Chart Animation

Generate dark-themed animated trend charts and static overview images from time-series JSON data with customizable titles and frame rates.

Version: 1.0.0

Generate animated trend charts from time-series data. Creates GIF/MP4 animations with dark theme styling and static overview images.

Usage

# Generate animation from data
chart-animation --data <path/to/data.json> --output <output-dir>

# With custom options
chart-animation --data data.json --output ./output --title "Temperature Trends" --fps 15

Data Format

Input JSON should have this structure:

{
  "metadata": {
    "generated_at": "2026-06-06",
    "source": "your data source"
  },
  "dates": ["2025-06-01", "2025-06-08", ...],
  "series": {
    "Series A": {
      "values": [12.5, 14.2, ...],
      "color": "#E74C3C"
    },
    "Series B": {
      "values": [15.0, 16.8, ...],
      "color": "#3498DB"
    }
  }
}

Output

• <output>/animation.gif - Animated chart (GIF format)
• <output>/animation.mp4 - High-quality video (if ffmpeg available)
• <output>/overview.png - Static multi-panel overview

Features

• Dark theme: Professional dark background for presentations
• Multi-series support: Up to 4 data series with distinct colors
• Responsive X-axis: Automatically formats date labels
• Overview chart: Grid layout showing each series separately
• Min/Max markers: Highlights extreme values in overview

Dependencies

• Python 3.8+
• matplotlib
• numpy
• pillow (for GIF)
• ffmpeg (optional, for MP4)

Install:

pip install matplotlib numpy pillow
# For MP4 support:
# macOS: brew install ffmpeg
# Ubuntu: sudo apt install ffmpeg

Example

# Create sample data
python3 -c "
import json
data = {
  'metadata': {'source': 'example'},
  'dates': ['2025-01', '2025-02', '2025-03', '2025-04'],
  'series': {
    'Revenue': {'values': [100, 120, 115, 140], 'color': '#27AE60'},
    'Cost': {'values': [80, 85, 90, 88], 'color': '#E74C3C'}
  }
}
print(json.dumps(data, indent=2))
" > data.json

# Generate animation
chart-animation --data data.json --output ./charts

Options

Option	Default	Description
--data	required	Path to input JSON
--output	./output	Output directory
--title	auto	Chart title (auto from metadata)
--fps	12	Animation frames per second
--width	14	Figure width in inches
--height	8	Figure height in inches

Notes

• For Chinese characters, ensure fonts like "PingFang SC" or "SimHei" are installed
• The skill auto-detects Y-axis range from data
• Overview charts use 2x2 grid for up to 4 series