Building a Layered Zoom Scroll Effect with GSAP ScrollSmoother and ScrollTrigger

import "./style.css"

import { preloadImages } from './utils.js'

import gsap from "gsap"
import { ScrollTrigger } from "gsap/ScrollTrigger"
import { ScrollSmoother } from "gsap/ScrollSmoother"

gsap.registerPlugin(ScrollTrigger, ScrollSmoother)

class Animation {
  constructor() {
    this.dom = document.querySelector(".section")
    this.frontImages = this.dom.querySelectorAll(".section__media__front")
    this.smallImages = this.dom.querySelectorAll(".section__images img")
  }

  init() {
    this.timeline = gsap.timeline({
      scrollTrigger: {
        trigger: this.dom,
        start: "top top",
        end: "bottom top",
        scrub: true,
        pin: true,
        onUpdate: (self) => {
          const easedProgress = gsap.parseEase("power1.inOut")(self.progress)
          this.dom.style.setProperty("--progress", easedProgress)
        }
      }
    })

    this.animate()
  }

  animate() {
    gsap.set(this.smallImages, {
      transformStyle: "preserve-3d",
      backfaceVisibility: "hidden",
      force3D: true
    })

    this.timeline.to(this.smallImages, {
      z: "100vh",
      duration: 1,
      ease: "power1.inOut",
      stagger: {
        amount: 0.2,
        from: "center"
      }
    })

    this.timeline.to(this.frontImages, {
      scale: 1,
      duration: 1,
      ease: "power1.inOut",
      delay: .1,
    }, 0.6)

    this.timeline.to(this.frontImages, {
      duration: 1,
      filter: "blur(0px)",
      ease: "power1.inOut",
      delay: .4,
      stagger: {
        amount: 0.2,
        from: "end"
      }
    }, 0.6)
  }
}

const scroller = ScrollSmoother.create({
  wrapper: ".wrapper",
  content: ".content",
  smooth: 1.5,
  effects: true,
  normalizeScroll: true
})

const animation = new Animation()

preloadImages('.wrapper img').then(() => {
  animation.init()
  document.body.classList.remove('loading')
})

.section {
  position: relative;
  height: 100vh;
  display: flex;
  align-items: center;
  justify-content: center;
  overflow: hidden;

  --progress: 0;

  .section__media {
    position: absolute;
    top: 0;
    left: 0;
    width: 100%;
    height: 100%;
    z-index: -1;

    transform: scale(var(--progress));

    .section__media__front,
    .section__media__back {
      position: absolute;
      left: 0;
      top: 0;
      width: 100%;
      height: 100%;
    }

    .section__media__front {
      filter: blur(2px);

      img {
        mask-image: url(./mask.png);
        mask-position: 50% 50%;
        mask-size: cover;
      }
    }

    .front-1 {
      transform: scale(1);
    }

    .front-2 {
      transform: scale(0.85);
    }

    .front-3 {
      transform: scale(0.6);
    }

    .front-4 {
      transform: scale(0.45);
    }

    .front-5 {
      transform: scale(0.3);
    }

    .front-6 {
      transform: scale(0.15);
    }

    img {
      position: absolute;
      width: 100%;
      height: 100%;
      object-fit: cover;
      object-position: center;
    }
  }

  h1 {
    font-size: 3vw;
    font-weight: normal;
    transform: translateY(-15%);
    font-weight: 600;
    display: flex;

    span {
      display: inline-block;
    }

    .left {
      transform: translate3d(calc(var(--progress) * (-66vw + 100%) - 0.5vw), 0, 0);
    }

    .right {
      transform: translate3d(calc(var(--progress) * (66vw - 100%)), 0, 0);
    }

    @media (max-width: 768px) {
      font-size: 9vw;

      .left {
        transform: translate3d(calc(var(--progress) * (-100vw + 100%) - 0.5vw), 0, 0);
      }

      .right {
        transform: translate3d(calc(var(--progress) * (100vw - 100%)), 0, 0);
      }
    }
  }
}

