Unlock the Power of Web Animations
Web animations have the ability to elevate your website or application by drawing attention to specific features in a visually stimulating way. From subtle transitions to elaborate animations, the possibilities are endless.
The Magic of Sprite Sheets
One popular method for creating web animations is by using sprite sheets. A sprite sheet is a single image file that contains multiple frames of an animation. By using CSS to manipulate the sprite sheet, you can create complex animations with ease.
Creating Your Own Sprite Sheet Animation
In this tutorial, we’ll cover the process of creating a simplified graphic of a Terminal window with the text “hello” typed out. We’ll use Figma to design the graphic and create each frame of the animation. Then, we’ll add the sprite sheet animation to our web page using CSS.
Designing the Graphic
To start, open Figma and create a new workspace with a desktop-sized canvas (1440px x 1024px). Draw a large dark grey rectangle for the Terminal window, and add a light grey rectangle at the top for the toolbar. Add three grey circles on the toolbar for buttons.
Mapping Out the Animation
Next, map out the final frame of the animation, which will contain the full text you want to display. Choose a monospace font, such as Roboto Mono, to ensure evenly sized and spaced letters. Type out the word “hello” and create a rectangle for the text cursor.
Creating Each Frame of the Animation
Create each frame of the animation by moving the text cursor across the Terminal window as you type out each letter. This will create six frames in total. Once you have each frame, add them all into one sprite sheet image file using a CSS Sprites Generator tool.
Animating the Sprite Sheet
Now it’s time to add your sprite sheet animation to your web page. Start by adding an empty <div> to your HTML file and giving it the class name “terminal”. This <div> element will act as a “viewport” where each frame of the sprite sheet will be displayed in the animation.
Add some CSS styling to the <div>, setting the height and width to match the sprite sheet image file. Then, define the animation code using the @keyframes block. We want to transition from the starting background-position of 0px to shifting the position left by the whole width of the sprite sheet image file.
Making the Animation Responsive
To make the animation responsive on different screen sizes, use transform: scale(0.5) to resize the element by half, and then set the scale to be 1 for all screens larger than 1024px using a @media query.
The Final Result
That’s it! You now have a fully functional CSS animation using a sprite sheet that you created. The final animation and code can be viewed on CodePen.
Take Your Animations to the Next Level
With the power of web animations, the possibilities are endless. From simple transitions to complex animations, you can elevate your website or application and provide a more engaging user experience. Happy coding!