Magnetic Image Trail

Overview

Magnetic Image Trail turns pointer movement into atmosphere: work previews follow the pointer.

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 main risk 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

Usage

Component Code

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 and studio pages where movement should preview work before the click.
• Project indexes where trailing imagery adds memory without replacing the actual list.
• Magnetic Image Trail 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 Magnetic Image Trail 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 Magnetic Image Trail cover focus rings or clickable controls.
• Forgetting to disable the effect on coarse pointers.
• Hiding useful content behind mouse-only movement.