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CSS Properties Related to 3D Animation

CSS Properties Related to 3D Animation

This article explains CSS properties related to 3D animations.

We will explain how 3D animations work in CSS and how to use them with real code examples. You will practically learn how to apply 3D transformations using the transform property and how to add depth and a three-dimensional effect with perspective and transform-style.

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css-animation-3d.html 
  1<!DOCTYPE html>
  2<html lang="en">
  3<head>
  4    <meta charset="UTF-8">
  5    <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
  6    <title>CSS 3D Animation</title>
  7    <link rel="stylesheet" href="css-base.css">
  8    <link rel="stylesheet" href="css-animation-3d.css">
  9</head>
 10<body>
 11    <header>
 12        <h1>CSS Properties For 3D Animation</h1>
 13    </header>
 14    <main>
 15        <header>
 16            <h2>3D Animation Related Properties</h2>
 17        </header>
 18
 19        <!-- 3D Keyframes Section -->
 20        <article>
 21            <h3>@keyframes with 3D Effects</h3>
 22            <section>
 23                <header><h4>animation: rotateY3D 4s linear infinite</h4></header>
 24                <section class="sample-view">
 25                    <section class="sample-view-3d">
 26                        <div class="box-animation-rotateY">Rotate Y</div>
 27                    </section>
 28                </section>
 29                <header><h4>animation: rotateX3D 4s linear infinite</h4></header>
 30                <section class="sample-view">
 31                    <section class="sample-view-3d">
 32                        <div class="box-animation-rotateX">Rotate X</div>
 33                    </section>
 34                </section>
 35                <header><h4>animation: cube-spin 6s ease-in-out infinite</h4></header>
 36                <section class="sample-view">
 37                    <section class="sample-view-3d">
 38                        <div class="box-animation-cube">Spinning Cube</div>
 39                    </section>
 40                </section>
 41            </section>
 42        </article>
 43
 44        <article>
 45            <h3>Hover to Flip the Card</h3>
 46            <section>
 47                <header><h4>HTML</h4></header>
 48<pre>
 49&lt;div class=&quot;card-container&quot;&gt;
 50    &lt;div class=&quot;card&quot;&gt;
 51        &lt;div class=&quot;card-face card-front&quot;&gt;
 52        &lt;h3&gt;Front&lt;/h3&gt;
 53        &lt;p&gt;This is the front side&lt;/p&gt;
 54        &lt;/div&gt;
 55        &lt;div class=&quot;card-face card-back&quot;&gt;
 56        &lt;h3&gt;Back&lt;/h3&gt;
 57        &lt;p&gt;This is the back side&lt;/p&gt;
 58        &lt;/div&gt;
 59    &lt;/div&gt;
 60&lt;/div&gt;
 61</pre>
 62            </section>
 63            <section class="sample-view" style="height: 270px;">
 64                <section class="sample-view-3d-card">
 65                    <div class="card-container">
 66                        <div class="card">
 67                            <div class="card-face card-front">
 68                            <h3>Front</h3>
 69                            <p>This is the front side</p>
 70                            </div>
 71                            <div class="card-face card-back">
 72                            <h3>Back</h3>
 73                            <p>This is the back side</p>
 74                            </div>
 75                        </div>
 76                    </div>
 77                </section>
 78            </section>
 79        </article>
 80
 81        <article>
 82            <h3>3D Animation Cube Example</h3>
 83            <section>
 84                <header><h4>animation: cube-spin 6s ease-in-out infinite</h4></header>
 85                <section class="sample-view" style="height: 300px;">
 86                    <div class="scene">
 87                        <div class="cube">
 88                            <div class="face front">Front</div>
 89                            <div class="face back">Back</div>
 90                            <div class="face left">Left</div>
 91                            <div class="face right">Right</div>
 92                            <div class="face top">Top</div>
 93                            <div class="face bottom">Bottom</div>
 94                        </div>
 95                    </div>
 96                </section>
 97            </section>
 98        </article>
 99    </main>
100</body>
101</html>

3D Animations and Transitions

Modern web browsers allow you to create three-dimensional 3D animations using only CSS. Since you can create lightweight and visually appealing interactions without using JavaScript, it contributes to improved UI/UX.

How 3D Animation Works

CSS 3D animations mainly utilize the following properties:.

  • The transform property changes the position, rotation, and scale of elements.
  • The perspective property sets the viewpoint distance to express 3D depth.
  • The transform-style property specifies whether child elements should be transformed in 3D space.
  • The backface-visibility property controls the visibility of the back face of elements.
  • The animation and transition properties are used to define animations.

@keyframes and 3D Animations

Rotation Around the Y-Axis

Let's start by defining a 3D animation that rotates an element around the Y-axis using @keyframes.

 1.sample-view-3d {
 2    width: 100px;
 3    height: 100px;
 4    margin: 1rem auto;
 5    perspective: 800px;
 6}
 7
 8.box-animation-rotateY,
 9.box-animation-rotateX,
10.box-animation-cube {
11    width: 100%;
12    height: 100%;
13    background: linear-gradient(45deg, #4facfe, #00f2fe);
14    display: flex;
15    align-items: center;
16    justify-content: center;
17    color: white;
18    font-size: 1.1rem;
19    border-radius: 10px;
20    transform-style: preserve-3d;
21}
22
23/* RotateY animation */
24@keyframes rotateY3D {
25    from { transform: rotateY(0deg); }
26    to { transform: rotateY(360deg); }
27}
28
29.box-animation-rotateY {
30    animation: rotateY3D 4s linear infinite;
31}
  • The rotateY3D animation rotates the element 360 degrees around the Y-axis.
  • The transform-style property is set to preserve-3d to maintain the 3D transformations of child elements.
  • The perspective property sets the viewpoint distance to adjust the sense of depth. Here, 800px is set.

