Ambient · shoreline
Ocean Waves Clock
Rolling swell breaking towards a strip of sand, with gulls crossing overhead. A daylight scene, unlike most here.
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Press F for full screen. Motion pauses automatically if your system asks for reduced motion.
Why the sea
The Oldest Ambient Sound and Sight
Regular but Never Identical
Waves repeat without ever repeating exactly, which is the quality that makes them restful. Something too regular becomes a metronome; something too random keeps demanding attention.
Built from Overlapping Curves
Each band is an enormous rounded shape rotating very slowly. Where several overlap at different speeds, the crests appear to build and break without anything actually being simulated.
Where It Suits
A bright room, a waiting area, or a desk where a dark screen would reflect the window behind you.
On the Horizon
The gulls take half a minute or more to cross. They are the only fast-moving element, and there are only three.
Under the hood
How This Scene Is Built
The swell is built from very large rounded shapes turning at different speeds. Where they overlap, crests appear to form and break without any water actually being simulated, which keeps the whole thing to a few kilobytes.
The pause button stops the roll and the gulls. As with every scene here, the animation also stops by itself if your operating system is set to reduce motion.
Answers
Ocean Waves Background Questions
Is there sound?
No. Every background on this site is silent, so it can run in a shared room. The alarm and timer sounds are separate and only play when you set one.
Does it work on a phone?
Yes, though the scene is designed for a wide screen. On a narrow one you see less of the horizon.