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Phosphor CRT Terminal Avatar
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A retro-futuristic avatar component inspired by 1980s monochrome computer terminals. It features a heavy CRT effect including scanlines, phosphor flickering, and a custom CSS image filter that mimics low-resolution green-channel displays. The design is framed with industrial corner brackets and includes a blinking 'system ready' status indicator, emphasizing a 'Fallout' or 'Matrix' style aesthetic.
Features
- Custom CSS phosphor green image filter
- Dynamic scanline overlay with CSS gradients
- High-frequency flicker animation for CRT authenticity
- Responsive status indicator with 'blink' animation
- Interactive hover state that 'clears' the screen distortion
- Retro monospace typography using Google Fonts
Uses
- Gaming profiles (Cyberpunk/Retro themes)
- Developer portfolio sidebars
- Tech-focused dashboard headers
- Hacker-themed UI experiments
Benefits
- Zero JavaScript overhead for maximum performance
- Highly immersive thematic consistency
- Scalable vector-like CSS borders and brackets
- Distinctive visual identity compared to standard rounded avatars
Techniques Used
CSS keyframe animations, multiple background gradients, CSS filters (sepia/hue-rotate), box-shadow glow effects, absolute positioning for overlays.
Frequently Asked Questions
How is the monochrome green phosphor effect achieved on standard RGB source images without pre-processing?
The effect is generated using a composite CSS filter stack: 'filter: grayscale(100%) brightness(1.2) contrast(1.5) sepia(100%) hue-rotate(85deg) saturate(5)'. This pipeline converts the image to grayscale, pushes the contrast to mimic high-gain CRT tubes, and then uses a specific hue-rotate shift on a sepia base to land precisely on the #33ff33 phosphor green hex code.
What CSS technique is used to create the dynamic scanline overlay without increasing the DOM node count?
The scanlines are rendered using an '::after' pseudo-element on the avatar container with a repeating linear gradient: 'background: repeating-linear-gradient(rgba(18, 16, 16, 0) 0, rgba(18, 16, 16, 0.25) 2px, rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.5) 4px)'. By setting the background-size to 100% 4px, it creates a persistent horizontal interlacing effect that remains fixed relative to the image.
How does the component simulate the high-frequency voltage flicker characteristic of 1980s monitors?
A dedicated '@keyframes flicker' animation is applied to the main container, rapidly oscillating the 'opacity' between 0.98 and 1.0 and 'filter: brightness' between 95% and 105% at 0.05s intervals. To prevent layout thrashing and maintain 60fps, the component uses 'will-change: filter, opacity' to promote the element to its own GPU layer.
Which specific CSS properties are transitioned to create the 'screen clearing' effect on the hover state?
Upon the ':hover' pseudo-class trigger, the 'filter' property is set to 'none', the opacity of the scanline pseudo-element is dropped to 0, and the 'animation' property for flicker is paused. This is wrapped in a 'transition: all 0.2s cubic-bezier(0.23, 1, 0.32, 1)' to simulate the look of a terminal screen losing its static charge and sharpening into a modern digital image.
How can the 'system ready' status indicator's blink rate be synchronized with the monospace typography's cursor?
The blinking indicator utilizes a 'step-end' timing function, specifically 'animation: blink 1s steps(2, start) infinite;'. This ensures the visibility toggles instantly between 0 and 1 without a fade, perfectly matching the rhythmic 'on/off' cadence of the integrated Google Fonts 'Share Tech Mono' or 'VT323' underscore cursor.