Parallax Image Gallery with Thumbnails [Resource]

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Documentation

Webflow

Code

Setup: External Scripts

HTML

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<script src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/gsap@3.12.7/dist/gsap.min.js"></script>
<script src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/gsap@3.12.7/dist/Observer.min.js"></script>
<script src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/gsap@3.12.7/dist/CustomEase.min.js"></script>

Step 1: Copy structure to Webflow

Copy to Webflow

Webflow structure is not required for this resource.

Step 1: Add HTML

HTML

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<div data-slideshow="wrap" class="img-slider">
  <div class="img-slider__list">
    <div data-slideshow="slide" class="img-slide is--current"><img data-slideshow="parallax" alt="" src="https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/67db521fe639fd09f860b106/67dbf80921b87fe739e3cbd2_osmo-slideshow-img-3.avif" draggable="false" class="img-slide__inner"></div>
    <div data-slideshow="slide" class="img-slide"><img data-slideshow="parallax" alt="" src="https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/67db521fe639fd09f860b106/67dbf809f124211fa71791fa_osmo-slideshow-img-1.avif"  draggable="false" class="img-slide__inner"></div>
    <div data-slideshow="slide" class="img-slide"><img data-slideshow="parallax" alt="" src="https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/67db521fe639fd09f860b106/67dbf809e5434a14205e65b2_osmo-slideshow-img-2.avif"  draggable="false" class="img-slide__inner"></div>
    <div data-slideshow="slide" class="img-slide"><img data-slideshow="parallax" alt="" src="https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/67db521fe639fd09f860b106/67dbf809fb316a147c9d1dda_osmo-slideshow-img-4.avif"  draggable="false" class="img-slide__inner"></div>
  </div>
  <div class="img-slider__nav">
    <div data-slideshow="thumb" class="img-slider__thumb is--current"><img src="https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/67db521fe639fd09f860b106/67dbf80921b87fe739e3cbd2_osmo-slideshow-img-3.avif" class="slider-thumb__img"></div>
    <div data-slideshow="thumb" class="img-slider__thumb"><img src="https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/67db521fe639fd09f860b106/67dbf809f124211fa71791fa_osmo-slideshow-img-1.avif" class="slider-thumb__img"></div>
    <div data-slideshow="thumb" class="img-slider__thumb"><img src="https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/67db521fe639fd09f860b106/67dbf809e5434a14205e65b2_osmo-slideshow-img-2.avif" class="slider-thumb__img"></div>
    <div data-slideshow="thumb" class="img-slider__thumb"><img src="https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/67db521fe639fd09f860b106/67dbf809fb316a147c9d1dda_osmo-slideshow-img-4.avif" class="slider-thumb__img"></div>
  </div>
</div>

HTML structure is not required for this resource.

Step 2: Add CSS

CSS

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.img-slider {
  grid-column-gap: 1rem;
  grid-row-gap: 1rem;
  border-radius: .5em;
  justify-content: center;
  align-items: flex-end;
  width: 100%;
  height: 100vh;
  display: flex;
  position: relative;
}

.img-slider__list {
  grid-template-rows: 100%;
  grid-template-columns: 100%;
  place-items: center;
  width: 100%;
  height: 100%;
  display: grid;
  overflow: hidden;
}

.img-slide {
  opacity: 0;
  pointer-events: none;
  will-change: transform, opacity;
  grid-area: 1 / 1 / -1 / -1;
  place-items: center;
  width: 100%;
  height: 100%;
  display: grid;
  position: relative;
  overflow: hidden;
}

.img-slide.is--current {
  opacity: 1;
  pointer-events: auto;
}

.img-slide__inner {
  object-fit: cover;
  will-change: transform;
  width: 100%;
  height: 100%;
  position: absolute;
}

.img-slider__nav {
  z-index: 2;
  grid-column-gap: .5rem;
  grid-row-gap: .5rem;
  pointer-events: none;
  flex-flow: wrap;
  justify-content: center;
  align-items: center;
  max-width: 95vw;
  display: flex;
  position: absolute;
  bottom: 2rem;
}

