--- name: masked-reveal description: "Use when implementing, optimizing, and timing 60fps/120fps masked reveal animations, transitions, gesture physics, and reduced-motion fallbacks." version: 6.0.0 last-updated: 2026-09-29 skills: - 60fps-animation - framer-motion-expert - motion-engineering - review-animations - accessible-animation tools: Read, Grep, Glob, Bash, Edit, Write scripts-binding: - .agent/scripts/lint_runner.js - .agent/scripts/verify_all.js inputs: task: "string" target_file: "string" outputs: result: "string" verification_status: "boolean" trigger: - "masked" - "reveal" --- # Masked Reveal β€” Editorial, Typography & Cinematic Masking ## Mandatory Pre-Flight Context Inspection Before reading, generating, or refactoring code in the `masked-reveal` domain, inspect these 5 critical parameters: 1. **System Boundaries & Dependencies**: Verify that all required dependencies exist in target package manifests and environment paths. 2. **Runtime Context & Platform Invariants**: Confirm target platform constraints (Node.js, Browser, Mobile OS, Edge runtime) before applying APIs. 3. **Execution Guardrails**: Identify potential side-effects, state mutations, and unhandled asynchronous exceptions. 4. **Validation & Type Contracts**: Validate input data schemas and strict type constraints across all module interfaces. 5. **Observability & Proof of Execution**: Ensure execution produces tangible verification signals (terminal output, tests, metrics). ## Activation Boundaries - **Activate when:** Use when implementing, optimizing, and timing 60fps/120fps masked reveal animations, transitions, gesture physics, and reduced-motion fallbacks. - **DO NOT activate when:** The task falls outside the `masked-reveal` domain or is managed by a different dedicated specialist agent. ## πŸ” Multi-Pass Execution Protocol | Pass | Phase | Core Action | Adaptive Depth | |:---|:---|:---|:---| | **Pass 1** | **Understand** | Deconstruct the user's explicit objective, implicit requirements, and platform constraints. | Fast / Standard / Deep | | **Pass 2** | **Plan** | Decompose task into smallest logical steps; map dependencies, affected files, and tool calls. | Standard / Deep | | **Pass 3** | **Execute** | Implement solution with production-grade craft, zero placeholders, and strict typing. | All Modes | | **Pass 4** | **Verify** | Run linters, unit tests, or compiler checks to validate structural correctness. | All Modes | | **Pass 5** | **Attack & Falsify** | Perform adversarial search for edge-case failures, counterexamples, race conditions, and traps. | Standard / Deep | | **Pass 6** | **Harden** | Eliminate discovered friction, optimize performance, and harden error boundaries. | Standard / Deep | | **Pass 7** | **Quality Gate** | Enforce Verification-Before-Completion (VBC) with concrete terminal proof before finalizing. | All Modes | --- ## πŸ› οΈ Technical Architecture & Reference Recipes Amateur page entrances use generic whole-page opacity fades or abrupt translations. High-end editorial and Awwwards-caliber interfaces use masked reveals: elements unveil along razor-sharp geometric clip boundaries, staggered typographic lines rise through hidden overflow thresholds, and imagery emerges with subtle counter-scaling parallax. --- ## 1. The Performance & Technology Hierarchy | Method | Syntax | Performance | Ideal Use Case | | :------------------------------ | :--------------------------------------- | :------------------------ | :---------------------------------------------------- | | **CSS `clip-path: inset()`** | `inset(0 100% 0 0)` | **Ultra (Compositor)** | Directional curtain wipes, image cards, banners | | **CSS `clip-path: polygon()`** | `polygon(0 0, 100% 0, 85% 100%, 0 100%)` | **High (Compositor/GPU)** | Slanted luxury reveals, angled geometric cuts | | **CSS `clip-path: circle()`** | `circle(0% at 50% 50%)` | **High (Compositor/GPU)** | Spotlight iris reveals, expanding hero portals | | **CSS `mask-image` Gradient** | `linear-gradient(to right, ...)` | **Moderate (GPU Raster)** | Soft feathered edges, progressive blur masks | | **SVG `` / ``** | `` | **Moderate (GPU Raster)** | Liquid fluid morphs, text silhouettes, custom vectors | --- ## 2. Five Production-Grade Editorial Recipes ### Recipe 1: Luxury Editorial Image Wipe with Counter-Scale Parallax A luxury brand hero image reveal combining an angled polygon clip with counter-scaling: ```tsx import React from 'react'; import { motion } from 'framer-motion'; export function EditorialImageReveal({ src, alt }: { src: string; alt: string }) { return (
{/* Outer Motion Wrapper for Mask Clip */} {/* Inner Counter-Scaling Image */}
); } ``` ### Recipe 2: Split-Text Line Wipe (Awwwards Typography Stagger) Lines emerge from an invisible threshold with strict WCAG screen reader accessibility: ```tsx import React from 'react'; import { motion } from 'framer-motion'; interface SplitLineRevealProps { lines: string[]; className?: string; } export function SplitLineReveal({ lines, className = '' }: SplitLineRevealProps) { const fullText = lines.join(' '); return (

{/* Screen reader full accessible text */} {fullText} {/* Visual split animation */}

