# ITom – Award-Winning Creative Developer | Interactive Websites > Portfolio of Tomasz Szmajda (ITom) — creative developer building interactive websites with smooth animations, storytelling, and clean code. Award-winning. ## Biography / About Me Tomasz Szmajda, known online as ITom, is an award-winning creative developer from Poland who builds interactive, engaging websites from scratch. Currently studying Computer Science at the University of Opole, he specializes in handcrafted web experiences with smooth animations, scroll-driven storytelling, and attention to detail that makes every site feel alive. His core toolkit includes React, Next.js, JavaScript, GSAP (GreenSock Animation Platform), and CSS — the foundation for buttery-smooth page transitions, micro-interactions, and scroll-triggered motion. When a project calls for it, he also works with Three.js, WebGL, and custom shaders to create immersive browser-based experiences, but his heart is in clean, well-animated storytelling websites that people actually enjoy exploring. ITom is not a designer — he doesn't work in Figma or Photoshop. He sketches ideas on paper and brings them to life directly in code, designing as he builds. He is also not a 3D modeler — he doesn't create models in Blender — but when clients provide ready assets (GLTF, GLB), he knows how to make them move, interact, and perform at 60fps in the browser. His work has earned international recognition including FWA Site of the Day, GSAP Site of the Day, CSS Design Awards, and Awwwards nominations. Beyond portfolio sites, his projects range from a webcam-controlled browser game using MediaPipe AI (67 Game) to premium commercial websites for photography studios with custom DOM virtualization handling 1000+ images. ITom is available for freelance creative development projects worldwide. ## Core Technologies & Skills - React, Three.js, React Three Fiber (R3F), GSAP (GreenSock), JavaScript, TypeScript, Next.js, WebGL, 3D Graphics, Web Development. ## Selected Portfolio Projects - [Adam & Ewa – Premium Photography Website with Smooth Animations](https://www.adam-ewa.pl): Adam & Ewa is a premium commercial website built from scratch by creative developer Tomasz Szmajda (ITom) for a wedding photography and videography duo based in Poland. The project replaces a decade-old legacy site with a bespoke, template-free experience built on React Router v7, GSAP ScrollTrigger, Lenis smooth scroll, and Sanity headless CMS. It features an asymmetrical scattered gallery layout with parallax drift, FLIP-technique shared element lightbox transitions, scroll-driven typography animations with progressive blur reveal, and a custom double-layer DOM virtualization system using IntersectionObserver. This virtualization enables smooth 60fps scrolling through galleries containing up to 1000 high-resolution wedding photos — a massive engineering challenge solved entirely in frontend code. Images are optimized through Sanity's CDN with device-responsive sizing, WebP/AVIF auto-formatting, and LQIP blur-up placeholders. The site scores a perfect 100/100 on Google Lighthouse. Typography combines Cormorant Garamond serif headings with Inter body text on a warm eggshell background. The client manages all content independently through Sanity Studio. (Tech: React, CSS, JavaScript, Netlify) - [67 Game – Browser Webcam Game with Real-Time Pose Tracking](https://sixsevengame.vercel.app): 67 Game is a browser-based speed challenge created by Tomasz Szmajda (ITom) where your webcam becomes the controller. Players perform the viral '67' trend moves as fast as possible within 15 seconds while MediaPipe Pose Landmarker tracks wrist positions in real-time at 60fps — entirely in the browser with no downloads or plugins required. Built with React 19 and MediaPipe WASM running on GPU, the game features a global daily leaderboard powered by Firebase, auto-generated PDF certificates with QR codes, Canvas-based particle effects, and bilingual support in Polish and English. Debuted at the University of Opole Science Festival 2026 where over 100 people queued to play. Kids speedran attempts while adults were amazed that real-time computer vision runs natively in a web browser. A project that pushes the boundaries of creative frontend engineering. (Tech: React, HTML, JavaScript, Firebase) - [Young Multi – Artist Website with Custom WebGL Image