FRONTEND MASTERS

Advanced SVG Animation 1

October, 2015

Sarah Drasner, Senior UX Engineer at Trulia

@sarah_edo : twitter || @sdras : codepen

1 SVG Anatomy Overview

SVG!

Crisp on any display
Less HTTP requests to handle
Easily scalable for responsive
Small filesize if you design for performance
Easy to animate
Easy to make accessible
Fun!

Look at all that green!

This pen.

Platonic Shapes
ViewBox
PreserveAspectRatio
Grouping
Drawing Paths
SVG on Export

Overview of the SVG DOM

Platonic Shapes

<svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 450 100">
 <rect x="10" y="5" width="90" height="90"/>
 <circle cx="170" cy="50" r="45" />
 <polygon points="279,5 294,35 328,40 303,62 309,94 
279,79 248,94 254,62 230,39 263,35 "/>
 <line x1="410" y1="95" x2="440" y2="6" />
 <line x1="360" y1="6" x2="360" y2="95" />
</svg>

Platonic Shapes

<svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 450 100">
 <rect x="10" y="5" width="90" height="90"/>
 <circle cx="170" cy="50" r="45" />
 <polygon points="279,5 294,35 328,40 303,62 309,94 
279,79 248,94 254,62 230,39 263,35 "/>
 <line x1="410" y1="95" x2="440" y2="6" />
 <line x1="360" y1="6" x2="360" y2="95" />
</svg>

ViewBox and Responsive

 <svg viewBox="0 0 450 100"></svg>

 svg { width: 450px; }

 <svg viewBox="0 0 450 100"></svg>

 svg { width: 250px; }

ViewBox

PreserveAspectRatio

Default:

 preserveAspectRatio=”xMidYMid meet”

uniformly scales, like background-size: cover; in CSS

Takes Three Parameters:

x____     Y____     ________

MinMid
Max

Meet
Slice

Align the _____ of the element's viewBox with

the _______ value of the viewport.

MinMid
Max

or none

well, two, technically:

<align> <meetOrSlice>

PreserveAspectRatio

Sara Soueidan's Demo

Meet (default)

entire viewBox is visible within viewport
the viewbox is scaled up as much as possible, meeting other criteria
viewBox < viewport

Slice

entire viewport is covered by the viewBox
the viewBox is scaled down as much as possible, meeting other criteria
viewBox > viewport

Meet

Slice

None

Paths and Groups

<svg viewBox="0 0 218.8 87.1">
  <g fill="none" stroke="#000">
    <path d="M7.3 75L25.9 6.8s58.4-6.4 33.5 13-41.1 32.8-11.2 30.8h15.9v5.5s42.6 18.8 0 20.6" />
    <path d="M133.1 58.2s12.7-69.2 24.4-47.5c0 0 4.1 8.6 9.5.9 0 0 5-10 10.4.9 0 0 12.2 
32.6 13.6 43 0 0 39.8 5.4 15.8 15.4-13.2 5.5-53.8 13.1-77.4 5.9.1 0-51.9-15.4 3.7-18.6z" />
  </g>
</svg>

Group

<g fill="none" stroke="#000">
   ...
</g>

In animation: can add classes,

move multiple things at once

Polyline

<polyline points="14,17 136,37 77,117 230,87 132,158 172,158 "/>

Paths

Demo exploring paths

<path d="M7.3 75L25.9 6.8s58.4-6.4 33.5 13-41.1 32.8-11.2
 30.8h15.9v5.5s42.6 18.8 0 20.6" />
<path d="M133.1 58.2s12.7-69.2 24.4-47.5c0 0 4.1 8.6 9.5.9
 0 0 5-10 10.4.9 0 0 12.2 32.6 13.6 43 0 0 39.8 5.4 15.8 
 15.4-13.2 5.5-53.8 13.1-77.4 5.9.1 0-51.9-15.4 3.7-18.6z" />

