Build an AI Gaze Tracker That Follows Your Cursor

In a world where static images feel as outdated as flip phones, imagine a portrait that watches you—eyes shifting subtly to meet your gaze, no matter where your cursor roams. Sounds like sci-fi? It’s not. With Face Looker, an open-source gem from developer Kylan, you can generate a grid of face images with different gaze directions using AI, then weave them into an interactive React component that tracks your cursor (or finger on mobile) in real-time. Perfect for jazzing up portfolios, landing pages, or even experimental art installations.

This isn’t just a gimmick; it’s a seamless blend of generative AI and frontend magic that delivers buttery-smooth animations without the computational heft of full video or 3D models. Whether you’re a React dev itching for unique UI flair or a designer dreaming of lifelike avatars, this guide walks you through setup, customization, and deployment. Let’s dive in and make your web elements alive.

Why Gaze-Tracking Faces Are the Next Big Thing in Web Design

Think about it: Users spend seconds scanning your site. What if your hero image could hook them instantly? AI gaze direction generation creates hyper-realistic portraits that respond to movement, boosting engagement by up to 30% in interactive demos (based on similar parallax effects). From e-commerce avatars that “follow” shoppers to conference speaker bios that feel personal, these real-time cursor-following faces add personality without plugins or heavy libraries.

Face Looker stands out by keeping things lightweight—under 5MB for a full grid—and fully customizable. No PhD in computer vision required. Just AI smarts meets React hooks. Ready to generate your own? Here’s how.

Step 1: Generate Your AI Gaze Grid – The Brain Behind the Eyes

At its core, Face Looker uses a fine-tuned AI model on Replicate (a cloud-based ML platform) to morph a single neutral portrait into a mosaic of expressions. Upload a 512×512 headshot, and boom: a grid of faces, each tilted eyes in precise directions.

Quick-Start Method: One-Click Replicate Magic

• Head to the Replicate demo page. It’s free to try with their tier.
• Upload your portrait (front-facing, neutral vibe works best—think LinkedIn profile pic).
• Hit generate. In minutes, you’ll snag:
• A sprite sheet and individual WebP images (e.g., 11×11 grid = 121 files).
• Ready-to-drop HTML/JS/CSS for a vanilla preview.
• Even a quick MP4 video to hype your team.

Pro tip: Start with defaults for a 15° gaze range (-15 to +15 pixels offset). It’s subtle yet mesmerizing.

Power User Route: Python Script for Total Control

For devs who love tweaking, clone the repo and fire up the script:

git clone https://github.com/kylan02/face_looker.git
cd face_looker
python -m venv .venv && source .venv/bin/activate  # macOS/Linux; adjust for Windows
pip install -r requirements.txt
export REPLICATE_API_TOKEN=your_token_here  # Grab from replicate.com
python main.py --image ./your_portrait.jpg --out ./gaze_grid --step 3 --size 256

• --step 3: Finer grid (more images = smoother tracking, but bigger files).
• --size 256: Output resolution—balance quality vs. load speed.
• Bonus: Outputs an index.csv mapping gaze coords to filenames, like gaze_px-9_py3_256.webp.

Cost? Pennies per run via Replicate’s pay-per-GPU model. Global devs: This works anywhere with Python and internet—no regional locks.

Step 2: Bring It to Life – Interactive React Integration

With your grid ready (drop images into /public/faces/), Face Looker shines in React. It ships with a useGazeTracking hook and <FaceTracker> component that map cursor position to the nearest gaze image. No WebGL, no fuss.

Plug-and-Play Setup

1. Install React (or Next.js) if you’re not already.
2. Copy FaceTracker.jsx, useGazeTracking.js, and FaceTracker.css from the repo’s examples.
3. Sync your constants (in the hook) to match generation: P_MIN = -15; P_MAX = 15; STEP = 3; SIZE = 256;.
4. Render it:

import FaceTracker from './components/FaceTracker';

function HeroSection() {
  return (
    <section style={{ height: '100vh', display: 'flex', alignItems: 'center', justifyContent: 'center' }}>
      <FaceTracker basePath="/faces/" />
      <h2 style={{ position: 'absolute', bottom: '20%' }}>Watch me follow you...</h2>
    </section>
  );
}

Mouse over? Eyes dart. Swipe on mobile? Same deal—touch events baked in. Preload images for sub-100ms swaps, and you’re golden.

Level Up: Custom Hooks and Styling

Ditch the component for granular control:

import { useRef } from 'react';
import { useGazeTracking } from './hooks/useGazeTracking';

function AnimatedAvatar({ imageDir }) {
  const containerRef = useRef(null);
  const { currentImage, isLoading } = useGazeTracking(containerRef, imageDir);

  if (isLoading) return <div>Loading gaze grid...</div>;

  return (
    <div ref={containerRef} className="avatar-container" style={{ width: 300, height: 300 }}>
      <img 
        src={currentImage} 
        alt="Gaze-tracking avatar" 
        style={{ borderRadius: '50%', objectFit: 'cover' }} 
      />
    </div>
  );
}

Add CSS for flair: transition: opacity 0.1s ease; for fade-ins, or mask it circular for that Instagram vibe. Examples include TypeScript ports and multi-face grids—scale to a “crowd” of watchers.

Real-World Wins: Use Cases and Optimization Tips

• Portfolios & Personal Sites: A bio pic that “engages” visitors, ideal for creatives in NYC’s tech scene or London’s design hubs.
• E-Learning Avatars: Tutors that “look” at students—boost retention in global edtech.
• Marketing Headers: A/B test against static images; expect higher dwell time.
• SEO/Performance Hacks: Compress to 128px for mobile-first sites. Use lazy-loading for non-hero instances. Keywords like “AI interactive faces” and “cursor gaze animation” in alt tags? Gold for search rankings.

Troubleshoot globally: API token issues? Check Replicate’s status. Slow loads in high-latency regions like APAC? Bump --step to 5 for fewer assets.

Ditch the Dull: Try Face Looker Today

Generating a grid of face images with different gaze directions using AI has never been easier, and turning it into a real-time cursor-following interactive face? That’s the spark your site needs. MIT-licensed and contributor-friendly, Face Looker is your ticket to standout web experiences—worldwide, from Silicon Valley startups to Berlin indie devs.

Fork it on GitHub, tweak a portrait of yourself (or your cat—gaze-tracking felines are viral gold), and deploy. What’s your first experiment? Drop a comment or share your demo—let’s make the web watch back.

Inspired by kylan02’s Face Looker repo. Ready to code? Star the project and get generating.

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