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Project guide
TFT Eyes - Two Displays
What's better than one eyeball? Two! You can wire up two TFT displays for double the eyes. There's example code below for using two ST7789 displays or two GC9A01A displays.
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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:
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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:
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Wiring
For two displays, the VIN, GND, SCK, MOSI, DC and RST pins are shared. The only connections that differ are TCS. Here's the wiring using an EYESPI breakout:
- 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 1 TCS to board D11 (cyan wire)
- EYESPI 2 TCS to board D12 (purple wire)
- TFT display EYESPI connectors to EYESPI ports (ribbon cable)
Here's the wiring using a breadboard to directly interface with the displays:
- 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 1 TCS to board D11 (cyan wire)
- Display 2 TCS to board D12 (purple wire)
Example Code - Two ST7789
After installing the Monster Eyes library, you can use the example below for two ST7789 displays.
// Adafruit Monster Eyes -- two ST7789 displays
//
// 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
#define TFT_DC 9 // Shared by both panels
#define TFT_RST 10 // Shared; -1 if tied to the board's reset
#define TFT_CS 11 // Panel 0
#if defined(ARDUINO_ADAFRUIT_METRO_RP2350)
#define TFT1_CS 22 // Panel 1
#else
#define TFT1_CS 12 // Panel 1
#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, TFT1_CS);
Adafruit_Monster_Eyes eyes(&display);
#else
Adafruit_ST7789 panel0(&SPI, TFT_CS, TFT_DC, -1);
Adafruit_ST7789 panel1(&SPI, TFT1_CS, TFT_DC, -1);
Adafruit_Monster_Eyes eyes(&panel0, &panel1);
#endif
void setup() {
Serial.begin(115200);
// eyes.setVerbose(Serial); // debug
eyes.setSelfTest(true); // Panel 0 fills red, panel 1 blue
#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);
Adafruit_Monster_Eyes::resetPanels(TFT_RST);
panel0.init(TFT_W, TFT_H);
panel0.setRotation(2);
panel1.init(TFT_W, TFT_H);
panel1.setRotation(2);
panel0.setSPISpeed(40000000);
panel1.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 -- two GC9A01A displays
//
// 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
#define TFT_DC 9 // Shared by both panels
#define TFT_RST 10 // Shared; -1 if tied to the board's reset
#define TFT_CS 11 // Panel 0
#if defined(ARDUINO_ADAFRUIT_METRO_RP2350)
#define TFT1_CS 22 // Panel 1
#else
#define TFT1_CS 12 // Panel 1
#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, TFT1_CS);
Adafruit_Monster_Eyes eyes(&display);
#else
Adafruit_GC9A01A panel0(&SPI, TFT_DC, TFT_CS, -1);
Adafruit_GC9A01A panel1(&SPI, TFT_DC, TFT1_CS, -1);
Adafruit_Monster_Eyes eyes(&panel0, &panel1);
#endif
void setup() {
Serial.begin(115200);
// eyes.setVerbose(Serial); // debug
eyes.setSelfTest(true); // Panel 0 fills red, panel 1 blue
#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);
Adafruit_Monster_Eyes::resetPanels(TFT_RST);
panel0.begin();
panel1.begin();
panel0.setSPISpeed(40000000);
panel1.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
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