v1.0.0 · macOS · free & open source

Turn anything
into a screensaver.

DotStudio is a tiny macOS studio that runs gradients, images and video through dither, ASCII, halftone, matrix, VHS and 30‑plus live effects — then installs the result as a real Mac screensaver. The picture above is rendering right now, in your browser.

Download v1.0.0 View source
macOS 14+ · Apple Silicon & Intel · No account · No telemetry
live · 60fps · canvas
NOW SHOWING ASCII source: gradient · rendered in real time
Feed it
Gradients Images Video your own art
get a screensaver
Exhibition I · live renders

Walk the wall.

Seven of the thirty-six effects, each resolving the same drifting gradient in real time — no video, no loops. Just the engine that powers the app, painting as you scroll.

live
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Exhibition II · the print room

Prints from the app.

Every frame below is a real export from DotStudio — one of the screensavers that come pre-installed. Drag a gradient, image or clip underneath and the same look paints over it.

Green Phosphor preset
Green Phosphordither · mono · scanlines
Matrix Rain preset
Matrix Rainmatrix · reveal source
Thermal Cam preset
Thermal Camnoise field · thermal
Neon Wire preset
Neon Wirenoise field · neon edges
Kaleidoscope preset
Kaleidoscopenoise field · 8 segments
Data Glitch preset
Data Glitchglitch · chroma · scanlines
ASCII preset
ASCIIcell 12 · source color
Halftone preset
Halftonecell 9 · screen angle
VHS preset
VHStracking · scanlines
Game Boy preset
Game Boy4-tone · ordered dither
Hex Grid preset
Hex Gridhex mosaic · posterize
Voronoi preset
Voronoidensity 30 · posterize
The lab · try it now

Develop your own.

This is the app's core loop, on the page. Pick a source, choose an effect, drag the dials — the panel re-renders live. When you like it, the real app saves it as a screensaver and pins it to your desktop.

ASCII
fx ascii · src aurora
Source
Effect
Dials
Make it a screensaver →
From canvas to lock screen

Three steps to a living desktop.

01

Feed it a source

Start from a built-in gradient, drop in any image, or point it at a video. The source is shared by every style, so one picture can wear a dozen looks.

02

Stack & tune effects

Add effects to a stack — they apply top to bottom. Dither into halftone into scanlines. Drag the dials, swap the palette, watch it move. Save it as a named screensaver.

03

Install it

One click copies a real .saver into your Screen Savers folder and opens Wallpaper settings. Pick “DotStudio” once — after that you switch screensavers right inside the app.

The full catalog

Thirty-six ways to look.

Every effect, grouped the way the app groups them. Stack as many as you like.

Dots & Dither

  • Dithering
  • Halftone
  • Dots
  • Pixelate
  • Blockify
  • Hex Mosaic
  • LED Panel
  • Truchet

Glyphs

  • ASCII
  • Matrix Rain

Generative

  • Noise Field
  • Voronoi

Lines & Edges

  • Contour
  • Edge Detection
  • Crosshatch
  • Wave Lines
  • Neon Edges

Glitch

  • VHS
  • Scanlines
  • Grain
  • Pixel Sort
  • Chromatic Shift
  • Glitch Blocks

Color

  • Threshold
  • Posterize
  • Phosphor
  • Vignette
  • Game Boy
  • Bloom
  • Thermal
  • Toon

Warp & Mirror

  • Kaleidoscope
  • Mirror
  • Fisheye
  • Swirl
  • Ripple
DotStudio icon

Get DotStudio

Download the latest build, drop it in Applications, and turn your desktop into a gallery that never repeats.

Download v1.0.0
Latest release · v1.0.0 · All releases

Unsigned for now: if macOS blocks the first launch, right-click DotStudio.app → Open. macOS 14+.