Halftone sculpture
A turning organic relief is translated into cobalt ink dots on uncoated paper.

Play or pause the material study.
Subframe Original · MIT
Add to your project
Component source
Standalone React component. Styles are included.
React only. No additional packages.
Render the default export inside a container with a defined height. Its optional active prop stops movement when false. This example works with React 19; Next.js projects can use it as a client component.
View source code
"use client"
/*
* Copyright (c) 2026 Subframe
*
* Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy
* of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal
* in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights
* to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell
* copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is
* furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:
* The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all
* copies or substantial portions of the Software.
* THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR
* IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY,
* FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE
* AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER
* LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM,
* OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE
* SOFTWARE.
*/
import { useEffect, useRef, useState } from "react"
const FRAGMENT = `
precision highp float;
uniform vec2 u_resolution;
uniform float u_time;
float heightAt(vec2 p) {
float a = atan(p.y, p.x) + u_time * .075;
float radius = .34 + .075 * cos(3.0 * a) + .025 * sin(5.0 * a);
return sqrt(max(0.0, radius * radius - dot(p,p)));
}
void main() {
vec2 p = (gl_FragCoord.xy - .5 * u_resolution) / min(u_resolution.x, u_resolution.y);
float wide = smoothstep(1.0, 1.6, u_resolution.x / u_resolution.y);
p -= vec2(mix(.025, .15, wide), mix(.105, .012, wide));
p *= mix(1.12, 1.0, wide);
float spacing = .015;
vec2 cell = floor(p / spacing) + .5;
vec2 center = cell * spacing;
float h = heightAt(center);
vec3 paper = vec3(.948,.938,.907);
float texture = fract(sin(dot(floor(gl_FragCoord.xy / 2.0), vec2(31.7,17.3))) * 771.73);
paper -= texture * .025;
vec3 color = paper;
if (h > .0) {
float e = .002;
vec3 normal = normalize(vec3(
(heightAt(center - vec2(e,0)) - heightAt(center + vec2(e,0))) / (2.0 * e),
(heightAt(center - vec2(0,e)) - heightAt(center + vec2(0,e))) / (2.0 * e), 1.0));
vec3 lamp = normalize(vec3(-.6 + .3 * sin(u_time * .22), .7, .9));
float shade = .16 + .84 * max(0.0, dot(normal,lamp));
float inkRadius = .47 * sqrt(1.0 - shade * .77);
float spot = length(fract(p / spacing) - .5);
float aa = 1.0 / (min(u_resolution.x,u_resolution.y) * spacing);
float ink = 1.0 - smoothstep(inkRadius - aa * .45, inkRadius + aa * .45, spot);
color = mix(paper, vec3(.06,.16,.73), ink);
}
gl_FragColor = vec4(color,1.0);
}
`
export default function HalftoneSculptureExample({ active = true }: { active?: boolean }) {
const canvasRef = useRef<HTMLCanvasElement>(null)
const runningRef = useRef(active)
const syncRef = useRef<() => void>(() => {})
const timeRef = useRef(3)
const contextLeaseRef = useRef(0)
const [paused, setPaused] = useState(false)
const [available, setAvailable] = useState(false)
const [reduced, setReduced] = useState(false)
runningRef.current = active && !paused
useEffect(() => {
const canvas = canvasRef.current
if (!canvas) return
const gl = canvas.getContext("webgl", { alpha: false, antialias: false, powerPreference: "low-power" })
if (!gl) return