Distortion](https://young-multi-strona.netlify.app): Young Multi is an immersive artist website created by creative developer Tomasz Szmajda (ITom) for Polish hip-hop artist Young Multi. The project captures the raw, energetic feel of the artist's music through custom WebGL shader effects — real-time image distortion that warps and bends photographs on mouse movement, powered by GPU-accelerated fragment shaders rather than CSS filters or tricks. The dark, moody layout with smooth GSAP scroll transitions lets the photography breathe while keeping a high-energy visual identity. This was ITom's breakthrough project that earned major industry recognition including CSS Design Awards (CSSDA) Site of the Day and Design Nominees Site of the Day, putting his work on the international creative development map. Built with React, WebGL, and GSAP, the project shows how creative coding and custom shaders can transform a standard artist page into an interactive experience that truly matches the musician's brand. (Tech: React, HTML, Tailwind CSS, Netlify) - [ITom Sketchbook – Animated UI Components with Hand-Drawn Style](https://itom-ui-components.vercel.app): ITom Sketchbook is a collection of custom animated UI components built by creative developer Tomasz Szmajda. Each component features the signature ITom hand-drawn sketch aesthetic — pencil textures on interactive elements animated with smooth GSAP transitions in React. The collection showcases that UI doesn't have to follow the same cookie-cutter patterns — a sketched button or a doodle navigation can feel more engaging than a thousand polished gradients. Every component is lightweight, responsive, and built with clean code. It serves as both a personal creative playground and an open resource for developers who want something different for their projects. (Tech: HTML, CSS, JavaScript, Netlify) ## Studio Content & Publications - [Codrops Feature – ITom Portfolio Built Without 3D Models (codrops)](https://tympanus.net/codrops/2026/06/11/sketching-the-impossible-a-3d-portfolio-built-without-a-single-3d-model/): Featured article on Codrops (tympanus.net) by Tomasz Szmajda (ITom) titled "Sketching the Impossible: A 3D Portfolio Built Without a Single 3D Model." A technical deep-dive into how a complete lack of Blender skills accidentally led to an award-winning interactive corridor built entirely from flat geometry, hand-drawn pencil textures, and custom GLSL shader paint-reveal effects in React Three Fiber. Published on one of the most respected creative frontend development publications in the world. - [ITom YouTube Channel – Creative Development Videos (youtube)](https://www.youtube.com/@itomdev): The ITom YouTube channel by Tomasz Szmajda features longer-form creative web development content including full project walkthroughs, extended coding sessions, website showcase compilations, and behind-the-scenes looks at building interactive websites with React, GSAP, Three.js, and custom shaders. Subscribe for in-depth creative frontend content. - [67 Game Festival Debut – ITom Dev (LinkedIn & X) (linkedin)](https://www.linkedin.com/posts/itomdev_100-people-played-a-game-i-coded-using-activity-7462834233238097920-Eg-i): Post by Tomasz Szmajda (ITom) about debuting his browser-based webcam game "67 Game" at the University of Opole Science Festival. Over 100 attendees queued to play — performing the viral 67 trend moves tracked by MediaPipe in real-time via Chrome. Kids speedran attempts, parents were dragged in, and adults kept asking "this is just a website?" Built with React 19, MediaPipe WASM on GPU, Firebase leaderboard, and auto-generated PDF certificates. - [WebGPU.com Showcase – ITom Paper Tear Portfolio (2026) (blog)](https://www.webgpu.com/showcase/itom-portfolio-paper-tear-corridor/): The ITom portfolio was featured on WebGPU.com, the leading WebGL and WebGPU community showcase. The article, titled "A Paper Tear, a Hand-Drawn Corridor, and Sketches That Finish Themselves," highlights the project's unique approach — a sheet of paper rips open and drops visitors into a hand-drawn corridor where pencil-sketched frames paint themselves in as you walk up to them. Tagged with WebGL, Three.js, GLSL, GSAP, React Three Fiber, and Cartoon Shading. - [ITom on Instagram – Creative Developer Behind the Scenes (instagram)](https://www.instagram.com/itom.dev/): Follow Tomasz Szmajda (ITom) on Instagram at @itom.dev for short-form creative development content, web design inspiration reels, behind-the-scenes glimpses of award-winning projects, and artistic experiments. ITom shares the websites and interactive experiences that inspire his work as a creative frontend developer. - [Polish Press – ITom Named World's Best Website Creator (blog)](https://www.strzelce360.pl/artykul/11843,strzelczanin-najlepszym-tworca-stron-internetowych-na-swiecie): News article by Strzelce360.pl (local Polish press) covering how Tomasz Szmajda, a Computer Science student from Strzelce Opolskie, Poland, earned international recognition as one of the world's top website creators. The article highlights his FWA Site of the Day award and coverage by major industry publications for his interactive sketch portfolio at itomdev.com. A hometown story about a creative developer making waves globally. - [Adam & Ewa Website Launch – ITom Dev (LinkedIn & X) (linkedin)](https://www.linkedin.com/posts/itomdev_webdesign-gsap-frontend-activity-7455173978056224768-dyhz): Launch announcement by Tomasz Szmajda (ITom) for the Adam & Ewa premium wedding photography website. The post showcases the bespoke React build with GSAP ScrollTrigger animations, FLIP-technique lightbox transitions, and a custom DOM virtualization system handling up to 1000 high-res photos at 60fps. Shared on LinkedIn and X (Twitter). - [ITom on TikTok – Creative Coding & Web Inspiration (tiktok)](https://www.tiktok.com/@itomdev): Follow Tomasz Szmajda (ITom) on TikTok at @itomdev for short-form videos showcasing stunning websites from around the web, creative coding experiments, and behind-the-scenes looks at interactive frontend development. Quick, visual, and fun content for web design enthusiasts. - [ITom Sketchbook UI Components Launch (LinkedIn & X) (linkedin)](https://www.linkedin.com/posts/itomdev_i-kept-rebuilding-the-same-ui-animations-activity-7472981452289163264-gANX): Launch announcement by Tomasz Szmajda (ITom) for ITom Sketchbook — a collection of custom hand-drawn animated UI components built with React and GSAP. The post describes how repeatedly rebuilding the same UI animation patterns across projects led to creating a reusable, open component library with the signature sketch aesthetic. Shared on LinkedIn and X (Twitter). - [Google Antigravity 2.0 – Creative AI Experiment by ITom (linkedin)](https://www.linkedin.com/posts/itomdev_ai-creativecoding-activity-7467908125593976832-o9HE): Creative coding experiment by Tomasz Szmajda (ITom) reimagining Google's classic Antigravity easter egg with modern AI-powered interactions and creative frontend techniques. A playful side project demonstrating how creative developers approach experimental web concepts beyond traditional portfolio work. Shared on LinkedIn and X (Twitter). - [Portfolio Launch Announcement – ITom Dev (LinkedIn & X) (linkedin)](https://www.linkedin.com/posts/itomdev_its-finally-live-i-just-launched-my-new-activity-7441409690342825984-Kgbk): The original announcement post by Tomasz Szmajda (ITom) sharing the launch of his interactive sketch portfolio at itomdev.com. Posted on LinkedIn and X (Twitter), the post introduces the walkable 3D corridor concept, hand-drawn textures, and custom shader effects that would later earn FWA Site of the Day, Awwwards Honors, and CSSDA Special Kudos. ## Design Awards & Achievements - **Honorable Mention** — [Awwwards Honorable Mention – ITom Portfolio Website (2026)](https://www.awwwards.com/sites/tomasz-itom-szmajda-folio): Awarded on 2026-04-30. The ITom portfolio by Tomasz Szmajda received an Honorable Mention from Awwwards in April 2026. Awwwards is the world's leading platform recognizing the best of web design and development, with jury members from top agencies and studios globally. The portfolio was evaluated on design, usability, creativity, and content. Built with React, Three.js, and GSAP, the project showcases an interactive sketch-textured corridor where visitors navigate through doors to discover gallery, studio, and contact rooms — a storytelling approach to portfolio design that earned recognition from the industry's most competitive stage. - **Honorable Mention** — [Muzli Honor – ITom Interactive Sketch Portfolio (2026)](https://muz.li/picked/interactive-3d-sketch-portfolio-itom/): Awarded on 2026-07-15. The ITom portfolio was honored