Animating SVG with CSS is possible using keyframes for basic animations and transitions for interactive effects. 1. Use @keyframes to define animation stages for properties like scale, opacity, and color. 2. Apply the animation to SVG elements such as
Animating an SVG with CSS is a straightforward and effective way to bring life to your graphics without needing JavaScript. The key lies in applying standard CSS animations or transitions directly to SVG elements like <path></path>
, <circle></circle>
, or <rect></rect>
.
Basic Animation: Using Keyframes
The most common method for animating SVGs is using @keyframes
. This lets you define stages of the animation and control how SVG elements move, change color, scale, or rotate over time.
For example, if you want to animate a pulsing circle:
@keyframes pulse { 0% { transform: scale(1); opacity: 1; } 50% { transform: scale(1.2); opacity: 0.7; } 100% { transform: scale(1); opacity: 1; } } .pulse-circle { animation: pulse 2s infinite; }
Apply that class to an SVG element:
<svg> <circle class="pulse-circle" cx="50" cy="50" r="30" fill="blue" /> </svg>
This works best when you're targeting simple visual changes and want them to loop or trigger on load.
Transition-Based Effects: Hover and State Changes
If you want interaction-based animation — like hover effects or state changes — CSS transitions are ideal.
You can apply transition
properties directly to SVG elements:
.interactive-path { transition: fill 0.3s ease; } .interactive-path:hover { fill: red; }
Just add the class to your path:
<svg> <path class="interactive-path" d="M10 10..." fill="blue" /> </svg>
Keep in mind:
- Not all SVG attributes can be animated via CSS (e.g.,
d
paths). - Use
transform
functions likescale()
,rotate()
, andtranslate()
freely. - Make sure
will-change
ortransform
is used to promote hardware acceleration.
Styling Gotchas and Tips
SVG elements are sensitive to how styles are applied. Here are some things to watch out for:
- Always use CSS classes instead of inline styles if you plan to animate.
- Some older browsers may not support animating certain SVG properties.
- Use
transform-origin
carefully — it behaves differently in SVG than in HTML. - You can animate multiple properties at once by separating them with commas in the
transition
oranimation
declaration.
Also, remember that complex shapes might require more advanced techniques or even JS libraries like GSAP, especially when morphing paths.
Animating SVG with CSS is powerful but has its limits. For basic effects like color changes, scaling, or rotation, it’s perfect. Just make sure your SVG structure is clean and your CSS targets the right elements.
That’s about it — nothing too fancy, but enough to get movement into your vector graphics.
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