14
New
Intermediate
Project guide
TFT Eyes - One Display
It's classic, it's smol, it's Monster Eyes on a TFT LCD display! You have a few options when running Monster Eyes on a TFT. First off, which one? Support is currently available for displays using the following controller chips:
- ST7789
- GC9A01A (round display)
There is example code below for each of these displays.
'Round these parts we enjoy unusually-shaped displays. And this one certainly fits the description - it's a...
$17.50 each
In Stock
We've been looking for a display like this for a long time - it's so small only 1.3" diagonal...
$16.95 each
In Stock
EYESPI
The simplest option for connecting to a TFT is to use the EYESPI connector. A few breakouts are available that interface directly with boards so you only need to use a ribbon cable to connect your display to your hardware:
Connect this to that when a 18-pin FPC connector is needed. This 25 cm long cable is made of a flexible PCB. It's...
$0.95 each
In Stock
Our QT Py boards are a great way to make very small microcontroller projects that pack a ton of power - and now we have a...
$3.95 each
In Stock
The Adafruit Proto Tripler PiCowBell is intended to be treated like a mini solder-less proto...
$9.95 each
In Stock
You can also use the EYESPI breakout to connect the display with the ribbon cable and wire the breakout to a board, either by soldering or with a breadboard:
Our most recent display breakouts have come with a new...
$1.95 each
In Stock
Wiring
These Fritzing diagrams show you how to wire up an EYESPI breakout with either a Feather or Metro form factor board. The pins used are compatible with the default pinout in the Monster Eyes code.
- EYESPI Vin to board 3.3V (red wire)
- EYESPI GND to board GND (black wire)
- EYESPI SCK to board SCK (blue wire)
- EYESPI MOSI to board MOSI (yellow wire)
- EYESPI DC to board D9 (green wire)
- EYESPI RST to board D10 (orange wire)
- EYESPI TCS to board D11 (cyan wire)
- TFT display EYESPI to EYESPI port (ribbon cable)
You can also wire up a display directly to a board using a breadboard:
- Display Vin to board 3.3V (red wire)
- Display GND to board GND (black wire)
- Display SCK to board SCK (blue wire)
- Display MOSI to board MOSI (yellow wire)
- Display DC to board D9 (green wire)
- Display RST to board D10 (orange wire)
- Display TCS to board D11 (cyan wire)
Example Code - ST7789
After installing the Monster Eyes library, you can use the example below for a single ST7789 display.
// Adafruit Monster Eyes -- one eye on ST7789
//
// Eye appearance comes from config.eye and BMP files on the CIRCUITPY drive.
#include <Adafruit_Monster_Eyes.h>
#if !defined(ARDUINO_ARCH_ESP32)
#include <Adafruit_ST7789.h>
#endif
#define TFT_SCK SCK
#define TFT_MOSI MOSI
#if defined(ARDUINO_ADAFRUIT_QTPY_RP2040) // EYESPI BFF
#define TFT_CS PIN_SERIAL2_TX // GPIO 20, the pad marked TX
#define TFT_DC PIN_SERIAL2_RX // GPIO 5, the pad marked RX
#define TFT_RST -1 // Not wired on the BFF
#elif defined(ARDUINO_ADAFRUIT_QTPY_ESP32S2) // EYESPI BFF
#define TFT_CS TX // GPIO 5, the pad marked TX
#define TFT_DC RX // GPIO 16, the pad marked RX
#define TFT_RST -1 // Not wired on the BFF
#else // Feather and Metro wiring
#define TFT_CS 11
#define TFT_DC 9
#define TFT_RST 10 // -1 if the panel's reset is tied to the board's
#endif
#define TFT_W 240
#define TFT_H 240 // 320 for a 240x320 ST7789
#if defined(ARDUINO_ARCH_ESP32)
// esp_lcd drives the controller directly, so there is no panel object.
