Styling SVGs

Perfectly Adapt Vector Graphics!

Styling SVG graphics is like dressing up a magical creature: with a little CSS, you can truly breathe magic into them. A touch of color here, a dramatic drop shadow there, and suddenly your SVG glows like a crystal in the twilight. stroke and stroke-width give the edges the charm of an ancient map, and those who dare can use transform to set the whole thing in motion—rotated, shrunk, or dramatically enlarged.

But beware, don’t overdo your magic! With transition and opacity, your SVG will drift gracefully, but too many effects will make it flicker like an overstimulated crystal ball. An SVG knows when enough is enough—for even in magic, sometimes less is more.

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Customizing Vector Graphics

Customizing Vector Graphics

Shapes, colors, effects – customize vector graphics perfectly!

SVGs can be styled directly with CSS by defining fill colors, stroke widths, and sizes. With SVG attributes, you can control lines, shapes, and gradients directly in the code. Additionally, you can use shadows, outlines, and filters to seamlessly integrate your vector graphics into your design.

.circle {
    /* Color of the circle */
    fill: green;
    /* Border color */
    stroke: yellowgreen;
    /* Border thickness */
    stroke-width: 7px;
    /* Filter and shadow effects */
    filter: drop-shadow(4px 4px 4px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.3));
    opacity: 0.9;
}

This style gives the circle a rich fill color, a bold border, a subtle shadow effect, and reduces opacity for an elegant, slightly transparent appearance.

In this lesson, you have learned…

How to style SVG elements with CSS by using fill, stroke, and stroke-width to adjust colors and lines.
Why drop-shadow gives SVGs depth by adding shading to highlight elements.
How opacity controls the transparency of your SVGs, making them either subtler or more striking.
Why SVGs can be styled directly in CSS to allow flexible design changes without needing additional image editing.

Here you can see the code you’ve practiced – but feel free to experiment! Try out changes, test new ideas, and see what happens. This is your space for tinkering!

The Symbols of the Forest

Deep within the forest lie ancient symbols – circles calling forth the sun, rectangles embodying stability, and lines pointing the way. Naturally, the trees claim they invented these. To master these forms yourself, you’ll need to work with SVGs (Scalable Vector Graphics), the magical tools of the digital wilderness. With HTML and CSS, you’ll give them color, size, and personality. A circle becomes more than just a circle – it could be the moon or perhaps… a particularly confident stone.

Your Task: Create SVG Symbols

SVG Line (<line>)
Add a line using the attributes x1, y1, x2, y2 along with stroke and stroke-width.
SVG Rectangle (<rect>)
Create a rectangle with the attributes x, y, width, height, stroke, and fill.
SVG Circle (<circle>)
Add a circle using the attributes cx, cy, r, and fill to define the position and size.
CSS Properties: fill and opacity
Use CSS to change the fill colors of the SVG elements and add transparency using opacity, e.g., .circle { fill: green; opacity: 0.8; }.

Open Visual Studio Code and make these words appear on the page. Or try it right here in the editor!

Open Editor in a New Tab

HTML

<svg width="200" height="200">
    <line x1="10" y1="10" x2="190" y2="190" stroke="purple" stroke-width="5">
</svg>
<br>
<svg width="200" height="200">
    <rect x="10" y="10" width="180" height="100" fill="pink" stroke="purple" stroke-width="5">
</svg>
<br>
<svg width="200" height="200" class="circle">
    <circle cx="100" cy="100" r="50">
</svg>

CSS

.circle {
    fill: green;
    stroke: yellowgreen;
    stroke-width: 7px;
    filter: drop-shadow(4px 4px 4px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.3));
    opacity: 0.8;
}

Let’s Keep Going