.img-slider__thumb {
  aspect-ratio: 1.5;
  pointer-events: auto;
  cursor: pointer;
  border: 1px solid #fff3;
  border-radius: .3125rem;
  width: 7rem;
  transition: border-color .2s;
  position: relative;
  overflow: hidden;
}

.img-slider__thumb:hover {
  border-color: #fff6;
}

.img-slider__thumb.is--current {
  border-color: #fff;
}

.slider-thumb__img {
  object-fit: cover;
  width: 100%;
  height: 100%;
}

@media screen and (max-width: 991px) {
  .img-slider__list {
    width: 100%;
  }

  .img-slider__thumb {
    flex: none;
  }
}

@media screen and (max-width: 767px) {
  .img-slider__nav {
    flex-flow: wrap;
  }

  .img-slider__thumb {
    border-radius: .25rem;
    width: 5rem;
  }
}

@media screen and (max-width: 479px) {
  .img-slider__thumb {
    width: 4.5rem;
  }
}

Step 2: Add custom Javascript

Step 2: Add Javascript

Step 3: Add Javascript

Javascript

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gsap.registerPlugin(Observer,CustomEase)
CustomEase.create("slideshow-wipe", "0.6, 0.08, 0.02, 0.99");

function initSlideShow(el) {
  
  // Save all elements in an object for easy reference
  const ui = {
    el,
    slides: Array.from(el.querySelectorAll('[data-slideshow="slide"]')),
    inner: Array.from(el.querySelectorAll('[data-slideshow="parallax"]')),
    thumbs: Array.from(el.querySelectorAll('[data-slideshow="thumb"]'))
  };

  let current = 0;
  const length = ui.slides.length;
  let animating = false;
  let observer;
  let animationDuration = 0.9 // Define the duration of your 'slide' here

  ui.slides.forEach((slide, index) => {
    slide.setAttribute('data-index', index);
  });
  ui.thumbs.forEach((thumb, index) => {
    thumb.setAttribute('data-index', index);
  });

  ui.slides[current].classList.add('is--current');
  ui.thumbs[current].classList.add('is--current');

  function navigate(direction, targetIndex = null) {
    if (animating) return;
    animating = true;
    observer.disable();

    const previous = current;
    current =
      targetIndex !== null && targetIndex !== undefined
        ? targetIndex
        : direction === 1
          ? current < length - 1
            ? current + 1
            : 0
          : current > 0
            ? current - 1
            : length - 1;

    const currentSlide = ui.slides[previous];
    const currentInner = ui.inner[previous];
    const upcomingSlide = ui.slides[current];
    const upcomingInner = ui.inner[current];

    gsap.timeline({
      defaults: {
        duration: animationDuration,
        ease: 'slideshow-wipe'
      },
      onStart: function() {
        upcomingSlide.classList.add('is--current');
        ui.thumbs[previous].classList.remove('is--current');
        ui.thumbs[current].classList.add('is--current');
      },
      onComplete: function() {
        currentSlide.classList.remove('is--current');
        animating = false;
        // Re-enable observer after a short delay
        setTimeout(() => observer.enable(), animationDuration);
      }
    })
      .to(currentSlide, { xPercent: -direction * 100 },0)
      .to(currentInner, { xPercent: direction * 50 }, 0)
      .fromTo(upcomingSlide, { xPercent: direction * 100 }, { xPercent: 0 }, 0)
      .fromTo(upcomingInner, { xPercent: -direction * 50 }, { xPercent: 0 }, 0);
  }

  function onClick(event) {
    const targetIndex = parseInt(event.currentTarget.getAttribute('data-index'), 10);
    if (targetIndex === current || animating) return;
    const direction = targetIndex > current ? 1 : -1;
    navigate(direction, targetIndex);
  }
  
  ui.thumbs.forEach(thumb => {
    thumb.addEventListener('click', onClick);
  });

  observer = Observer.create({
    target: el,
    type: 'wheel,touch,pointer',
    // Drag events to go left/right
    onLeft: () => { if (!animating) navigate(1); },
    onRight: () => {if (!animating) navigate(-1); },
    // For wheel events, check horizontal movement
    onWheel: (event) => {
      if (animating) return;
      if (Math.abs(event.deltaX) > Math.abs(event.deltaY)) {
        if (event.deltaX > 50) {
          navigate(1);
        } else if (event.deltaX < -50) {
          navigate(-1);
        }
      }
    },
    wheelSpeed: -1,
    tolerance: 10
  });

