.

If you prefer:

simple, scientific animations

staying inside Matplotlib

not installing extra libraries

Then Matplotlib is fine.

If you want, I can rewrite your shimmering‑snow effect in Pygame so it looks silky smooth and more atmospheric.