A Pixel-Art Candle Timer
This is an online candle timer designed to feel calm and a little nostalgic. The candle is drawn as chunky 8-bit pixels on a low-resolution canvas (just 56 × 84 logical pixels) and scaled up so every block stays crisp. Click Light Candle and the wax column starts shrinking, the wick gets shorter as the flame eats through it, and the small flame keeps flickering until it reaches the holder. A soft warm glow surrounds the candle and fades as it burns down.
How It Works
- Pick a duration - Tap a preset (1m, 5m, 10m, 15m, 25m, 30m, 1h) or type a custom value (
5,1:30,1:00:00). - Light it - Press Light Candle, or hit Space.
- Watch it burn - The wax column shrinks smoothly toward the holder. The flame flickers in real time using random pixel variation each frame.
- Reset whenever - The Reset button blows the candle out and restores a fresh wick.
- Fullscreen - The ⛶ button (or F) fills the whole screen with the candle for ambient/focus use.
What It's Good For
- Meditation sessions - A gentle visual focus point that obviously winds down over time
- Yoga - Silent timer for poses and held postures
- Study and focus blocks - Calmer than a ticking digital clock
- Sleep wind-down - A bedside candle without the open flame
- Breath work - Pair with a fixed breathing cadence and watch the wax shrink
- Ambient room display - Project fullscreen on a TV for a cozy event vibe
Why a Pixel Candle?
A pixel-art candle gives the same "burning down" cue as a real candle, without the lossy fuzziness of stock candle videos or the realism that competes for your attention. The chunky pixels are intentionally low-resolution: easy to glance at, hard to obsess over. The flame flickers with simple random variation - bright yellow inner, orange outer, occasional red tips - which is enough to feel alive without becoming a distraction. The wick gets visibly shorter as the candle burns, so even without reading the digital clock you can feel how much time is left.
Tips
- Fullscreen + dim room = the warm glow turns into actual ambient lighting
- Pair with a meditation timer - Use this candle as the visual focus and a separate meditation timer for chime intervals
- Short candles for sprints - 5 or 10 minutes for a Pomodoro-style burst
- Long candles for silence - 30 minutes or an hour for sustained study or yoga
