Wcygan Identity Models

wcygan.net Identity Models

Keep the homepage GitHub, LinkedIn, and Projects links recognizable, smooth, aligned, and visually proportional. These are pre-rendered 3D assets with transparent padding, not CSS icons. Preserve the asset renderer before tuning motion or geometry.

Success means:

• the poster and animation look like the same object in the same position;
• the three visible models share one optical row above aligned labels;
• animated models are contiguous, smooth, transparent, and immediately active;
• GitHub and LinkedIn retain their accepted motion and readable identities;
• Projects retains rounded, connected die geometry and deterministic speed; and
• reduced-motion users receive the same recognizable static models.

Scope And Ownership

Read these sources before changing model behavior:

• src/components/IdentityCard.tsx: asset registry, playback lifecycle, start phase, playback rate, poster/video handoff, and full-versus-compact rendering;
• src/styles/app.css: model grid, media size, optical centering, hover/focus scale, and reduced-motion rules;
• src/lib/identity-model-video.ts: browser-specific transparent-video format selection;
• public/identity-card/: transparent posters, VP9-alpha WebM loops, and HEVC-alpha MOV loops;
• scripts/render-identity-die.py: reproducible Projects geometry, materials, camera, lighting, face artwork, and motion path; and
• AGENTS.md: homepage composition and visual-validation contract.

The compact article identity remains text-only. Do not add model media to it. Do not create a second homepage header or model grid.

At 560px and below, the accepted full-card baseline uses 163.8px model media, 16px labels, a 201px link-grid height, and a 520px card height. The larger grid and card heights provide room for the additional 30% media increase without crowding the identity line or Writing section. Keep pointer events on the grid-cell link, not the overflowing transparent media box, so adjacent mobile targets never steal one another's taps. Clip overflow at the link grid; the encoded canvases extend beyond their cells, but the calibrated visible model masses do not.

Current Known-Good Assets

Treat the checked-in transparent assets as the implementation baseline:

At the time this skill was authored:

• 7df2d70 introduced the original identity-card asset and renderer contract;
• ec19a55 replaced the LinkedIn poster and WebM with the sharper, correctly oriented pair; and
• the accepted LinkedIn start is phase 0, where in reads normally with the i to the left of the n.

Use commit history as recovery evidence, not as permission to discard unrelated working-tree changes. Inspect the current diff and restore only the regressed model path.

Rendering Contract

Use One Renderer Per Animated Model

Every animated tile has exactly two visual layers:

1. a transparent PNG poster while the video is unavailable or intentionally paused; and
2. one browser-selected transparent video after the browser fires playing.

The poster becomes fully hidden only after playback starts. Never show a standstill and animation simultaneously. Do not replace a checked-in model with a DOM/CSS reconstruction, a stack of transformed faces, or a second animation layer.

The repository stores two encodings of the same animation:

• Apple Safari, iOS browsers, and embedded Apple WebKit receive HEVC-alpha MOV; and
• Chromium and Firefox receive VP9-alpha WebM.

Use preferredTransparentIdentityVideoFormat to mount exactly one source after hydration. Do not mount both encodings and depend on <source> order or canPlayType(): Chromium on macOS may claim HEVC support without providing the alpha behavior this component needs. Keep the static poster through SSR and hydration so an unsupported or failed video never becomes a black or empty tile.

WebKit can decode a VP9-alpha WebM while painting its transparent pixels black. That failure looks like a rotating model on an opaque black square, even though the video is otherwise healthy. Treat it as an alpha-decoding incompatibility, not a CSS background, blend-mode, z-index, or 3D-rendering problem. Do not add a white matte, mix-blend-mode, or a Safari-only static fallback when matching HEVC-alpha motion is available.

Projects is intentionally rendered by scripts/render-identity-die.py. A six-face CSS cube is not an equivalent fallback: it changes the geometry, texture, rounding, anti-aliasing, scale, and coordinate system.

Preserve Optical Centering

The encoded square canvas is not the visible model boundary. Transparent source padding makes the apparent center different from the element's geometric center.

• Keep the poster and video inside the same .identity-card__model-media box.
• Keep the same width, height, and --identity-model-center-x/y translation on both elements.
• Scale the shared media box for hover/focus. Do not size or translate the visible model through a separate child renderer.
• Keep the label in normal flow. Never move it to compensate for a model offset.
• Judge peers by visible mass and label alignment, not encoded canvas size.

An independently centered child using top: 50%, left: 50%, or its own translate(-50%, -50%) bypasses the asset calibration. That was the cause of the Projects die appearing vertically above GitHub and LinkedIn.

