SVG Cubic Morph

The component that also covers SVG morphing, with similar functionality as for the SVG Morph component, but with a different implementation for value processing and animation setup.

Basic Example

The first morphing animation example is a transition from a rectangle into a star, just like for the other component.

<svg id="morph-example" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 600 600">
<path id="rectangle" class="bg-lime" d="M38.01,5.653h526.531c17.905,0,32.422,14.516,32.422,32.422v526.531 c0,17.905-14.517,32.422-32.422,32.422H38.01c-17.906,0-32.422-14.517-32.422-32.422V38.075C5.588,20.169,20.104,5.653,38.01,5.653z"/>
<path id="star" style="visibility:hidden" d="M301.113,12.011l99.25,179.996l201.864,38.778L461.706,380.808 l25.508,203.958l-186.101-87.287L115.01,584.766l25.507-203.958L0,230.785l201.86-38.778L301.113,12.011"/>
</svg>

Now we can apply both .to() and fromTo() methods:

// the fromTo() method
var tween = KUTE.fromTo('#rectangle', {path: '#rectangle' }, { path: '#star' }).start();
// OR
// the to() method will take the path's d attribute value and use it as start value
var tween = KUTE.to('#rectangle', { path: '#star' }).start();
// OR
// simply pass in a valid path string without the need to have two paths in your SVG
var tween = KUTE.to('#rectangle', { path: 'M301.113,12.011l99.25,179.996l201.864,38.778L461.706,380.808l25.508,203.958l-186.101-87.287L115.01,584.766l25.507-203.958L0,230.785l201.86-38.778L301.113,12.011' }).start();

By default, the component will process the paths as authored and deliver its best without any option required, like for the first red rectangle below which applies to any of the above invocations:

Some takeaways:

• The olive shape and its corresponding end shape are both the originals, un-edited shapes.
• The blue shape and its corresponding end shape have been edited by removing their Z path commands and by adding additional curve points using a vector graphics editor to match the amount of points in both shapes.

In this example we focus on experimentation to discover ways to optimize the morph animation so that the points travel optimal distance. Keep in mind that the Z path command is actually a shorthand for L (line path command), sometimes it's required to close the shape, however the path processing tools will remove it or replace it when converting path segments to C cubic-bezier.

Each morph animation as well as each pair of shapes can have its own quirks. You can use the technique on your shapes to optimize the animation to your style. Chris Coyier wrote an excelent article in which he explains the terminology and workflow on how SVG morphing animation works with simple examples.

Morphing Unclosed Shapes To Closed Shapes

The next set of morphing animations is a transition from a line into a circle and showcases the component's behavior when both shapes are closed (they have the Z path command) or one or another is not, but first let's create the necessary markup and scripting:

<svg id="morph-example" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 600 600">
<path id="line" fill="transparent" stroke="orange" stroke-linejoin="round" stroke-width="10" d="M10 300 L580 300"/>
<path id="star" style="visibility:hidden" d="M10,300a290,290 0 1,0 580,0a290,290 0 1,0 -580,0z"/>
</svg>

// the fromTo() method
var tween = KUTE.fromTo('#line', {path: '#line' }, { path: '#circle' }).start();
// OR
// the to() method will take the path's d attribute value and use it as start value
var tween = KUTE.to('#line', { path: '#circle' }).start();

As you can see, the functionality of this component is very different from the svgMorph component in the sense that it will morph shapes as authored. If you replay the above animations, here are a few takeaways:

• the orange line is closed, this makes the last Z path command behave like a regular line;
• the green line is not closed, and the presentation looks quite different compared to the other example as well as the other cubicMorph component.

This is the visual presentation you can expect with this component. Keep in mind that stroke attributes like stroke-linejoin such can have a small impact on your animation, particularly on start and end points.

