DX 3D Portfolio
Interactive 3D portfolio with React Three Fiber scenes, GSAP scroll animations, and custom cursor effects.
The DX portfolio pushes into full 3D territory — project showcases exist within Three.js scenes that respond to scroll position and cursor movement. Built with React Three Fiber for declarative 3D rendering inside React, GSAP ScrollTrigger for synchronising 3D camera movements with page scroll, and custom cursor effects that interact with the 3D geometry. The result is a portfolio that feels like navigating a 3D space rather than scrolling a page.
Next.js + React Three Fiber + GSAP
3D Interactive Portfolio Experience.
A Next.js application combining React Three Fiber for 3D rendering, Three.js for geometry and materials, and GSAP for scroll-synchronised camera animations and cursor-driven interactions.
Project Overview
Blending 3D scenes with scroll-driven storytelling.
The DX portfolio treats the browser as a 3D viewport. Each section of the page corresponds to a different camera position within a Three.js scene — as the user scrolls, GSAP ScrollTrigger interpolates camera position, rotation, and focal length to reveal different project showcases from different angles. Custom cursor effects add another layer of interactivity: hovering over 3D objects triggers material changes, geometry deformations, and particle effects. React Three Fiber made this possible within a standard React component architecture, keeping the 3D logic composable and maintainable rather than monolithic WebGL code.
Technical Architecture
React Three Fiber as a composable 3D rendering layer.
React Three Fiber bridges the gap between React's declarative component model and Three.js's lower-level WebGL API. Rather than writing imperative WebGL code, you compose 3D scenes using JSX — meshes, cameras, lights, and geometries become first-class React components. This approach makes 3D code maintainable and reusable. The DX portfolio leverages this to build scene components for each project, each with its own material animations, lighting setup, and interactive handlers. GSAP ScrollTrigger watches scroll position and animates camera state through these scenes, creating the illusion of navigating a unified 3D space while scrolling normally.
Performance optimization is critical when combining scroll animations with 3D rendering. The portfolio uses React's Suspense for lazy-loading 3D assets, implements requestAnimationFrame throttling to keep the frame rate smooth, and bakes static lighting into textures to reduce per-frame computation. Materials use optimized shaders and limited texture resolution. The result is a 60fps experience on modern devices, even with complex geometry and real-time camera interpolation. For users on older hardware, graceful degradation falls back to a static 2D layout, ensuring everyone gets a usable portfolio experience.
Scroll-Triggered Camera Animation
Choreographing 3D space with scroll position.
The core mechanic of the DX portfolio is mapping scroll position to camera state. GSAP's ScrollTrigger plugin observes scroll events and feeds the normalized scroll value (0–1) into camera position, rotation, and field-of-view easing functions. As you scroll from the top to the bottom of the page, the virtual camera orbits the 3D scene, revealing different project angles and lighting conditions. This creates a cinematic "flythrough" effect that makes the portfolio feel like an interactive experience rather than a static page. Each project section has its own camera keyframe, so reaching that section on the page snaps the camera into position to showcase that work.
Custom Cursor and Hover Interactions
Interactive 3D geometry responding to mouse movement.
A custom cursor system tracks mouse position relative to 3D objects in the scene, enabling rich hover interactions. When you move the cursor over a project's 3D representation, the geometry responds — rotating, scaling, or morphing to follow your pointer. Materials shift color and reflectivity, creating the sense that you're directly manipulating the 3D objects. This interactivity is built with Three.js's raycasting system, which detects which objects the cursor is pointing at in 3D space, combined with React state updates that smoothly animate properties using Framer Motion or GSAP.
The cursor itself is a custom-rendered element that tracks mouse position and changes appearance based on what it's hovering over — becoming larger when over interactive elements, changing color to match the hovered project's theme, and trailing smoothly behind the actual mouse position for a polished feel. This custom cursor isn't a gimmick; it communicates interactivity clearly and reinforces the immersive 3D environment. The implementation uses Pointer events for broad device support, including touch input on tablets, where the cursor becomes a touch indicator circle that shows where you're pressing.
SEO and Performance for Creative Portfolios
Keeping portfolio sites searchable and fast despite 3D complexity.
Creative 3D websites have a reputation for being slow and hard to index. The DX portfolio solves both problems through careful architecture. Server-side rendering with Next.js pre-renders the initial HTML so search engines see your project titles, descriptions, and metadata before JavaScript loads. Open Graph meta tags enable rich preview cards when the portfolio is shared on social media. The React components are code-split by route, so only the JavaScript needed for the current viewport loads initially — 3D scene code lazy-loads as the user scrolls. This keeps the initial page load under 3 seconds on 4G, meeting Core Web Vitals thresholds that influence Google rankings.
Building Competitive Portfolio Projects on the Gold Coast
Standing out in a crowded design portfolio landscape.
Creating a standout portfolio is increasingly difficult as more designers explore animation and 3D. The DX portfolio differentiates itself through the combination of multiple advanced techniques executed with discipline. Rather than adding animation for animation's sake, each interaction serves a purpose — the scroll-driven camera reveals different facets of projects, the cursor interactions encourage exploration, the page transitions signal intentional navigation rather than loading delays. This restraint and purpose is what separates polished work from demos that feel technically impressive but ultimately shallow. Each animation has been carefully tested to ensure it enhances the user experience rather than detracting from it. Transitions that feel snappy on desktop are tuned for slower mobile devices. Micro-interactions provide feedback without creating fatigue.
For full-stack designers and developers on the Gold Coast building portfolios, the lesson is clear: technical capability alone isn't enough. Projects need to demonstrate not just technical skills but design sensibility, performance discipline, and user experience thinking. A 3D portfolio that loads slowly or lags on mobile doesn't impress employers or clients — it demonstrates lack of professional rigor. Conversely, a portfolio that combines advanced techniques with performance optimization and thoughtful user experience tells a complete story about the maker's approach to work. This holistic approach to portfolio design is what separates junior developers exploring new technologies from senior engineers who understand that technical sophistication is only valuable when it serves user outcomes. In competitive Gold Coast creative markets, this distinction between competent and exceptional is what commands premium rates and attracts the best projects.