by Muzli (muz.li), a leading design inspiration platform by InVision used by millions of designers worldwide. Muzli curates the best digital projects across the web, and being selected as a Muzli Honor recognizes the portfolio's exceptional creative quality and innovative approach to interactive web design. The portfolio by Tomasz Szmajda features a sketch-textured 3D corridor, custom shader effects, and storytelling-driven navigation built with React and Three.js. - **Site of the Day** — [CSSLight Featured of the Day – ITom Creative Portfolio (2026)](https://www.csslight.com/website/73073/Tomasz-ITom-Szmajda-Portfolio): Awarded on 2026-05-08. The ITom portfolio was selected as Featured of the Day by CSSLight (csslight.com), a web design gallery that highlights professional websites demonstrating excellence in aesthetics, creativity, and coding quality. The portfolio by creative developer Tomasz Szmajda features a unique sketch-textured interactive corridor, custom GLSL shaders, and storytelling-driven navigation built with React, Three.js, and GSAP. - **Honorable Mention** — [CSSDA Special Kudos – ITom Creative Developer Portfolio (2025)](https://www.cssdesignawards.com/sites/tomasz/49278/): Awarded on 2026-04-25. Tomasz Szmajda (ITom) was awarded CSS Design Awards Special Kudos for his creative developer portfolio at itomdev.com. CSSDA (CSS Design Awards) is a premier international web design and development award platform where projects are judged by an industry panel on UI design, UX innovation, and technical execution. The Special Kudos distinction recognizes projects that demonstrate exceptional quality across all judging criteria. The portfolio features interactive sketch-style visuals, smooth GSAP animations, and a unique room-based navigation system coded entirely from scratch. - **Site of the Day** — [Orpetron Site of the Day – ITom Developer Portfolio (2026)](https://orpetron.com/sites/tomasz-itom-szmajda-portfolio/): Awarded on 2026-04-01. The ITom portfolio received Site of the Day from Orpetron Web Design Awards (orpetron.com), an international platform recognizing exceptional digital work by freelance designers, creative agencies, and developers. The award honors the portfolio's innovative room-based navigation, sketch-textured visuals, and smooth interactive animations. Created from scratch by creative developer Tomasz Szmajda using React, Three.js, and GSAP. - **Site of the Day** — [Design Nominees Site of the Day – Young Multi Website (2026)](https://www.designnominees.com/sites/young-multi): Awarded on 2026-01-17. The Young Multi artist website by Tomasz Szmajda (ITom) was awarded Site of the Day by Design Nominees (designnominees.com), an international platform recognizing outstanding websites, apps, and games. The project features custom WebGL distortion shaders on photography, dark moody aesthetics, and smooth GSAP scroll transitions — an interactive experience that captures the raw energy of the Polish hip-hop artist's music. - **Honorable Mention** — [CSSDA Public UI Award – ITom Interactive Portfolio Site (2026)](https://www.cssdesignawards.com/sites/tomasz/49278/): Awarded on 2026-04-25. The ITom portfolio at itomdev.com received the CSS Design Awards Public UI Award through community voting in April 2026. This award recognizes the project's visual interface design — hand-drawn sketch textures on 3D geometry, a custom paint-reveal shader effect on hover, and a warm, cohesive color palette that gives the site a unique handcrafted aesthetic. Created by Tomasz Szmajda using React, Three.js, and GSAP. - **Site of the Day** — [FWA Site of the Day – ITom Interactive Sketch Portfolio (2026)](https://thefwa.com/cases/tomasz-itom-szmajda-portfolio): Awarded on 2026-04-25. Tomasz Szmajda (ITom) received the prestigious FWA Site of the Day award on April 25, 2026 for his interactive sketch portfolio at itomdev.com. The FWA (Favourite Website Awards) is one of the most recognized international platforms honoring cutting-edge digital design and creative development. The awarded portfolio features a walkable 3D corridor built with React Three Fiber, hand-drawn sketch textures, custom GLSL shader paint-reveal effects, and a multi-input camera system. This recognition confirms the project's innovation in interactive web storytelling and frontend engineering. - **Site of the Day** — [CSS Winner Site of