There are three ways to fill or stroke SVG elements. You can use a solid color, a pattern, or a gradient. So far in this series we’ve seen the first two. Now it’s time to talk about the third, gradients.
There are three ways to fill or stroke SVG elements. You can use a solid color, a pattern, or a gradient. So far in this series we’ve seen the first two. Now it’s time to talk about the third, gradients.
Patterns for web design elements are usually created with images. While some patterns can be created using CSS alone, most involve images of some kind. Fortunately SVG makes it easy to create simple and more complex patterns that can scale with your design and likely require fewer http requests.
Patterns are useful design elements. They can provide contrast, create a sense of depth, and add interest to a composition. SVG makes it easy to create and use patterns that are limited only by your imagination.
A common graphic element drawn with SVG are arrowheads. You could create a new one for each line, but that duplicates code. You could reuse a graphic you defined in <defs>
or <symbol>
elements, but then you have to move and rotate your arrowhead with each new line. Better would be to make things easy on yourself and use a <marker>
element.
An ability to define code in one location and reuse it in another helps you make your code more modular, maintainable, and readable. SVG provides that ability through elements that define the code and elements that reference it for reuse.