A Web-Based Graphics Editor For Tiny Screens – Hackaday

These days, adding a little LCD or OLED to your project is so cheap and easy that you can do it on a whim. Even if your original idea didn’t call for a display, if you’ve got I2C and a couple bucks burning a hole in your pocket, why not add one? Surely you’ll figure out what to show on it as the project develops.But that’s where it can get a little tricky — in terms of hardware, adding a screen just takes running a few extra wires, but the software side is another story. Not only do you have to contend with the different display libraries, but just creating the image assets to display on the screen can be a hassle if it’s not something you do regularly. Enter Lopaka, a graphics and user interface editor for electronic projects created by [Mikhail Ilin].More after the break…Using this web-based tool is pretty simple, you simply load it up, pick the display type you’ve got, and then start using the visual tools to do things like draw shapes and add text. As you work, a window on the bottom will start filling with the source code that you’ll ultimately copy and paste into your project to re-create what you’re seeing.You can import your own images and have them converted to arrays of data, though there’s also a selection of icons that you can select from which might meet your needs. In fact, there’s even a gallery of editable screens and user interfaces that have been created with Lopka if you don’t want to start from scratch.In playing around with the tool, the only annoyance we really noticed was the fact that the source code window isn’t editable. That is, we occasionally tried to code to modify what we were seeing in the visual preview, but it doesn’t work that way. We were somewhat concerned when we saw that the tool also features a paid “Plus” mode, but in truth, the features and capabilities available in the free mode (and what gets unlocked when you cough up the $5.95 a month) seem more than fair.If Lopaka looks similar, it could be because it’s the evolution of a tool offered up specifically for the Flipper Zero that we covered back in 2022. [Mikhail] saw an opportunity to open the tool up to the wider maker and hardware hacker community by adding support for other display types and libraries, which we think was a brilliant move.Perfectly timed article!
Just about to start a prop replica project and I e of the tedious bits is the constant code>compile>upload>no-quite-right cycle of making displays. Sure, you can use a paint package but there’s always some farting around plugging in the exact coordinates for text, exporting the bitmaps, etc.I really like the 3rd example above. Bombardment?! Not near a sports bar right now.Now we need something that supports Circuit Python or Micro Python…Work in progress! Thank you.Esphome support?It’s coming soon.ESPHome using the LVGL library would be amazing! I’d seriously consider paying for that.The fact that 4/15 (27%!!) of the projects in that gallery image are named “New Project” is sublime.Yep, people just take it easy. Any ideas on improvement?Tinkercad generates a random new name when you start a project. Take a look at their approach?
(and what gets unlocked when you cough up the $5.95 a month) seem more than fair.
I dont think so. 2$ should be the max.Maybe you can haggle with Mikhail? Seriously… write your own if a sawbuck is too steep an outlay for your wallet. You apparently think his time, research, and effort is worth nothing. Try coding your own before you spout nonsense.He’s is clearly doing gods work.The world really really needed a version of paint that runs on slab browsers and is written in JS!I suggest he incorporate some MySQL to complete the FOSS shit show…Maybe via WordPress…
Perhaps make the whole steaming pile depend on a specific version of python (that breaks everything else).Don’t forget TempleOS compatibility!This is so much better than the python ncurses hack I was putting together to help me do the UX and design work for the TFT display on my project. Awesome work!This is a dream come true for someone like me who is horrible at writing code. Very fairly priced as well. Hope it supports CYD, Cardputer and lilygo t-embed screens. Can’t wait to give it a whirl.Please be kind and respectful to help make the comments section excellent. (Comment Policy)This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
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Source: https://hackaday.com/2025/02/22/a-web-based-graphics-editor-for-tiny-screens/