const lease = ++contextLeaseRef.current
let disposed = false
let frame = 0
let last = 0
let lost = false
const preference = window.matchMedia("(prefers-reduced-motion: reduce)")
let reduce = preference.matches
setReduced(reduce)
const shaders: WebGLShader[] = []
const compile = (type: number, code: string) => {
const shader = gl.createShader(type)
if (!shader) return null
shaders.push(shader)
gl.shaderSource(shader, code)
gl.compileShader(shader)
return gl.getShaderParameter(shader, gl.COMPILE_STATUS) ? shader : null
}
const vertex = compile(
gl.VERTEX_SHADER,
"attribute vec2 a_position; void main(){gl_Position=vec4(a_position,0.0,1.0);}",
)
const fragment = compile(gl.FRAGMENT_SHADER, FRAGMENT)
const program = gl.createProgram()
const buffer = gl.createBuffer()
if (!vertex || !fragment || !program || !buffer) {
shaders.forEach((shader) => gl.deleteShader(shader))
gl.deleteProgram(program)
gl.deleteBuffer(buffer)
gl.getExtension("WEBGL_lose_context")?.loseContext()
return
}
gl.attachShader(program, vertex)
gl.attachShader(program, fragment)
gl.linkProgram(program)
if (!gl.getProgramParameter(program, gl.LINK_STATUS)) {
shaders.forEach((shader) => gl.deleteShader(shader))
gl.deleteProgram(program)
gl.deleteBuffer(buffer)
gl.getExtension("WEBGL_lose_context")?.loseContext()
return
}
gl.useProgram(program)
gl.bindBuffer(gl.ARRAY_BUFFER, buffer)
gl.bufferData(gl.ARRAY_BUFFER, new Float32Array([-1, -1, 1, -1, -1, 1, -1, 1, 1, -1, 1, 1]), gl.STATIC_DRAW)
const position = gl.getAttribLocation(program, "a_position")
gl.enableVertexAttribArray(position)
gl.vertexAttribPointer(position, 2, gl.FLOAT, false, 0, 0)
const resolution = gl.getUniformLocation(program, "u_resolution")
const time = gl.getUniformLocation(program, "u_time")
const draw = () => {
if (disposed || lost) return
gl.uniform2f(resolution, canvas.width, canvas.height)
gl.uniform1f(time, reduce ? 3 : timeRef.current)
gl.drawArrays(gl.TRIANGLES, 0, 6)
}
const tick = (now: number) => {
if (disposed || lost || reduce || !runningRef.current || document.hidden) {
frame = 0
last = 0
return
}
if (last) timeRef.current += Math.min((now - last) / 1000, 0.05)
last = now
draw()
frame = requestAnimationFrame(tick)
}
const sync = () => {
cancelAnimationFrame(frame)
frame = 0
last = 0
if (disposed || lost) return
draw()
if (runningRef.current && !reduce && !document.hidden) frame = requestAnimationFrame(tick)
}
const resize = () => {
const { width, height } = canvas.getBoundingClientRect()
if (!width || !height) return
// Size the drawing buffer from displayed pixels, including ancestor scale.
const ratio = Math.min(window.devicePixelRatio || 1, 2, Math.sqrt(3600000 / (width * height)))
const nextWidth = Math.max(1, Math.round(width * ratio))
const nextHeight = Math.max(1, Math.round(height * ratio))
if (canvas.width === nextWidth && canvas.height === nextHeight) return
canvas.width = nextWidth
canvas.height = nextHeight
gl.viewport(0, 0, canvas.width, canvas.height)
draw()
}
const updatePreference = () => {
reduce = preference.matches
setReduced(reduce)
sync()
}
const contextLost = (event: Event) => {
event.preventDefault()
lost = true
cancelAnimationFrame(frame)
setAvailable(false)
}
// Keep the static artwork after context loss. Remount to create fresh GPU resources.
canvas.addEventListener("webglcontextlost", contextLost)
preference.addEventListener("change", updatePreference)
document.addEventListener("visibilitychange", sync)
const observer = new ResizeObserver(resize)
// ResizeObserver alone cannot see a transform on the preview composition.
