Overview of SVG Animation in Web Design
Overview of SVG Animation in Web Design
Animations for the web are making big buzz. Dynamically animate vector artwork of SVG image types are easier and supportsg almost browsers now. New CSS3 specifications make animation awesome with little use of JavaScript .
Many designers have knowledge with CSS3 animation, but the topic of SVG animation is slightly unclear. This article gives some tips and resources for designers in creating SVG animations. There are many open source code to help designers in building unique SVG animations. There are many SVG images created for good websites build from scratch.
SVG Fundamentals
SVG stands for Scalable Vector Graphics which is a vector file formats have recently came into mainstream web design. SVGs can be scaled to any size and still look crisp because of this feature they are really popular. Retina laptops, Smartphones and desktops all use a wide variety of screen resolutions – but an SVG fit into the screen on all of them.
SVG files can be exported from almost any vector editing program. Adobe Illustrator is the popular at the same time Sketch and Inkscape are two other fantastic tools.
All SVG files are written using XML. This means SVGs can be embedded into a webpage as an SVG file or as raw XML code. The syntax can be a little confusing but the more you play with it the more familiar it’ll become. Take a peek at this introductory post from Tuts+ if you want to learn more about SVGs in web design.
Some of you may be questioning why SVG hasn’t been used up until recently. Web browsers have only just adopted this standard as a serious image format on the web. The compatibility chart from Can I Use SVG clearly demonstrates modern browser support for this image format.
Most of the browser support SVG images and worth in ading to your project work. But Internet Explorer 8 and below are trouble makers in supporting the SVG images. Beyond this they are vector scalability, smaller in filesize and can be created using XML code.
SVGs can be animated using Javascript or / and CSS code dynamically. So we are writing code rather than using image pixels, motion effects and animations can takes place in browser itself.
SVG Animation in Websites
If we simplify the idea of an SVG it’s basically just some XML code rendered onto the page as an HTML element. These graphics can be seen as lines, shapes, fills, and other properties of traditional vectors.
SVG animation relies on this relationship between vector elements and CSS/JavaScript. Take a peek at David Walsh’s SVG animation article which covers some live examples with quick explanations for each one. He recommends using a library such as Velocity.js to create quicker and simpler animations when first getting started.
Animation can be applied to logos, icons, and even SVG text. Once you learn the basics of creating SVG graphics you’ll have a much easier time animating them. CSS3 properties tend to have less overall support than JavaScript but they’re both perfectly valid methods for testing your ideas.
The best examples can be found on the Bjango homepage. All the navigation links and the logo are created using SVG images. When you hover any of the links you’ll notice a small elastic bounce effect. The SVG graphics display a hover state on mouseover, and CSS is used to create the bouncing effect.
Most website animation is used for aesthetic purposes. Of course a user experience can be improved through animation but the style should match the website and look ravishing.
Responsive Layouts
The other area where SVG animation can be more effective is with responsive design. Mobile responsive websites stretch to fit any monitor regardless of resolution or screen size. SVG images fit to the resolution with exact same
You should still use pixel-based image formats(JPEG, PNG) when appropriate for photographs, screenshots, or anything which can’t be vectorized. SVGs are best used for dynamic logos/text, icons, or background content.
Two articles worth reading are SVG resolution independence and rethinking responsive SVG both from Smashing Magazine. Not only can SVG images be scaled naturally, but they can also be swapped out with more-detailed or less-detailed versions based on screen resolution.
When it comes to responsive web design & animation there’s no better companion than SVG images.
SVG Animation Tutorials
If you’re eager to learn more about pragmatic SVG animation then take a peek at the following articles. Each one covers a different style of animation which is perfect for those just delving into the subject. Once you get started using vector graphics on the web you’ll be amazed at how much is possible with just a few lines of code.
Animating SVG with CSS
CSS Tricks may honestly be the best free website for learning modern CSS techniques – and this article is no different. Chris Coyier explains the basics of SVG graphics, how they work on the web, and how to animate them with CSS.
SVG From Illustrator to the Web
Learn how to export vector graphics from Adobe Illustrator into SVG files for the web. The process might seem complicated but this guide clears up everything from start to finish.
Animate Festive SVG Icons
Here’s another tutorial from Tuts+ which explains how you can animate SVG icons using CSS. This tutorial uses christmas light bulbs which light up via CSS3 animation.
SVG Icons
If you’re curious about SVG icon animation look no further than MediaLoot’s fantastic guide. It teaches how to export customized SVG icons from Illustrator and then animate them using the CSS3 transform property.
SVG Checkboxes & Radio Buttons
Myself along with many other designers simply adore the content on Codrops. This particular tutorials explains how to customize radio buttons and checkboxes with SVG animation. It’s a powerful technique that pushes the boundaries of modern web development – just what you’d expect from a Codrops article.
SVG Shape Hover
Hover animation can rely solely on CSS3 using the :hover pseudo-class. This post explains the process of adding SVG hover animations via CSS to create unique shapes in div elements.
Animate Icons with Snap.svg
Vector icons can be animated manually or with pre-built code libraries. Snap.svg is a free JS library popular with frontend developers. This tutorial explains how you can incorporate Snap into your website for animating SVG icons from scratch.
Introduction to SVG Motion
Although this post is more of a “beginner” tutorial it does cover a lot of fundamental SVG knowledge. The author Jon McPartland explains how to edit SVG XML code and customize the file for animated effects.
Libraries & Code Snippets
Along with free tutorials I’ve also cataloged a handful of open source code libraries & snippets for SVG animation. Libraries will save time during the development process by reducing the amount of code you need to write. Snippets can be just as helpful offering live examples that you can study from and even duplicate into a project.
Snap.SVG
Snap.svg is undoubtedly one of the most popular libraries for manipulating SVG images. It’s a JavaScript library made for creating resolution-independent vector graphic animations. The library is 100% open source and even provides a handy getting started guide.
Two.js
A lesser-known alternative for rendering SVGs is the Two.js library. Flat vector shapes can be created and manipulated at will through JavaScript. Two.js is seen as more of a motion graphics library for the web & it’s phenomenal when used in the right context.
Vivus.js
Line drawn animation effects take on the motion of graphics being drawn from start to finish. Vivus.js is a free JavaScript library made for recreating this type of animation with SVG images. There are no dependencies but it will take a bit of reading to understand the setup process.
D3.js
The D3 library was mentioned briefly in our JS charting library collection. D3 stands for data-driven documents which can be any type of data display(charts, graphs, tables, etc). The whole library runs on HTML/CSS/SVG for rendering compatible and scalable data in all modern web browsers.
Vue.js
On the topic of website data, Vue.js is another brilliant open source library. Vue generates SVG graphs through JavaScript and JSON code.
Pure SVG Arrows
These two arrow icons have been created using pure SVG code as buttons on a webpage. Each arrow lights up on hover and works just like any typical HTML button.
Animated SVG Border
Hover animation is a popular choice with SVG image types. This border effect is attached onto a block of page text which animates a box border on hover.
Scrolling Animation Effect
To incorporate scroll animation on the web you’ll need to rely on JavaScript. This small SVG/CSS/JS code snippet elucidates how scrolling animation works in a live open source demo.