Subpath Example

In other cases, you may want to morph paths that have subpaths. Let's have a look at the following SVG:

<svg id="multi-morph-example" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 1024 1024">
<path id="w1" d="M412.23 511.914c-47.708-24.518-94.086-36.958-137.88-36.958-5.956 0-11.952 0.18-17.948 0.708-55.88 4.624-106.922 19.368-139.75 30.828-8.708 3.198-17.634 6.576-26.83 10.306l-89.822 311.394c61.702-22.832 116.292-33.938 166.27-33.938 80.846 0 139.528 30.208 187.992 61.304 22.962-77.918 78.044-266.09 94.482-322.324-11.95-7.284-24.076-14.57-36.514-21.32z 
  m116.118 79.156l-90.446 314.148c26.832 15.372 117.098 64.05 186.212 64.05 55.792 0 118.252-14.296 190.834-43.792l86.356-301.976c-58.632 18.922-114.876 28.52-167.464 28.52-95.95 0-163.114-31.098-205.492-60.95z 
  m-235.526-222.28c77.118 0.798 134.152 30.208 181.416 60.502l92.752-317.344c-19.546-11.196-70.806-39.094-107.858-48.6-24.386-5.684-50.02-8.616-77.204-8.616-51.796 0.976-108.388 13.946-172.888 39.8l-88.44 310.596c64.808-24.436 120.644-36.34 172.086-36.34 0.046 0.002 0.136 0.002 0.136 0.002z 
  m731.178-170.666c-58.814 22.832-116.208 34.466-171.028 34.466-91.686 0-159.292-31.802-203.094-62.366l-91.95 318.236c61.746 39.708 128.29 59.878 198.122 59.878 56.948 0 115.94-13.68 175.462-40.688l-0.182-2.222 3.734-0.886 88.936-306.418z"/>
<path id="w2" d="M0 187.396l367.2-50.6v354.798h-367.2v-304.2z 
  m0 649.2v-299.798h367.2v350.398z 
  m407.6 56v-355.798h488.4v423.2z 
  m0-761.2l488.4-67.4v427.6h-488.4v-360.2z"/>
</svg>

Similar to the svgMorph component, this component doesn't provide multipath processing so we should split the sub-paths into multiple <path> shapes, analyze and associate them in a way that corresponding shapes are close and their points travel the least possible distance.

Now since we've worked with these paths before, the first example below showcases how the svgCubicMorph component handles it by default. The following example was made possible by editing the shapes with a vector graphics editor. The last example showcases a creative use of association between starting and end shapes. Let's have a look:

Make sure to check the markup here as well as the svgCubicMorph.js for a full code review.

Intersecting Paths Example

The same preparation apply here, however the outcome is a bit different with cubic-bezier path commands, as shown in the first example. For the next two examples, the shapes have been edited for a better outcome. Let's have a look:

So the technique involves creating <mask> elements, splitting multipath shapes into multiple <path> shapes, matching the amount of starting and ending shapes by duplicating an existing shape or by sampling another shape for the same purpose, editing shapes for more accurate point-to-point animation, as well as various options to optimize the visual presentation.

That's it, you now mastered the SVG Cubic Morph component.

Notes

• Starting with KUTE.js version 2.0.14 the component implements SVGPathCommander for path processing, solving previous issues with over-optimized path strings among other issues. You can try the SVGPathCommander demo page to prepare your path strings.
• Since animation works only with path SVGElements, you might need a shapeToPath utility.
• Both SVG morph components will always animate first sub-path from both starting and ending shapes, and for any case hopefully this demo will guide you in mastering the technique.
• In some cases your start and end shapes don't have a very close size, you can use your vector graphics editor of choice or SVGPathCommander to apply a scale transformation to your shapes' path commands.
• The SVG Cubic Morph component WILL NOT animate paths with sub-paths as of KUTE.js version 2.0.14, hopefuly this guide will help you break the ice.
• Compared to svgMorph, this component can be more memory efficient, as we're dealing with significantly less interpolation points which translates directly into better performance and the shapes never show any sign of "polygon artifacts".
• Some shapes can be broken even if the browser won't throw any error so make sure you double check with your SVG editor of choice.
• In some cases the duplicated curve bezier points don't produce the best morphing animation, but you can edit the shapes and add your own additional path commands between the existing ones so that the component will work with actual points that travel less and produce a much more "natural" morphing animation.
• The edited shapes can be found in the assets/img folder of this demo, make sure to check them out.
• Make sure to check the svgCubicMorph.js for a full code review.
• This component is affected by the the fill-rule="evenodd" specific SVG attribute, you must make sure you check your shapes in that regard as well.
• This component is bundled with the demo/src/kute-extra.js file.