const transforms = new MutationObserver(resize)
for (let node: HTMLElement | null = canvas; node; node = node.parentElement) {
observer.observe(node)
transforms.observe(node, { attributes: true, attributeFilter: ["style", "class"] })
}
window.addEventListener("resize", resize)
syncRef.current = sync
resize()
setAvailable(true)
sync()
const releaseContext = () => {
if (contextLeaseRef.current === lease) gl.getExtension("WEBGL_lose_context")?.loseContext()
}
return () => {
disposed = true
cancelAnimationFrame(frame)
syncRef.current = () => {}
observer.disconnect()
transforms.disconnect()
window.removeEventListener("resize", resize)
canvas.removeEventListener("webglcontextlost", contextLost)
preference.removeEventListener("change", updatePreference)
document.removeEventListener("visibilitychange", sync)
gl.deleteBuffer(buffer)
gl.deleteProgram(program)
shaders.forEach((shader) => gl.deleteShader(shader))
// Defer context release so React Strict Mode can reacquire this canvas.
queueMicrotask(releaseContext)
}
}, [])
useEffect(() => {
syncRef.current()
}, [active, paused])
return (
<div
className="sg-halftone-sculpture"
style={{
position: "relative",
isolation: "isolate",
width: "100%",
height: "100%",
minHeight: 240,
overflow: "hidden",
containerType: "inline-size",
background: "#f0eee5",
color: "#183bcf",
}}
>
<div className="sg-halftone-sculpture-fallback" aria-hidden="true" />
<canvas
ref={canvasRef}
aria-hidden="true"
style={{ position: "absolute", inset: 0, width: "100%", height: "100%", opacity: available ? 1 : 0 }}
/>
<span className="sg-halftone-sculpture-top">SUBFRAME / FORM STUDIES</span>
<div className="sg-halftone-sculpture-title">
Soft
<br />
matter.
</div>
<span className="sg-halftone-sculpture-number">06</span>
<span className="sg-halftone-sculpture-bottom">INK. LIGHT. VOLUME.</span>
{available && !reduced && (
<button
className="sg-halftone-sculpture-pause"
type="button"
disabled={!active}
aria-label={paused ? "Play animation" : "Pause animation"}
onClick={() => setPaused((value) => !value)}
>
{paused ? "Play" : "Pause"}
</button>
)}
<style>{`
.sg-halftone-sculpture *{box-sizing:border-box}
.sg-halftone-sculpture-fallback{position:absolute;inset:0;background:radial-gradient(circle at 65% 48%,#183bcf 0 20%,transparent 20.5%)}
.sg-halftone-sculpture-pause{position:absolute;right:22px;bottom:18px;padding:7px 9px;border:1px solid currentColor;border-radius:0;font:10px/1 monospace;color:#183bcf;background:#f0eee5;cursor:pointer;min-width:44px;min-height:44px;opacity:.9}
.sg-halftone-sculpture-pause:focus-visible{outline:2px solid currentColor;outline-offset:3px}
.sg-halftone-sculpture-pause:disabled{opacity:.5;cursor:default}
.sg-halftone-sculpture-top{position:absolute;left:25px;top:24px;font:9px/1 monospace;letter-spacing:.1em}
.sg-halftone-sculpture-title{position:absolute;left:24px;bottom:63px;font:900 clamp(43px,10cqw,64px)/.85 Arial,sans-serif;letter-spacing:-.08em}
.sg-halftone-sculpture-number{position:absolute;right:24px;top:19px;font:30px/1 Georgia,serif;letter-spacing:-.075em}
.sg-halftone-sculpture-bottom{position:absolute;left:25px;bottom:26px;font:9px/1 monospace;letter-spacing:.11em}
`}</style>
</div>
)
}
Where it works well
Art publications, exhibition identities, editorial portfolios, and print-led motion branding.
Reduced motion
Displays one stable, representative frame. Responds immediately when the system preference changes.
Things to know
Requires WebGL 1; a static CSS composition remains visible when WebGL is unavailable or lost. An analytic relief with moving light, not a full 3D mesh. Fine ink dots may alias when the canvas is downscaled.