Keep Playback Deterministic

• Register GitHub, LinkedIn, and Projects as normal AnimatedModelId videos.
• Configure each model's playback rate and starting phase after metadata is available, before playing it.
• Apply the starting phase once per mounted video. Do not reset currentTime on every canplay, visibility change, or render.
• Start all eligible videos as soon as the grid is active. Do not add random delays, randomized rates, timer-based direction changes, or periodic jumps.
• Pause while the grid is out of view, the document is hidden, or reduced motion is requested. Resume coherently from the paused position.
• Preserve linear, constant source playback for Projects. Its speed changes via playbackRate, not a second CSS rotation.

The outer .identity-card__model-motion animation is accepted for GitHub and LinkedIn. A Projects repair must not change those two animations. Projects uses the wrapper as a transparent layout container; its 3D motion comes from the selected alpha video.

Quality Baseline

LinkedIn

The current higher-resolution LinkedIn pair is the quality reference for a recognizable logo model:

• keep the 1120×1120 transparent poster, WebM, and MOV together;
• start at the readable in orientation;
• do not mirror the logo or choose a random starting frame;
• preserve crisp edges, the blue body, and neutral lettering; and
• verify the poster-to-video handoff does not flip, jump, or briefly double.

GitHub

Preserve the recognizable Octocat silhouette, transparent edges, and accepted slower 0.82 playback. Do not touch its outer motion while fixing another model.

Projects

Preserve the source-rendered rounded body, connected edges, shading, pips, and face artwork. The procedural Blender scene defines six distinct face colors: coral four-pips, blue bars, a yellow plus, a green diamond, a pink star, and violet six-pips. Do not use white or neutral-gray face marks. Keep the current 1.04 playback rate unless the user explicitly requests another speed.

The accepted path combines equal-rate rotations about two orthogonal axes. Its spatial angular-velocity direction changes continuously while its magnitude remains constant, so the die tumbles instead of following one horizontal orbit. The path closes after one loop and makes all six face normals point toward the camera over time. Do not replace it with random axis changes, eased keyframes, piecewise turns, or runtime direction changes.

Do not approximate the die with rounded CSS squares. Rounded face corners expose the page background at 3D joins; square face corners remove the desired rounding; and a solid CSS core still cannot reproduce the source bevels, shading, or anti-aliasing.

Failure Signatures And Recovery

Correct For A Split Second, Then Broken

This means the static poster is correct and a different renderer takes over when activity begins.

1. Inspect the active Projects DOM for its <video> and currentSrc.
2. Confirm the source is /identity-card/die-spin-safari.mov in Safari or an iOS browser, and /identity-card/die-spin.webm in Chromium or Firefox.
3. Confirm the video reaches playing, becomes opaque, and hides the poster.
4. Search for substitute cube/face DOM and CSS, especially top/left: 50%, translateZ, rotate3d, and manual pips.
5. Remove the substitute renderer and restore the normal video path before adjusting size, radius, or motion.

Black Rectangle In Safari Or iOS

This is the characteristic VP9-alpha failure in Apple WebKit.

1. Inspect each model video's currentSrc. Safari and every iOS browser must use the matching *-spin-safari.mov asset, never *-spin.webm.
2. Confirm the mounted source has type video/quicktime; codecs="hvc1" and that only one source is present.
3. Confirm the MOV uses HEVC with alpha. A normal HEVC or H.264 MOV can play but cannot preserve the transparent canvas.
4. Confirm play() resolves, readyState reaches 4, and currentTime advances. Hide the poster only after playing fires.
5. If playback is unsupported, retain the transparent poster. Do not reveal a broken video or repair it with a matte or blend mode.

Projects Appears Above The Other Models

Do not add an arbitrary downward offset first.

1. Compare all three .identity-card__model-media center-y coordinates.
2. Compare all three .identity-card__model-label top coordinates.
3. Confirm Projects uses the same media box and calibrated transform.
4. Look for an independently positioned child or animation transform that owns translation as well as rotation.

The labels and media boxes should align within one CSS pixel at a fixed viewport. A larger object may extend farther above and below, but its visual center should remain with its peers.

White Gaps, Detached Corners, Or Faceted Motion

Assume the original model has been replaced or overlaid until proven otherwise. Manual CSS faces, per-face border radii, backface visibility, depth rounding, and page-background leakage are typical causes. Restore the contiguous alpha video. Do not keep patching seams in the substitute cube.

Model Is Blown Up

Check whether a replacement child uses direct CSS pixel dimensions while the real assets rely on transparent-canvas framing. Restore the shared media path, then compare visible footprints in the rendered row. Do not infer scale from the encoded 560px or 1120px canvas dimensions.