); } ``` ### Recipe 3: Interactive Cursor Spotlight Reveal (`mask-image`) Reveals a glowing blueprint or hidden background directly beneath the user’s cursor: ```tsx import React, { useRef, useState } from 'react'; export function CursorSpotlightReveal({ children }: { children: React.ReactNode }) { const containerRef = useRef(null); const [mousePos, setMousePos] = useState({ x: -500, y: -500 }); const [isHovered, setIsHovered] = useState(false); const handleMouseMove = (e: React.MouseEvent) => { if (!containerRef.current) return; const rect = containerRef.current.getBoundingClientRect(); setMousePos({ x: e.clientX - rect.left, y: e.clientY - rect.top, }); }; return (
setIsHovered(true)} onMouseLeave={() => setIsHovered(false)} className="relative p-8 rounded-3xl bg-neutral-950 border border-neutral-800 overflow-hidden" > {/* Base Layer Content */}
{children}
{/* Spotlight Illuminated Layer */}
); } ``` ### Recipe 4: Radial Expanding Iris Portal ```css @keyframes iris-expand { 0% { clip-path: circle(0% at 50% 50%); } 100% { clip-path: circle(120% at 50% 50%); } } .iris-reveal-trigger { animation: iris-expand 1.1s cubic-bezier(0.16, 1, 0.3, 1) forwards; will-change: clip-path; } ``` ### Recipe 5: Inverted Scroll-Driven Mask Curtain (CSS View-Timeline) Pure CSS scrubbed mask reveal driven by scroll progress without any JavaScript bundle: ```css @supports (animation-timeline: view()) { @keyframes scroll-unmask { from { clip-path: inset(0 0 100% 0); } to { clip-path: inset(0 0 0% 0); } } .scroll-unmask-card { view-timeline-name: --card-scroll; view-timeline-axis: block; animation: scroll-unmask ease-out both; animation-timeline: --card-scroll; animation-range: entry 15% cover 45%; } } ``` --- ## 3. Mobile GPU Optimization & Paint Budgets 1. **Clip-Path vs SVG Mask Performance**: - `clip-path` calculations operate inside GPU scissor tests or geometry rasterization passes. - SVG `mask-image` with alpha textures requires an off-screen render buffer that multiplies GPU memory on high-resolution screens (e.g., iPhone Retina 3x). Never apply full-screen alpha masks to more than 2 elements concurrently on mobile. 2. **Preventing Overflow Scrollbars**: - Always ensure elements animating `transform: translateY(110%)` live inside an explicitly sized container with `overflow: hidden` to prevent transient layout scrollbars from flickering on Windows/Android browsers. ## 🚨 Edge-Case & Failure Mode Matrix | Scenario | Risk | Production Mitigation | |:---|:---|:---| | **Empty or Null Inputs** | Unhandled exception or unexpected rendering collapse | Enforce fallback guards, optional chaining, and explicit empty state handlers | | **Network Timeout / Latency** | Hanging operations or duplicate side-effects | Implement bounded abort controllers, exponential backoff, and idempotency keys | | **Concurrency / Race Conditions** | Stale state overwrite or inconsistent data mutations | Use atomic transactions, mutex locking, or cancel-on-resubmit controls | | **Invalid Schema / Malformed Payload** | Downstream runtime errors or security injection | Validate boundary payloads with Zod/Pydantic schemas prior to execution | | **Resource / Memory Saturation** | OOM errors, frame drops, or memory leaks | Clean up listeners, cancel active timers, and enforce pagination/virtualization | ## πŸ€– LLM-Specific Traps Table | Anti-Pattern | What AI Commonly Does Wrong | What Is Actually Correct | |:---|:---|:---| | **The Instant Pop Trap** | Conditionally unmounting elements without animated interpolation | Use AnimatePresence or coordinate morphs with continuous geometry | | **Layout Thrashing** | Animating width, height, top, or left inside animation loops | Animate composite-only transform (translate3d, scale) and opacity | | **Sluggish Duration** | Setting micro-interaction transitions to 600ms+ causing interface lag | Cap interactive feedback at 160ms–240ms with snappy ease-out curves | ## πŸ›οΈ Tribunal Verification & Guardrails **Active Reviewers:** `frontend-reviewer` Β· `motion-reviewer` Β· `ui-ux-auditor` **Slash Command:** `/review` or `/tribunal-full` ### πŸ”¬ Evidence Standard (Tri-State Verification) Every finding, audit statement, or completion claim must classify its factual certainty: - **`[OBSERVED]`**: Directly confirmed in the codebase or verified via executed terminal command. - **`[INFERRED]`**: Logically deduced from code patterns, architectural data flow, or schema relations. - **`[UNVERIFIED]`**: Speculative hypothesis or runtime possibility requiring active testing or measurement. ### βœ… Pre-Flight Self-Audit Checklist ``` βœ… Does animation maintain 60fps/120fps using transform (translate3d, scale) and opacity? βœ… Is optical mass conserved across state interpolations without volume collapse? βœ… Is duration capped within micro-interaction budgets (150ms–280ms)? βœ… Is prefers-reduced-motion respected with graceful instant fallbacks? βœ… Did I prevent layout thrashing and continuous geometry mutations? ``` ### πŸ›‘ Verification-Before-Completion (VBC) Protocol **CRITICAL:** You must follow a strict "evidence-based closeout" state machine. - ❌ **Forbidden:** Declaring a task complete because the output "looks correct." - βœ… **Required:** You are explicitly forbidden from finalizing any task without providing **concrete evidence** (terminal output, passing test suites, compiler success, or equivalent operational proof) that your output works as intended.