Rotation Around the X-Axis

Let's also define a 3D animation that rotates an element around the X-axis.

1/* RotateX animation */
2@keyframes rotateX3D {
3    from { transform: rotateX(0deg); }
4    to { transform: rotateX(360deg); }
5}
6
7.box-animation-rotateX {
8    animation: rotateX3D 4s linear infinite;
9}
  • The rotateX3D animation rotates the element 360 degrees around the X-axis.

Rotation Around Both the X-Axis and Y-Axis

Let's define a 3D animation that combines rotations on both the X and Y axes.

 1/* Cube spin (combination of X and Y rotation) */
 2@keyframes cube-spin {
 3    0%   { transform: rotateX(0deg) rotateY(0deg); }
 4    50%  { transform: rotateX(180deg) rotateY(180deg); }
 5    100% { transform: rotateX(360deg) rotateY(360deg); }
 6}
 7
 8.box-animation-cube {
 9    animation: cube-spin 6s ease-in-out infinite;
10}
  • Rotating on multiple axes creates a stronger 3D effect.

Flipping the front and back of a 3D card

Let's define a hover animation effect that flips the front and back of a 3D card.

 1/* 3D perspective wrapper */
 2.sample-view-3d-card {
 3  perspective: 1000px;
 4  width: 300px;
 5  height: 200px;
 6  margin: 2rem auto;
 7}
 8
 9/* Outer card container */
10.card-container {
11  width: 100%;
12  height: 100%;
13  position: relative;
14  perspective: 1000px;
15}
16
17/* The card itself */
18.card {
19  width: 100%;
20  height: 100%;
21  position: relative;
22  transform-style: preserve-3d;
23  transition: transform 0.8s ease;
24}
25
26/* Both faces */
27.card-face {
28  position: absolute;
29  width: 100%;
30  height: 100%;
31  backface-visibility: hidden;
32  border-radius: 12px;
33  box-shadow: 0 6px 20px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2);
34  display: flex;
35  flex-direction: column;
36  justify-content: center;
37  align-items: center;
38  font-family: sans-serif;
39  color: white;
40  font-size: 1.1rem;
41  padding: 1rem;
42}
43
44/* Flip the card on hover */
45.card-container:hover .card {
46  transform: rotateY(180deg);
47}
48
49/* Front side style */
50.card-front {
51  background: linear-gradient(135deg, #00c9ff, #92fe9d);
52}
53
54/* Back side style */
55.card-back {
56  background: linear-gradient(135deg, #fc466b, #3f5efb);
57  transform: rotateY(180deg);
58}
  • By setting the backface-visibility property to hidden, the back side is prevented from appearing in the front.
  • Applying rotateY(180deg) to the .card-back class creates the back side of the card.
  • Applying rotateY(180deg) on hover flips the card.

Cube 3D Animation

Let's define a 3D animation for a cube. Each face of the cube appears while rotating, expressing the 3D effect through hover or automatic animation.

 1.scene {
 2  width: 200px;
 3  height: 200px;
 4  perspective: 800px; /* Viewing distance (the smaller the value, the stronger the depth effect) */
 5  background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);
 6  border: 0;
 7}
 8
 9.cube {
10  width: 100%;
11  height: 100%;
12  transform-style: preserve-3d;
13  transform: rotateX(0deg) rotateY(0deg);
14  animation: rotateCube 10s infinite linear;
15  position: relative;
16  background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);
17  border: 0;
18}
19
20.face {
21  position: absolute;
22  width: 200px;
23  height: 200px;
24  background: rgba(0, 128, 255, 0.6);
25  border: 1px solid #fff;
26  display: flex;
27  align-items: center;
28  justify-content: center;
29  font-size: 24px;
30  font-weight: bold;
31}
32
33/* Positioning each face */
34.front  { transform: translateZ(100px); }
35.back   { transform: rotateY(180deg) translateZ(100px); }
36.left   { transform: rotateY(-90deg) translateZ(100px); }
37.right  { transform: rotateY(90deg) translateZ(100px); }
38.top    { transform: rotateX(90deg) translateZ(100px); }
39.bottom { transform: rotateX(-90deg) translateZ(100px); }
40
41/* Rotation animation */
42@keyframes rotateCube {
43  from {
44    transform: rotateX(0deg) rotateY(0deg);
45  }
46  to {
47    transform: rotateX(360deg) rotateY(360deg);
48  }
49}
  • The .cube class is displayed in 3D because its transform-style property is set to preserve-3d.
  • Each face of the cube is pushed forward from the cube's center using translateZ(100px), forming a 3D cube.
  • The rotateCube animation automatically rotates the cube by combining the Y and X axes.

Viewpoint changes with perspective

Reducing the perspective value brings the viewpoint closer to the element, emphasizing depth and enhancing the 3D effect. Conversely, increasing the value moves the viewpoint farther away, resulting in a more natural and subtle 3D appearance. Here, let's change the perspective property from 800px to 200px to display the cube's 3D animation.

1.scene {
2  perspective: 200px;
3}
  • By changing the perspective property from 800px to 200px, the viewpoint becomes closer and the depth is more emphasized.

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Animation-related CSS Properties