.section__images {
  position: absolute;
  top: 0;
  left: 0;
  width: 100vw;
  height: 100vh;
  perspective: 100vh;

  img {
    position: absolute;
    width: 10vw;

    @media (max-width: 768px) {
      width: 20vw;
    }

    &:nth-of-type(1) {
      top: 15vw;
      left: -3vw;
    }

    &:nth-of-type(2) {
      top: 5vw;
      left: 20vw;
    }

    &:nth-of-type(3) {
      top: 8vw;
      left: 26.5vw;

      @media (max-width: 768px) {
        top: 30vw;
        left: 30vw;
      }
    }

    &:nth-of-type(4) {
      top: 18vw;
      right: 18vw;

      @media (max-width: 768px) {
        right: 15vw;
        top: 30vw;
      }
    }

    &:nth-of-type(5) {
      top: 5vw;
      right: 10vw;

      @media (max-width: 768px) {
        top: 10vw;
        right: 5vw;
      }
    }

    &:nth-of-type(6) {
      bottom: 5vw;
      left: 10vw;

      @media (max-width: 768px) {
        left: 5vw;
      }
    }

    &:nth-of-type(7) {
      bottom: 8vw;
      left: 22.5vw;

      @media (max-width: 768px) {
        left: 10vw;
        bottom: 27.5vw;
      }
    }

    &:nth-of-type(8) {
      bottom: 3vw;
      left: 45vw;

      @media (max-width: 768px) {
        bottom: 10vw;
        left: 35vw;
      }
    }

    &:nth-of-type(9) {
      bottom: 5vw;
      right: 15vw;

      @media (max-width: 768px) {
        bottom: 5vw;
      }
    }

    &:nth-of-type(10) {
      bottom: 9vw;
      right: 7vw;

      @media (max-width: 768px) {
        right: 3vw;
        bottom: 22vw;
      }
    }
  }
}

import imagesLoaded from 'imagesloaded'

/**
 * Preloads images specified by the CSS selector.
 * @function
 * @param {string} [selector='img'] - CSS selector for target images.
 * @returns {Promise} - Resolves when all specified images are loaded.
 */
const preloadImages = (selector = 'img') => {
  return new Promise((resolve) => {
    // The imagesLoaded library is used to ensure all images (including backgrounds) are fully loaded.
    imagesLoaded(document.querySelectorAll(selector), { background: true }, resolve);
  });
};

// Exporting utility functions for use in other modules.
export {
  preloadImages
};

// vite.config.js
import { defineConfig } from 'vite';

export default defineConfig({
  base: './',
});

Building a Layered Zoom Scroll Effect with GSAP ScrollSmoother and ScrollTrigger
Original author: Joffrey Spitzer
Published by Codrops. Copyright (c) 2026 Codrops.
License: MIT, pursuant to the publisher's downloadable-demo grant.
Keep CODROPS-MIT-2026.txt and the original project notices with copies.
Third-party media exceptions and credits are recorded separately in the source inventory.

README.md
## Credits

- An original idea by [Louis Paquet](https://louispaquet.com/), [Adrien Vanderpotte](https://avdp.xyz/), [Kim Levan](https://x.com/kimlevan), [KOKI-KIKO](https://www.koki-kiko.com/)
- Images Free for Personal and Business use from [pexels](https://www.pexels.com)


## License

[MIT](LICENSE)

GSAP standard license snapshot
Source: https://gsap.com/community/standard-license/
Retrieved: 2026-09-22T04:22:49.089Z
Original distribution copyright and version headers remain in the runtime code.

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 FAQ

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 Effective date: April 30, 2025

 Last modified date: May 30, 2025

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ev-emitter@2.1.2 — LICENSE.md
Copyright (c) 2016-2021 [David DeSandro](https://desandro.com)

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.


imagesloaded@5.0.0 — LICENSE.md
Copyright (c) 2011-2022 [David DeSandro](https://desandro.com) and [contributors](https://github.com/desandro/imagesloaded/graphs/contributors)

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.