Stop Motion - WeakAuras

WeakAuras_StopMotion is an addon that extends WeakAuras with support for stop motion animations - sequences of frames that play like a flipbook to create animated effects.

Overview

The Stop Motion addon adds:

New Region Type

Stop Motion region for frame-based animations

Pre-Made Animations

Ships with dozens of animations ready to use

Custom Animations

Support for your own custom frame sequences

Animation Controls

Playback speed, direction, and looping options

Installation

Download

Get the Addon

Download from:

Extract to AddOns

Place WeakAuras_StopMotion folder in:

World of Warcraft\_classic_\Interface\AddOns\WeakAuras_StopMotion

Enable in Game

Character Select -> AddOns -> Enable WeakAuras_StopMotion

Verify Installation

/wa -> New -> Display Type -> Stop Motion should be available

WeakAuras must be installed for Stop Motion to work. It’s an extension, not a standalone addon.

Creating Stop Motion Auras

Basic Setup

Create New Aura

/wa -> New -> From Scratch

Choose Stop Motion

Display Type: Stop Motion

Select Animation

Display tab -> Model -> Choose from dropdown:

Arrows
Glows
Runes
Swirls
And many more…

Configure Playback

Adjust animation settings:

Frame count
Animation speed
Loop behavior

Display Settings

Animation Selection

Choose the stop motion animation:Built-in Categories:

Arrows: Directional indicators
Circles: Radial effects
Glows: Pulsing glow effects
Runes: Magical runes and sigils
Sparkles: Particle effects
Swirls: Spiral animations
Textures: Miscellaneous effects

Each animation has a preview image to help you choose.

Playback Options

Control how the animation plays:

Animation Speed: Frames per second (1-60)
Start Frame: Which frame to begin at
End Frame: Which frame to end at (for partial animations)
Loop: Repeat the animation indefinitely
Ping Pong: Play forward then backward
Reverse: Play the animation backwards

Size & Position

Like other WeakAuras regions:

Width/Height: Animation size
X/Y Offset: Position on screen
Anchor: Attachment point
Frame Strata: Rendering layer

Color & Alpha

Customize appearance:

Color: Tint the animation
Alpha: Transparency (0-1)
Blend Mode: How it blends with background
- Normal
- Add (brighter, good for glows)
- Mod (multiply)

Common Use Cases

Proc Alert Animation

Show a flashy animation when a proc occurs:

Display Type: Stop Motion
Animation: Runes/RuneGlow (or any eye-catching animation)

Trigger:
  Type: Aura
  Spell: Your Proc Buff
  Unit: player

Display Settings:
  Animation Speed: 30 FPS
  Loop: Yes
  Blend Mode: Add (for extra brightness)
  Color: Class color or proc-specific color

Cooldown Available Indicator

Pulse animation when ability is ready:

Display Type: Stop Motion  
Animation: Glows/PulseGlow

Trigger:
  Type: Spell Cooldown
  Spell: Your Ability
  Cooldown Ready: Yes

Display Settings:
  Animation Speed: 20 FPS
  Loop: Yes
  Ping Pong: Yes (smooth pulsing)

Directional Indicator

Point to a location or direction:

Display Type: Stop Motion
Animation: Arrows/AnimatedArrow

Trigger:
  Custom trigger based on positioning logic

Display Settings:
  Rotation: Calculated based on direction
  Animation Speed: 15 FPS
  Loop: Yes

Buff Duration with Animation

Combine with icon for animated buff tracking:

Group: Buff Tracker
  Child 1: Icon (buff icon)
  Child 2: Stop Motion (glow around icon)
  
Both children:
  Same trigger (buff active)
  Positioned to overlap
  
Stop Motion settings:
  Animation: Glows/CircleGlow
  Slightly larger than icon
  Blend Mode: Add

Advanced Techniques

Animation Sequencing

Chain multiple animations:

First Animation: Plays on trigger show
- Animation: Initial effect
- On Finish: Sets flag in aura_env
Second Animation: Triggers when first finishes
- Trigger: Custom, checks aura_env flag
- Animation: Follow-up effect

-- First animation On Finish action:
aura_env.phase2 = true
WeakAuras.ScanEvents("ANIMATION_PHASE_2")

-- Second animation trigger:
function()
  return aura_env.phase2
end

Dynamic Animation Speed

Change speed based on conditions:

-- In Display tab, Custom Code
function()
  local health = UnitHealth("player") / UnitHealthMax("player")
  
  -- Faster animation at low health
  if health < 0.35 then
    return 60 -- FPS
  elseif health < 0.50 then
    return 40
  else
    return 20
  end
end

Color-Coded Animations

Change color based on state:

-- Custom color function
function()
  local stacks = aura_env.state.stacks or 0
  
  if stacks >= 5 then
    return {0, 1, 0, 1} -- Green
  elseif stacks >= 3 then
    return {1, 1, 0, 1} -- Yellow
  else
    return {1, 0, 0, 1} -- Red
  end
end

Rotation Animation

Rotate the animation over time:

-- In On Update (use sparingly!)
local elapsed = aura_env.elapsed or 0
elapsed = elapsed + 0.016 -- ~60 FPS

local rotation = (elapsed * 90) % 360 -- 90 degrees per second
region:SetRotation(math.rad(rotation))

aura_env.elapsed = elapsed

Custom Animations

Create your own stop motion animations:

Preparing Frames

Create Frame Sequence

Design individual frames:

Same dimensions (e.g., 256x256)
Transparent background (PNG with alpha)
Sequential numbering: frame001.png, frame002.png, etc.

