Matt D. Smith built an interactive mosaic playground by prompting AI to generate pixel icons on a 24×24 grid, then added hover effects, click explosions, and bounce physics. He tuned everything with sliders, integrated it into React, and shipped it so users can upload images and adjust effects in real time.
Foreign.
Coded prototypes die in the chat, but this one made it to production. It's a mosaic playground where you can load in random photos, hover, drag, tap around and watch it explode. Basically a fidget spinner for the Internet. But here's where it started. I got obsessed with these tiny pixel icons. 24 by 24 grid, 4 pixel blocks, old school retro. So I prompted a tool to draw them and export them as JavaScript snippets. This was cool, but static and not really that fun yet. I wanted wanted them to be code objects so they could be interactive. So that was the next step. Hover effects, click explosions, bounce physics, all prompted with AI. Using V0, I added sliders to tune exactly how each effect should feel. And I added copy parameters button, so when I landed on something good, I'd paste those values right back into the AI to update the code for me. I brought all of that into my React project using cursor, and I got it production ready. Now the same component powers icons throughout the entire site, my face, and even the course thumbnails. One prototype. Multiple applications actually shipped and you can upload your own image, adjust the sliders, make it go wild, and try to capture a download at just the right time. If you want to try it out, comment Mosaic A before I mosaic and I'll send you the link.