  // Cleanup function if you need it
  return {
    destroy: function() {
      if (observer) observer.kill();
      ui.thumbs.forEach(thumb => {
        thumb.removeEventListener('click', onClick);
      });
    }
  };
}

function initParallaxImageGalleryThumbnails() {
  let wrappers = document.querySelectorAll('[data-slideshow="wrap"]');
  wrappers.forEach(wrap => initSlideShow(wrap));
}

// Initialize Parallax Image Gallery with Thumbnails
document.addEventListener('DOMContentLoaded', () => {
  initParallaxImageGalleryThumbnails();
});

Step 3: Add custom CSS

Step 2: Add custom CSS

CSS

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Implementation

Container

Use [data-slideshow="wrap"] as the root container for each parallax slider instance. This element holds both the slides and the thumbnails, and is the target for GSAP’s Observer plugin to capture wheel, touch, and drag navigation.

Slide

Use [data-slideshow="slide"] for each individual slide. The active slide automatically receives the is--current class, while the outgoing slide has it removed at animation completion.

Parallax

Use [data-slideshow="parallax"] inside each slide to create the inner layer that moves at half the speed of the main slide during transitions, producing the parallax effect.Thumbnail

Use [data-slideshow="thumb"] for clickable thumbnails that directly navigate to their associated slide. The active thumbnail also gets the .is--current class.

Index

The script automatically sets [data-index] on slides and thumbnails, linking each thumbnail to its corresponding slide and determining animation direction.

State

The .is--current class is applied to both the active slide and the active thumbnail to indicate the current position in the slideshow.

Animation

Transitions are powered by GSAP timelines using a custom ease (slideshow-wipe). Slides animate horizontally (xPercent), while their parallax elements move in the opposite direction at 50% speed.

Duration

Change the animationDuration variable in the script (default 0.9 seconds) to adjust the speed of all transitions.

Easing

Modify the CustomEase.create("slideshow-wipe", "0.6, 0.08, 0.02, 0.99") definition to customize the easing curve of the transitions.

Navigation

Navigate by:

Clicking a [data-slideshow="thumb"]
Dragging left/right
Using horizontal mouse wheel input (only when |deltaX| > |deltaY|)

Observer

GSAP’s Observer plugin listens for wheel, touch, and pointer events on [data-slideshow="wrap"]. It disables itself while an animation runs and re-enables after animationDuration to prevent spam clicks or swipes.

Multiple Instances

Place multiple [data-slideshow="wrap"] containers on the page. The initParallaxImageGalleryThumbnails() function automatically initializes each one on DOMContentLoaded.

Webflow CMS Integration

For CMS use in Webflow:

Create two Collection Lists: one for [data-slideshow="slide"], one for [data-slideshow="thumb"].
Apply the attributes [data-slideshow="slide"], [data-slideshow="thumb"], and [data-slideshow="parallax"] directly to CMS list items.
Ensure both lists have the same item count and identical ordering to keep them in sync.

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Resource details

Last updated
September 30, 2025
Category
Gallery & Images
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Original source

Ilja van Eck

Parallax Image Gallery with Thumbnails

Documentation

External Scripts in Webflow

Copy structure to Webflow

Custom Javascript in Webflow

Custom CSS in Webflow

Implementation

Container

Slide

Parallax

Index

State

Animation

Duration

Easing

Navigation

Observer

Multiple Instances

Webflow CMS Integration

Before/After Split Slider

Lightbox Setup

Creator Credits

Need help?

Join the Osmo Slack Community

Unlock the Osmo Vault

Upgrade toLifetime

Parallax Image Gallery with Thumbnails

Documentation

External Scripts in Webflow

Copy structure to Webflow

Custom Javascript in Webflow

Custom CSS in Webflow

Implementation

Container

Slide

Parallax

Index

State

Animation

Duration

Easing

Navigation

Observer

Multiple Instances

Webflow CMS Integration

Related resources

Before/After Split Slider

Lightbox Setup

Creator Credits

Unlock the
Osmo Vault

Upgrade to
Lifetime