Inertia Image

A weighted image-follow cursor effect where preview visuals trail the pointer with delayed motion.

Published On: June 4, 2026
Last Updated: August 17, 2026
Inertia Image

Overview

Inertia Image turns pointer movement into atmosphere: images follow movement with weight.

Use it on creative homepages, portfolios, campaign pages, and brand experiments where the cursor can carry the visual language. Keep it off dashboards, checkout, forms, and utility-heavy product screens.

The risk in production is restraint. Treat the cursor layer as throwaway: switch it off on touch, keep focus states visible, and let nothing about clicking depend on it. If the page falls apart once you remove the effect, the cursor was doing work it should not own.


Install Command

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Usage Code

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Component Code

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Example Production Use Case

Use this as cursor-system implementation guidance. Verify the shipped component export, pointer-tracking model, coarse-pointer disablement, z-index behavior, focus safety, cleanup, and reduced-motion handling before relying on exact props, defaults, imports, or installation steps.


Best Used For

  • Portfolio indexes where preview images can follow movement with physical weight.
  • Desktop browsing moments where the trail previews work without replacing project cards.
  • Inertia Image gives pointer movement a brand role without hiding core controls or content.

Not For

Not for dashboards, checkout, forms, dense product UIs, or any flow where precision beats atmosphere.


Performance Budget

Use one cursor layer, throttle movement with requestAnimationFrame, avoid full-screen filter effects, and disable Inertia Image on coarse pointers.


Accessibility and Mobile

Switch it off for coarse pointers and leave touch native; anything revealed by the cursor needs a visible or tap-accessible alternative.


Common Mistakes

  • Letting Inertia Image cover focus rings or clickable controls.
  • Forgetting to disable the effect on coarse pointers.
  • Hiding useful content behind mouse-only movement.

Changelog

v1.1.0

Jul 22, 2026
reduce-motion applied

Props

PropTypeDefaultDescription
strengthnumber1Pointer inertia velocity multiplier.
rotationnumber0Maximum image rotation while moving.
scalenumber1Hover scale applied to images.
durationnumber0.4Motion smoothing duration.

Frequently Asked Questions

When should I use Inertia Image?

Use it when a creative or portfolio page needs images following movement with weight not on utility flows.

Request a Custom Cursor Animation

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