Path Data

Paths: Curve Commands

By Anthony Dugois

2 Optimization, CSS Animation, + SVG DOM

Before Optimization

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<!-- Generator: Adobe Illustrator 18.1.1, SVG Export Plug-In
 . SVG Version: 6.00 Build 0)  -->
<svg version="1.1" id="Layer_1" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" 
xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" x="0px" y="0px"
	 width="218.8px" height="87.1px" viewBox="0 0 218.8 87.1" 
enable-background="new 0 0 218.8 87.1" xml:space="preserve">
<g>
	<path fill="#FFFFFF" stroke="#000000" stroke-miterlimit="10" 
d="M133.1,58.2c0,0,12.7-69.2,24.4-47.5c0,0,4.1,8.6,9.5,0.9
		c0,0,5-10,10.4,0.9c0,0,12.2,32.6,13.6,43c0,0,39.8,5.4,15.8,
15.4c-13.2,5.5-53.8,13.1-77.4,5.9C129.5,76.8,77.5,61.4,133.1,58.2z"
		/>
	<path fill="#FFFFFF" stroke="#000000" stroke-miterlimit="10" 
d="M6.7,61.4c0,0-3.3-55.2,20.8-54.8s-7.2,18.1,4.1,29.9
		s8.6-31.2,32.1-15.8S86.7,41,77.2,61.8C70.4,76.8,76.8,79,37.9,
79c-0.4,0-0.9,0.1-1.3,0.1C9,81,40.1,58.7,40.1,58.7"/>
</g>
</svg>

<svg viewBox="0 0 218.8 87.1">
  <g fill="none" stroke="#000">
    <path d="M7.3 75L25.9 6.8s58.4-6.4 33.5 13-41.1 32.8-11.2 30.8h15.9v5.5s42.6 18.8 0 20.6" />
    <path d="M133.1 58.2s12.7-69.2 24.4-47.5c0 0 4.1 8.6 9.5.9 0 0 5-10 10.4.9 0 0 12.2 
32.6 13.6 43 0 0 39.8 5.4 15.8 15.4-13.2 5.5-53.8 13.1-77.4 5.9.1 0-51.9-15.4 3.7-18.6z" />
  </g>
</svg>

Same Output

After export, before implementation:

Optimize!

SVGs for Animation Support Breakdown

or, how I learned to love the Inline

For img src, object, embed, background url, and iframe, you can only designate animation if inside the SVG.

But for inline, both SVG animation and interaction are supported.

Animating with CSS, Refresher

@keyframes animation-name-you-pick {
   0% {
    background: blue;
    transform: translateX(0);
  }
   50% {
    background: purple;
    transform: translateX(50px);
  }
   100% {
    background: red;
    transform: translateX(100px);
  }
}

Keyframes

Animation Properties- Shorthand

.ball {
  animation: animation-name-you-pick 2s 2s 3 alternate ease-in-out forwards;
}

Animating with CSS, with a div

Result:

So, what happens when we apply that to the SVG?

Result:

Why?

moving the whole SVG instead of the circle (not a problem here)
background doesn't work for SVG, we use fill
Apply the fill to the circle, not whole SVG

So, what happens when we apply it to the circle instead?

Result:

Why? Let's look at the code:

<svg width="70px" height="70px" viewBox="0 0 70 70">
  <circle class="ball2" fill="black" cx="45" cy="45" r="25"/>
</svg>

Better:

Target the circle, expand the viewBox,

use fill, and remove the fill from the markup.

<svg width="200px" height="70px" viewBox="0 0 200 70">
  <circle class="ball3" cx="45" cy="45" r="25"/>
</svg>

@keyframes second-animation {
   0% {
    fill: blue;
    transform: translateX(0);
  }
   50% {
    fill: purple;
    transform: translateX(50px);
  }
   100% {
    fill: red;
    transform: translateX(100px);
  }
}

Better:

Target the circle, expand the viewBox,

use fill, and remove the fill from the markup.

Result:

So, why SVG?

Let's look at the star code again:

<polygon fill="white" stroke="black" points="279,5 294,35 328,40 303,62
309,94 279,79 248,94 254,62 230,39 263,35 "/>

CSS was not made for drawing like SVG is.

I drew this in SVG and it's 2kb gzipped.

We can also reach inside it and animated isolated elements. (And we will!)

Exercise 1:

Make a simple SVG with 4+ attributes, optimize it, and animate at least two elements.

Illustrator
Sketch
Inkscape
Draw SVG

3 SVG Sprites, Performance and Planning

SVG Sprites

Start with this technique from Joe Harrison

Sprite Technique #1:

Splash with Step()

Step Animation

Of all web-based animation techniques, step animation most closely resembles old hand-drawn cel animation.

Let's use this to our advantage.

3 of 21 frames.

Shooting on twos.

This pen.

Large Sprite and animate the background position.

Keep it simple.

