I came across a couple such animations a while ago and this gave me the idea of creating my own versions with as little code as possible, no external libraries, using various methods, some of which take advantage of more recent features we can use these days, such as CSS variables. This article is going to guide you through the process of building these demos.
The year was 1995; Toy Story hit the theaters, kids were obsessively collecting little cardboard circles and Kiss From a Rose was being badly sung by everyone. I was a gangly ten-year-old, and like any other relatively tall kid I was often addressed to by "you must be so good at basketball!". So I practiced and practiced spending hours on the court of my elementary school. Eventually, I realized, much to the dismay of aunts and other cheek-pinchers alike, that while occupying vertical real estate might give you an advantage in the art of basketball, it does not ensure it.
Fast forward 21 years later. Now a tall and gangly developer, still bad at basketball, I was faced with a project: Designing and implementing a full motion video web basketball game for the NBA’s Detroit Pistons. Throwing balls around is one thing; throwing pixels around — now that's finally a basketball challenge I can ace!
The question I am asked most frequently: what animation tool do you recommend?
Having worked with a slew of them, I can tell you there is no right answer. It's a complicated question and complicated answer. This post serves to clarify what to use, and when, to get you working with the right tool for the job.
If you’re here for React, we’ve got you covered! Jump down to the React section below and we’ll break down what to use and how to use it.