How to Animate Complex SVG Paths with GSAP for Stunning UI Effects

Animating SVG paths can create elegant and attention-grabbing UI effects, especially when done smoothly and efficiently. GSAP (GreenSock Animation Platform) makes this process easy and performant. In this article, we’ll explore how to animate complex SVG paths using GSAP, giving your site an extra layer of interactivity and polish.

1. Why Animate SVGs?

SVGs are scalable, resolution-independent, and styleable with CSS or JavaScript. They're ideal for logos, illustrations, icons, or even text. Animation adds life and personality, improving UX and drawing user attention in subtle ways.

2. Initial Setup

Let’s use an SVG path that we’ll animate to simulate a hand-drawn effect. Here's the HTML:

<svg width="300" height="150" viewBox="0 0 300 150" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg">
  <path id="myPath" d="M10,80 C60,10 140,10 190,80 S290,150 290,80" stroke="#3498db" stroke-width="4" fill="none" />
</svg>

Include GSAP from a CDN:

<script src="https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/gsap/3.12.2/gsap.min.js"></script>

3. Animate the Path With GSAP

To animate a path like it's being drawn, you can use the `stroke-dasharray` and `stroke-dashoffset` properties:

<script>
  const path = document.querySelector("#myPath");
  const length = path.getTotalLength();

  // Set up initial dash array and offset
  path.style.strokeDasharray = length;
  path.style.strokeDashoffset = length;

  // Animate the offset to 0
  gsap.to(path, {
    strokeDashoffset: 0,
    duration: 2,
    ease: "power1.inOut"
  });
</script>

This gives the appearance of the line being drawn from left to right.

4. Make It Loop or Repeat

gsap.fromTo(
  path,
  { strokeDashoffset: length },
  {
    strokeDashoffset: 0,
    duration: 2,
    ease: "power2.out",
    repeat: -1,
    yoyo: true
  }
);

This loops the drawing animation back and forth infinitely.

5. Trigger on Scroll with ScrollTrigger

GSAP's ScrollTrigger plugin allows you to sync the animation with scroll progress:

<script src="https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/gsap/3.12.2/ScrollTrigger.min.js"></script>

<script>
  gsap.registerPlugin(ScrollTrigger);

  gsap.from(path, {
    strokeDashoffset: length,
    duration: 2,
    scrollTrigger: {
      trigger: path,
      start: "top 80%",
      toggleActions: "play none none none"
    }
  });
</script>

6. Advanced Ideas

Animate multiple paths sequentially
Combine with color transitions or fill changes
Use in morphing SVGs with GSAP’s morphSVG plugin

Conclusion

Animating SVG paths using GSAP allows for expressive and engaging visual effects that perform well on all devices. Whether it’s for a logo animation, section divider, or button effect, these animations elevate your frontend work significantly.

Download my 16-page guide Crafting Visual Effects with SVG Filters — it covers:

Animated blur and glow effects
Morphing distortion maps
Composition techniques for scalable motion graphics All for just $10.

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