Eyes_ESPLCD display(EYES_ESPLCD_ST7789, TFT_W, TFT_H, TFT_SCK, TFT_MOSI, TFT_CS,
TFT_DC, TFT_RST);
Adafruit_Monster_Eyes eyes(&display);
#else
Adafruit_ST7789 panel0(&SPI, TFT_CS, TFT_DC, -1);
Adafruit_Monster_Eyes eyes(&panel0);
#endif
void setup() {
Serial.begin(115200);
// eyes.setVerbose(Serial); // debug
#if defined(ARDUINO_ARCH_ESP32)
display.setSPISpeed(40000000);
display.setOrientation(true /* invert */);
#else
SPI.setSCK(TFT_SCK);
SPI.setTX(TFT_MOSI);
SPI.begin();
eyes.setFastSPI(TFT_SCK); // Batched SPI + DMA
Adafruit_Monster_Eyes::resetPanels(TFT_RST);
panel0.init(TFT_W, TFT_H);
panel0.setRotation(2);
panel0.setSPISpeed(40000000);
#endif
if (!eyes.begin()) {
Serial.print("Monster Eyes failed: ");
Serial.println(eyes.errorString());
while (1)
delay(1000);
}
}
void loop() {
eyes.animate();
static uint32_t last = 0;
if (millis() - last >= 1000) {
last = millis();
Serial.printf("%.0f fps\n", eyes.frameRate());
}
}
// Adafruit Monster Eyes -- one eye on GC9A01A
//
// Eye appearance comes from config.eye and BMP files on the CIRCUITPY drive.
#include <Adafruit_Monster_Eyes.h>
#if !defined(ARDUINO_ARCH_ESP32)
#include <Adafruit_GC9A01A.h>
#endif
#define TFT_SCK SCK
#define TFT_MOSI MOSI
#if defined(ARDUINO_ADAFRUIT_QTPY_RP2040) // EYESPI BFF
#define TFT_CS PIN_SERIAL2_TX // GPIO 20, the pad marked TX
#define TFT_DC PIN_SERIAL2_RX // GPIO 5, the pad marked RX
#define TFT_RST -1 // Not wired on the BFF
#elif defined(ARDUINO_ADAFRUIT_QTPY_ESP32S2) // EYESPI BFF
#define TFT_CS TX // GPIO 5, the pad marked TX
#define TFT_DC RX // GPIO 16, the pad marked RX
#define TFT_RST -1 // Not wired on the BFF
#else // Feather and Metro wiring
#define TFT_CS 11
#define TFT_DC 9
#define TFT_RST 10 // -1 if the panel's reset is tied to the board's
#endif
#define TFT_W 240
#define TFT_H 240 // 320 for a 240x320 ST7789
#if defined(ARDUINO_ARCH_ESP32)
// esp_lcd drives the controller directly, so there is no panel object.
Eyes_ESPLCD display(EYES_ESPLCD_GC9A01A, TFT_W, TFT_H, TFT_SCK, TFT_MOSI,
TFT_CS, TFT_DC, TFT_RST);
Adafruit_Monster_Eyes eyes(&display);
#else
Adafruit_GC9A01A panel0(&SPI, TFT_DC, TFT_CS, -1);
Adafruit_Monster_Eyes eyes(&panel0);
#endif
void setup() {
Serial.begin(115200);
// eyes.setVerbose(Serial); // debug
#if defined(ARDUINO_ARCH_ESP32)
display.setSPISpeed(40000000);
display.setOrientation(true /* invert */);
#else
SPI.setSCK(TFT_SCK);
SPI.setTX(TFT_MOSI);
SPI.begin();
eyes.setFastSPI(TFT_SCK); // Batched SPI + DMA
Adafruit_Monster_Eyes::resetPanels(TFT_RST);
panel0.begin();
panel0.setSPISpeed(40000000);
#endif
if (!eyes.begin()) {
Serial.print("Monster Eyes failed: ");
Serial.println(eyes.errorString());
while (1)
delay(1000);
}
}
void loop() {
eyes.animate();
static uint32_t last = 0;
if (millis() - last >= 1000) {
last = millis();
Serial.printf("%.0f fps\n", eyes.frameRate());
}
}
Page last edited September 25, 2026
Text editor powered by tinymce.