the Day – Young Multi Artist Website (2026)](https://www.csswinner.com/details/young-multi-official-experience/19045): Awarded on 2026-01-24. The Young Multi artist website by creative developer Tomasz Szmajda (ITom) earned CSS Winner Site of the Day on January 24, 2026. The project features custom WebGL image distortion shaders that warp and bend photographs on mouse interaction, delivering a raw, energetic visual experience matching the Polish hip-hop artist's brand. Built with React, WebGL, and GSAP, the site demonstrates how creative frontend code can transform standard artist pages into immersive interactive galleries. - **Honorable Mention** — [CSSDA Public Innovation Award – ITom Portfolio Website (2026)](https://www.cssdesignawards.com/sites/tomasz/49278/): Awarded on 2026-04-25. The CSS Design Awards community voted ITom's portfolio as a winner of the Public Innovation Award in April 2026. The award recognizes the project's innovative approach to portfolio design — replacing traditional page scrolling with an explorable 3D environment, using hand-drawn textures instead of polished 3D models, and implementing a custom GLSL shader system for interactive paint-reveal effects. Built from scratch by Tomasz Szmajda with React Three Fiber and GSAP. - **Site of the Day** — [Design Nominees Site of the Day – ITom Portfolio (2026)](https://www.designnominees.com/sites/tomasz-itom-szmajda-portfoio): Awarded on 2026-05-02. ITom's interactive sketch portfolio at itomdev.com was selected as Site of the Day by Design Nominees on May 2, 2026. Design Nominees is an international web design awards platform that evaluates projects on creativity, design quality, and technical execution. The portfolio by Tomasz Szmajda features a walkable corridor with hand-drawn textures, interactive door navigation, and custom shader effects — all built from scratch with React and Three.js. - **Site of the Day** — [Top Design King Site of the Day – ITom Portfolio (2026)](https://topdesignking.com/website/3621/tomasz-itom-szmajda-portfolio): Awarded on 2026-05-12. ITom's portfolio at itomdev.com was named King of the Day (Site of the Day) by Top Design King (topdesignking.com), an international web design awards platform that showcases and promotes creative websites based on design, usability, and innovation. The portfolio by Tomasz Szmajda features hand-drawn sketch visuals, interactive door navigation, and smooth GSAP-driven animations — a handcrafted web experience built entirely from scratch. - **Site of the Day** — [Web Design of the Day – ITom Portfolio Website (2026)](https://wdawards.com/web/tomasz-itom-szmajda-folio): Awarded on 2026-05-01. ITom's interactive portfolio at itomdev.com was selected as Web Design of the Day by WD awards, a web design gallery that showcases and promotes creative digital projects. The portfolio by Tomasz Szmajda features hand-drawn sketch textures, interactive room navigation, custom shader paint-reveal effects, and smooth GSAP animations — all built from scratch without templates. - **Site of the Day** — [Orpetron Site of the Day – Young Multi Artist Website (2026)](https://orpetron.com/sites/young-multi/): Awarded on 2026-01-29. The Young Multi artist website by Tomasz Szmajda (ITom) was awarded Orpetron Site of the Day on January 29, 2026. Orpetron Web Design Awards recognizes outstanding creativity and technical execution in digital projects worldwide. The website features custom WebGL image distortion shaders, dark atmospheric layout, and GSAP-powered scroll transitions that capture the energy of the Polish hip-hop artist's brand. - **Site of the Day** — [CSS Winner Site of the Day – ITom Developer Portfolio (2026)](https://www.csswinner.com/details/tomasz-itom-szmajda-portfolio/19143): Awarded on 2026-03-25. ITom's creative developer portfolio at itomdev.com was selected as CSS Winner Site of the Day on March 25, 2026. CSS Winner (csswinner.com) is an international web design award platform that evaluates websites on design quality, usability, and creative innovation. The portfolio features hand-drawn sketch textures animated with custom shaders, room-based navigation through interactive doors, and buttery-smooth GSAP-powered transitions — all coded from scratch by Tomasz Szmajda without templates or page builders. - **Honorable Mention** — [CSSDA Public UX Award – ITom Creative Portfolio Website (2026)](https://www.cssdesignawards.com/sites/tomasz/49278/): Awarded on 2026-04-25. Tomasz Szmajda's ITom portfolio received the CSS Design Awards Public UX Award through community voting in April 2026. This recognition highlights the project's intuitive user experience — visitors navigate a sketch-textured corridor through interactive doors, with smooth animations and a camera system that responds to scroll, mouse, and mobile gyroscope. The award reflects positive community feedback on the portfolio's navigation flow and interaction design. ## Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) - **What makes ITom different from other developers?** ITom codes everything from scratch — no WordPress, no Webflow, no templates. His philosophy is "mechanics first": he perfects the layout, scroll behavior, and performance before adding any visual effects. This means every site runs smoothly at 60fps even on mobile phones. He combines award-winning creative execution with solid engineering fundamentals, delivering websites that look impressive and actually perform well under the hood. - **What technologies does ITom use?** ITom's main tools are React, Next.js, JavaScript, GSAP (GreenSock) for animation, and CSS. For smooth scrolling he uses Lenis, and for content management Sanity headless CMS with Vercel hosting. When projects require it, he also works with Three.js, React Three Fiber, and WebGL for interactive browser-based experiences. He codes everything from scratch — no templates, no page builders. - **Who is ITom and what does he do?** ITom is the creative alias of Tomasz Szmajda, a frontend developer from Poland who builds interactive, handcrafted websites from scratch. He focuses on smooth animations, scroll-driven storytelling, and clean code — creating sites that feel alive and engaging. His work ranges from animated portfolio websites to webcam-controlled browser games, and has been recognized with awards including FWA Site of the Day and CSS Design Awards. - **What kind of websites does ITom build?** ITom builds a range of interactive websites — from storytelling portfolios with smooth scroll animations and page transitions, to immersive artist sites with custom visual effects, to clean commercial websites for businesses that need premium aesthetics and fast performance. He prefers projects where animation and user experience tell a story rather than just display content statically. Every project is coded from scratch with no templates. - **What is 67 Game and how does it work?** 67 Game is a browser-based speed challenge at sixsevengame.vercel.app where your webcam is the controller. You perform the viral '67' trend moves as fast as possible in 15 seconds while MediaPipe tracks your wrists in real-time — entirely in the browser with zero downloads needed. Built with React 19 and MediaPipe WASM on GPU. Features include a global daily leaderboard via Firebase, auto-generated PDF certificates with QR codes, particle effects, and Polish/English language support. Over 100 people queued to play it at a university science festival. - **Does ITom take freelance projects?** Yes. ITom is available for freelance creative development projects worldwide. He works best with clients who have a clear vision or provide designs he can bring to life with animation and code. His sweet spot is storytelling websites with smooth interactions, artist and portfolio sites, and premium business websites. He quotes fixed-price estimates after understanding the full project scope and typically delivers within 4 to 8 weeks. - **Has ITom won any web design awards?** Yes. ITom's projects have received multiple international awards including FWA Site of the Day, GSAP Site of the Day, CSS Design Awards Special Kudos, and Awwwards nominations. His Young Multi artist website earned CSSDA Site of the Day and Design Nominees Site of the Day. These awards recognize both the creative quality and technical performance of his work. - **Is ITom a designer or a 3D modeler?** No. ITom is a developer, not a designer or 3D artist. He doesn't work in Figma, Photoshop, or Blender. He sketches layout ideas on paper and then builds directly in code, designing as he goes. When clients provide finished UI designs or ready 3D models (GLTF/GLB files), he can implement and animate them with precision — but the creation of those assets is not his role.