Optimize Images

Keep file sizes small
Use power-of-2 dimensions (256, 512, 1024)
Compress without losing transparency

Convert to TGA

WoW requires TGA or BLP format:

Convert PNGs to TGA
Maintain alpha channel
Save as 32-bit TGA

Adding to Addon

Create Animation Folder:

WeakAuras_StopMotion/Animations/MyAnimation/

Add Frame Files:

WeakAuras_StopMotion/Animations/MyAnimation/
  frame001.tga
  frame002.tga
  frame003.tga
  ...

Register Animation: Edit WeakAuras_StopMotion/Animations.lua:

animations["MyAnimation"] = {
  ["name"] = "My Custom Animation",
  ["path"] = "Interface\\AddOns\\WeakAuras_StopMotion\\Animations\\MyAnimation\\",
  ["frameCount"] = 30, -- Total number of frames
  ["frameRate"] = 24,  -- Suggested playback rate
  ["width"] = 256,
  ["height"] = 256
}

Reload UI: /reload to see your animation in the dropdown

Frame Naming Convention

The addon expects specific naming:

frame001.tga, frame002.tga, ..., frame010.tga, frame011.tga, ...

Always use 3-digit numbers with leading zeros.

Performance Considerations

Limit Active Animations

Each stop motion aura updates textures frequently. Limit to 5-10 simultaneous animations.

Lower Frame Rates

30 FPS is usually smooth enough. 60 FPS doubles the update frequency.

Use Load Conditions

Only load stop motion auras when needed (in combat, in instances, etc.)

Smaller Sizes

Larger animations (512x512+) are more expensive than smaller ones (256x256).

Stop motion animations are more performance-intensive than static textures or icons. Use them strategically for important alerts.

Troubleshooting

Stop Motion Not in Display Types

Cause: Addon not installed or not enabledSolution:

Check AddOns folder for WeakAuras_StopMotion
Enable at character select screen
/reload and check again

Animation Not Playing

Possible Causes:

Trigger not active
Animation speed set to 0
End frame = Start frame

Solution:

Test trigger condition
Set animation speed > 0
Check frame range settings

Animation Looks Wrong

Issues:

Stretched or squashed
Wrong colors
Choppy playback

Solution:

Adjust width/height to match animation ratio
Check color/alpha settings
Increase frame rate

Custom Animation Not Showing

Checklist:

Examples

Pre-made examples included with the addon:

Rune Glow (Proc Alert)

Animation: Runes/RuneGlow
Speed: 30 FPS
Loop: Yes
Blend: Add
Use: Proc alerts, important buffs

Pulse Glow (Cooldown Ready)

Animation: Glows/PulseGlow  
Speed: 20 FPS
Ping Pong: Yes
Use: Cooldown indicators, attention-grabbing

Arrow Indicator (Direction)

Animation: Arrows/AnimatedArrow
Speed: 15 FPS
Rotation: Dynamic
Use: Directional cues, movement indicators

Resources

Download

Get the addon

GitHub

Source code

Animation Packs

Browse community animations

Next Steps

Creating Auras

Learn aura basics

SharedMedia

More textures and fonts

WeakAuras Companion

Manage your auras

Creating Auras

Advanced

Extensions

​Overview

New Region Type

Pre-Made Animations

Custom Animations

Animation Controls

​Installation

​Download

​Creating Stop Motion Auras

​Basic Setup

​Display Settings

​Common Use Cases

​Proc Alert Animation

​Cooldown Available Indicator

​Directional Indicator

​Buff Duration with Animation

​Advanced Techniques

​Animation Sequencing

​Dynamic Animation Speed

​Color-Coded Animations

​Rotation Animation

​Custom Animations

​Preparing Frames

​Adding to Addon

​Frame Naming Convention

​Performance Considerations

Limit Active Animations

Lower Frame Rates

Use Load Conditions

Smaller Sizes

​Troubleshooting

​Examples

​Rune Glow (Proc Alert)

​Pulse Glow (Cooldown Ready)

​Arrow Indicator (Direction)

​Resources

Download

GitHub

Animation Packs

​Next Steps

Creating Auras

SharedMedia

WeakAuras Companion

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Overview

Installation

Download

Creating Stop Motion Auras

Basic Setup

Display Settings

Common Use Cases

Proc Alert Animation

Cooldown Available Indicator

Directional Indicator

Buff Duration with Animation

Advanced Techniques

Animation Sequencing

Dynamic Animation Speed

Color-Coded Animations

Rotation Animation

Custom Animations

Preparing Frames

Adding to Addon

Frame Naming Convention

Performance Considerations

Troubleshooting

Examples

Rune Glow (Proc Alert)

Pulse Glow (Cooldown Ready)

Arrow Indicator (Direction)

Resources

Next Steps