@keyframes splashit {
        100% { background-position: 0 -3046px; }
}

.splash {
  background: url(‘splash-sprite2.svg’);
  animation: splashit 1.8s steps(21) infinite;
}

/* fallback */
.no-svg .splash {
  background: url(‘splash-sprite2.png’);
}

Fallbacks

Options:

Fallback w/ modernizr
Fallback to a png equivalent
Fallback with the picture element (+ polyfill)
Sara Soueidan's article
Recommended: look at your analytics

2 ways to make this.

Illustrator, with a template:

Object → Path → Split Into Grid
View → Guides → Make Guides
Draw and then copy paste and align, change drawing slightly
Can also easily export png fallback

Works with Sketch, too.

2 ways to make this.

In an SVG editor with Grunticon

Draw drawing in SVG editor, save off one by one
Can also draw on paper and scan
Use grunticon
It makes the fallback for you

Sprite Technique #2:

Rolling Sprite Background

without Step()

Take the steps() out

The background rolls through...

Let's use this to our advantage.

/*--extend--*/
.area {
  width: 600px;
  height: 348px;
}

.fore, .mid, .bk, .container { @extend .area; }

Extend to keep it DRY

.fore {
  background: url(‘fore.svg’);
  animation: bk 7s -5s linear infinite;
}

.mid {
  background: url(‘mid.svg’);
  animation: bk 15s -5s linear infinite;
}

.bk {
  background: url(‘bkwalk2.svg’);
  animation: bk 20s -5s linear infinite;
}

@keyframes bk {
  100% { background-position: 200% 0; }
}

Z-index for parallax, consistent bk position,

different length of animation in seconds.

Sprite Technique #3:

Modern Day Book of Kels

Illustration with SVG Sprite

Make it a responsive svg animation sprite

This pen.

That whole SVG and animation was
8KB Gzipped.

Compare to using text with photos to illustrate an article.

CSS Animation

[class^="star"] {
  animation: blink 2s ease-in-out infinite both;
}

[class^="dot"] {
  animation: blink 5s -3s ease-in-out infinite both;
}

@keyframes blink {
  50% { opacity: 0; }
}

No width and height for the SVG itself, instead define it in css

.initial { 
  width: 50%;
  float: left;
  margin: 0 7% 0 0;
}

We're using percentage here, but we could also use flexbox.

viewBox="0 0 490 474" preserveAspectRatio="xMidYMid meet"

Define smaller viewbox, put in preserveAspectRatio (though this is also the default)

Animation MEDIA QUERIES

+ Adjust initial object, affects animation

[class^="mountain"], [class^="grass"] {
  transform: skew(1.5deg);
}

@media screen and ( min-width: 500px ) {
  [class^="mountain"], [class^="grass"] { 
      transform: skew(2deg);
  }
}

!important part

Animation MEDIA QUERIES

You can do this, you know this already, it applies to all animation, even javascript

!important part

Viewbox shift with JavaScript

var shape = document.getElementById("svg");

// media query event handler
if (matchMedia) {
        var mq = window.matchMedia("(min-width: 500px)");
        mq.addListener(WidthChange);
        WidthChange(mq);
}
// media query change
function WidthChange(mq) {
        if (mq.matches) {
            shape.setAttribute("viewBox", "0 0 490 474");
        }
        else {
            shape.setAttribute("viewBox", "0 490 500 500");
        }
};

Acts like a window to show and hide the requisite parts of the sprite

Sprite Technique #4:

Responsive Design for an

Animated Infographic

Pretty close to Technique #3,

Kels Illustration

Revisiting old approaches

Responsive Animated Infographic

Rethinking Information Presentation article

Three sources with detailed analysis showing lead improvements

Conversion

(one source example, The Whole Brain Group)

increased traffic to their website by over 400%
lead increase by almost 4500%
the number of new visitors to their site to almost 78%

Problems

Not responsive- tipping point: Tim Kadlec
Not updated to current context
^ Especially design

All posts older than 2 years.

What Happened?

This pen.

Responsive:

Change the viewbox in JavaScript like we did before:

Responsive:

Media queries for layout, and fallback with Modernizr:

/* media query example element, mobile first */
@media (max-width: 825px) {
  .container {
    width: 100%;
  }
}
@media (min-width: 826px) {
  .container {
    width: 825px;
  }
}

/* fallback */
.inlinesvg .fallback {
  display: none;
}

.no-inlinesvg .fallback { 
  width: 500px;
  height: 500px;
  display: block;
}

Accessibility

Title and associative aria tags: (WIP)

<svg aria-labelledby="title" id="svg" 
  xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" 
  viewBox="0 0 765 587">
<title id="title" lang="en">Circle of icons 
  that illustrate Global Warming Solutions
</title>

You can also add a title for elements in the SVG DOM

This resource, with support charts.