Motion Starts Late Or Feels Random

Search for randomized delays, setTimeout, repeated currentTime writes, per-loop rate changes, or overlapping poster/video opacity. Model variation must come from the accepted source animation and scoped outer motion, not runtime surprises.

Asset Upgrade Rules

When a new 3D render is genuinely required:

• obtain or recover the original scene/model; do not invent missing viewpoints from the flattened poster or WebM;
• export the poster and animation from the same camera, framing, materials, lighting, and readable initial orientation;
• produce a transparent PNG poster, VP9-alpha WebM, and HEVC-alpha MOV with no matte;
• use enough resolution and frame rate to stay crisp at hover scale;
• keep the visible object proportional to its peers despite transparent padding;
• preserve rounded geometry and connected surfaces in the source renderer; and
• replace the poster and both video encodings as one atomic visual set.

For Projects, use the checked-in procedural source rather than rebuilding the scene by eye:

blender --background --python scripts/render-identity-die.py -- \
  --output-dir /tmp/identity-die-frames

ffmpeg -framerate 120 -i /tmp/identity-die-frames/%04d.png \
  -c:v libvpx-vp9 -pix_fmt yuva420p -crf 18 -b:v 0 \
  -row-mt 1 -auto-alt-ref 0 -an public/identity-card/die-spin.webm

Encode the Apple copy with AVFoundation's AVVideoCodecType.hevcWithAlpha. Do not substitute ordinary HEVC or H.264. If the starting animation is a WebM, first preserve its alpha in a ProRes 4444 intermediate:

ffmpeg -c:v libvpx-vp9 -i public/identity-card/<model>-spin.webm \
  -an -c:v prores_ks -profile:v 4 -pix_fmt yuva444p10le \
  /tmp/<model>-alpha-master.mov

Feed that intermediate to an AVAssetReader/AVAssetWriter pipeline configured for BGRA input and AVVideoCodecType.hevcWithAlpha output. Preserve the source dimensions, frame rate, duration, start frame, and loop point. Direct FFmpeg VideoToolbox HEVC commands are not sufficient proof: a file may report hvc1 without containing an alpha channel.

Generate die-still.png from frame 0000.png so its camera, lighting, scale, and starting orientation match the animation exactly. The render script reports the analytic constant angular speed, loop-closure error, and maximum camera-facing value for all six faces; treat missing face coverage or a broken loop closure as a failed render.

If the source scene is unavailable and the request requires new faces or a new camera path, stop and report that constraint. Retain the known-good render until a real source asset can be produced. A CSS imitation is not an acceptable quality substitute.

Probe candidate assets before integration:

ffprobe -v error -select_streams v:0 \
  -show_entries stream=codec_name,width,height,avg_frame_rate,r_frame_rate:format=duration \
  -of default=noprint_wrappers=1 public/identity-card/<model>-spin.webm

sips -g pixelWidth -g pixelHeight public/identity-card/<model>-still.png

For the MOV, also require codec_name=hevc, codec_tag_string=hvc1, matching dimensions/frame rate/duration, and an AVFoundation video track with the .containsAlphaChannel media characteristic. Reject the asset if any of those checks fail.

Required Verification

Render / at 1440×900 and 390×844. Check at least the poster frame and two separated active frames.

For all three models, verify:

• the media center-y coordinates and label-top coordinates match within 1px;
• the expected *-spin-safari.mov is the active currentSrc in Safari and iOS, while the expected WebM is active in Chromium and Firefox;
• readyState is sufficient, playback is not paused, opacity is 1, and the configured playback rate is applied;
• the poster disappears only after the matching video plays;
• no model jumps during the poster-to-video handoff;
• no white matte, double image, detached corner, face seam, or clipping appears;
• hover and focus scale media without moving labels or overlapping targets;
• the page has no horizontal overflow; and
• GitHub and LinkedIn remain visually unchanged when Projects alone is fixed.

At prefers-reduced-motion: reduce, confirm videos are hidden and transparent posters remain recognizable and aligned.

Use real Safari for the Apple path. Chromium inspection cannot prove that an HEVC asset contains alpha or that WebKit selected it. In Safari, verify all three MOV sources reach readyState === 4, play() resolves, and currentTime advances without a black rectangle. Repeat the visual row and motion checks in Chromium or Firefox to prove the WebM path still rotates.

Inspect browser console warnings and errors, then run:

deno task pre-commit
deno task build
git diff --check

Do not declare the models fixed from source inspection or passing tests alone. The completion bar is the live poster-to-animation transition and aligned model row at both required viewports.