diff --git a/client/src/components/ProjectCard.scss b/client/src/components/ProjectCard.scss
index 3e36e65..4cd6299 100644
--- a/client/src/components/ProjectCard.scss
+++ b/client/src/components/ProjectCard.scss
@@ -49,7 +49,8 @@
       width: 100%;
       height: 100%;
       object-fit: cover;
-      opacity: 0;
+      // Stay slightly visible under shimmer so cards never look "broken"
+      opacity: 0.12;
       transition: transform 0.55s ease, opacity 0.35s ease;
 
       &.is-loaded {
diff --git a/client/src/components/ProjectCard.tsx b/client/src/components/ProjectCard.tsx
index 91e5ded..519f02e 100644
--- a/client/src/components/ProjectCard.tsx
+++ b/client/src/components/ProjectCard.tsx
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-import { useState } from "react";
+import { useCallback, useState } from "react";
 import { Link } from "react-router-dom";
 import type { Project } from "../lib/api";
 import { thumbOf, thumbAltOf } from "../lib/api";
@@ -10,8 +10,17 @@ export function ProjectCard({ project, index = 0 }: { project: Project; index?:
   const alt = thumbAltOf(project);
   const year = formatProjectYear(project.date);
   const [loaded, setLoaded] = useState(false);
-  // First row-ish: eager load so portfolio doesn't look empty pre-scroll
-  const eager = index < 8;
+  const [failed, setFailed] = useState(false);
+  // Load full first page eagerly so mid-grid never stays black on first paint
+  const eager = index < 24;
+
+  // Handle cache hits (onLoad may not fire if already complete when attached)
+  const imgRef = useCallback((node: HTMLImageElement | null) => {
+    if (!node) return;
+    if (node.complete && node.naturalWidth > 0) {
+      setLoaded(true);
+    }
+  }, []);
 
   return (
     <article
@@ -19,15 +28,19 @@ export function ProjectCard({ project, index = 0 }: { project: Project; index?:
       style={{ animationDelay: `${Math.min(index, 12) * 40}ms` }}
     >
       <Link to={`/project/${project.slug}`} className="project-card__link">
-        <div className={`project-card__media${thumb && !loaded ? " is-loading" : ""}`}>
-          {thumb ? (
+        <div
+          className={`project-card__media${thumb && !loaded && !failed ? " is-loading" : ""}`}
+        >
+          {thumb && !failed ? (
             <img
+              ref={imgRef}
               src={thumb}
               alt={alt}
               loading={eager ? "eager" : "lazy"}
               decoding="async"
-              fetchPriority={eager ? "high" : "auto"}
+              fetchPriority={index < 6 ? "high" : "auto"}
               onLoad={() => setLoaded(true)}
+              onError={() => setFailed(true)}
               className={loaded ? "is-loaded" : undefined}
             />
           ) : (
diff --git a/client/src/pages/HomePage.tsx b/client/src/pages/HomePage.tsx
index d4471e1..5ad7809 100644
--- a/client/src/pages/HomePage.tsx
+++ b/client/src/pages/HomePage.tsx
@@ -24,13 +24,15 @@ export function HomePage() {
     Promise.all([
       api.site(),
       api.featured().catch(() => [] as Project[]),
-      api.projects({ sort: "date", perPage: 6 }),
+      // Fetch extra so we can exclude featured IDs from Recent
+      api.projects({ sort: "date", perPage: 18 }),
       api.categories(),
       api.views().catch(() => [] as PortfolioView[]),
     ]).then(([s, f, r, c, v]) => {
       setSite(s);
       setFeatured(f);
-      setRecent(r.data);
+      const featuredIds = new Set(f.map((p) => p.id));
+      setRecent(r.data.filter((p) => !featuredIds.has(p.id)).slice(0, 6));
       setCategories(c);
       setViews(v);
     });
@@ -41,9 +43,25 @@ export function HomePage() {
   const liveCategories = categories.filter(
     (c) => typeof c.projectCount !== "number" || c.projectCount > 0
   );
-  // Avoid advertising a view that collides with a category slug (e.g. cad)
-  const categorySlugs = new Set(categories.map((c) => c.slug));
-  const liveViews = views.filter((v) => !categorySlugs.has(v.slug));
+  const categoryById = new Map(categories.map((c) => [c.id, c]));
+  const categoryBySlug = new Map(categories.map((c) => [c.slug, c]));
+  // Avoid advertising a view that collides with a category slug, or whose
+  // prioritized categories all have zero published projects (e.g. AI with empty cats)
+  const liveViews = views.filter((v) => {
+    if (categoryBySlug.has(v.slug)) return false;
+    const prios = [...(v.categoryPriorities || [])].sort(
+      (a, b) => a.priority - b.priority
+    );
+    if (prios.length === 0) return true;
+    // Only promote a view when its *primary* category has published work
+    // (avoids AI view dumping industrial projects via showOthers)
+    const primary = prios[0];
+    const cat =
+      (primary.category?.id && categoryById.get(primary.category.id)) ||
+      (primary.category?.slug && categoryBySlug.get(primary.category.slug)) ||
+      (primary.categoryId ? categoryById.get(primary.categoryId) : undefined);
+    return (cat?.projectCount ?? 0) > 0;
+  });
   const contactEmail = site?.social?.email || "jmartin@jmartgraphix.com";
 
   return (
diff --git a/client/src/styles/global.scss b/client/src/styles/global.scss
index ec43750..41b862c 100644
--- a/client/src/styles/global.scss
+++ b/client/src/styles/global.scss
@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@
 html {
   scroll-behavior: smooth;
   /* Keep anchored content clear of sticky site header */
-  scroll-padding-top: calc(var(--header-h) + 0.75rem);
+  scroll-padding-top: calc(var(--header-h) + 1.25rem);
 }
 
 body {
diff --git a/server/prisma/seed.ts b/server/prisma/seed.ts
index 39bed2f..d916727 100644
--- a/server/prisma/seed.ts
+++ b/server/prisma/seed.ts
@@ -79,11 +79,23 @@ async function main() {
       "cad",
       "3d-modeling",
     ]);
-    await createView("AI", "ai", "AI-generated creative work.", [
-      "ai-generated-content",
-      "illustration",
-      "graphic-design",
-    ]);
+    {
+      const view = await prisma.portfolioView.create({
+        data: {
+          name: "AI",
+          slug: "ai",
+          description: "AI-generated creative work.",
+          showOthers: false,
+        },
+      });
+      for (const [i, s] of ["ai-generated-content", "illustration", "graphic-design"].entries()) {
+        const cat = bySlug[s];
+        if (!cat) continue;
+        await prisma.portfolioViewCategory.create({
+          data: { viewId: view.id, categoryId: cat.id, priority: i },
+        });
+      }
+    }
 
     for (const [canonical, short] of Object.entries(aliases)) {
       if (short === "3d" || short === "animation" || short === "ai") continue;