Also, this article by Dudley Storey.

Atmospheric and Elemental Motion

Elemental Motion

Further away is less contrast, blurry
Does the air or environment effect movement
Reducing precision allows for understanding
Combine techniques

Sprite and Elemental Motion

//mid and mid-sm are the same
#back {
    opacity: 0.8;
    animation: bkmove 70s linear infinite;
    animation-iteration-count: 3;
}

#teal {
 animation: hover 2s ease-in-out infinite both;
}

#tshadow {
  animation: shadowhover 2s ease-in-out infinite both;
  transform-origin: 50% 50%;
}

#purple {
 animation: hover 2s -0.5s ease-in-out infinite both;
}
//same shadow

#heart {
    animation: heartpop 2s 1.25s ease-out both;
    transform-origin: 50% 50%;
    transform: scale(0);
    -moz-transform: scale(1); //firefox transform-origin svg bug hack
}

/*had to split the heart animation in two due to a bad safari 
svg bug that doesn't allow for opacity and transform*/
#heartopacity {
    animation: heartopacity 1.5s 1s ease-out both;
    opacity: 0;
}

#floaty {
  opacity: 0.2;
  animation: floataround 3s ease-in-out infinite both;
  transform-origin: 50% 50%;
  animation-iteration-count: 30;
}

@keyframes bkmove {
    100% {
        transform: translateX(-1600px);
    }
}

@keyframes heartopacity {
    50% {
        opacity: 0.9;
    }
    90% {
        opacity: 0.2;
    }
    100% {
        opacity: 0;
    }
}

@keyframes heartpop {
    50% {
        transform: scale(1);
        -moz-transform: scale(1);
    }
    90% {
        transform: scale(1.5);
        -moz-transform: scale(1);
    }
    100% {
        transform: scale(0);
        -moz-transform: scale(1);
    }
}

Exercise 2:

Use one of the 5 techniques to make an SVG sprite and animate it with CSS

Starter SVG here, if you need it:

https://github.com/artemist/frontendmasters-svganimation

Frontend Masters 1: Advanced SVG Animation

By sdrasner

Frontend Masters 1: Advanced SVG Animation

SVG Anatomy, CSS Animation, SVG Sprites

17,997

FRONTEND MASTERS

Advanced SVG Animation 1

1

SVG Anatomy Overview

SVG!

Look at all that green!

Platonic Shapes

ViewBox

PreserveAspectRatio

Grouping

Drawing Paths

SVG on Export

Overview of the SVG DOM

Platonic Shapes

Platonic Shapes

ViewBox and Responsive

ViewBox

PreserveAspectRatio

PreserveAspectRatio

Meet (default)

Slice

Meet

Slice

None

Paths and Groups

Group

Polyline

Paths

Path Data

Paths: Curve Commands

2

Optimization, CSS Animation, + SVG DOM

Before Optimization

Same Output

After export, before implementation:

Optimize!

SVGs for Animation Support Breakdown

or, how I learned to love the Inline

Animating with CSS, Refresher

Animating with CSS, with a div

So, what happens when we apply that to the SVG?

Why?

So, what happens when we apply it to the circle instead?

Better:

Better:

Result:

So, why SVG?

I drew this in SVG and it's 2kb gzipped.

Exercise 1:

3

SVG Sprites, Performance and Planning

SVG Sprites

Sprite Technique #1:

Step Animation

Fallbacks

2 ways to make this.

2 ways to make this.

Sprite Technique #2:

Take the steps() out

Sprite Technique #3:

Make it a responsive svg animation sprite

That whole SVG and animation was 8KB Gzipped.

CSS Animation

No width and height for the SVG itself, instead define it in css

Animation MEDIA QUERIES

+ Adjust initial object, affects animation

!important part

Animation MEDIA QUERIES

You can do this, you know this already, it applies to all animation, even javascript

!important part

Viewbox shift with JavaScript

Sprite Technique #4:

Revisiting old approaches

Responsive Animated Infographic

Three sources with detailed analysis showing lead improvements

Conversion

(one source example, The Whole Brain Group)

Problems

All posts older than 2 years.

What Happened?

That whole SVG and animation was
8KB Gzipped.