5 Animations Every Dev Must Know Using GSAP with React

What is GSAP?

GSAP (GreenSock Animation Platform) is a powerful JavaScript animation library that enables you to create dynamic and eye-catching animations for your React application. In this article, we will go over five basic animations you can create using GSAP and React.

Fade-in Animation

A simple fade-in effect is one of the most basic animations you can create. To do this, you can use the from method to animate the opacity property from 0 to 1. Here's an example:

import { gsap } from "gsap"
import React, { useRef, useEffect } from "react";

const FadeIn = () => {
  const ref = useRef(null);

  useEffect(() => {
    gsap.from(ref.current, { duration: 1, opacity: 0 });
  }, []);

  return <div ref={ref}>Fade In</div>;
};;        

In this example, we are using the from method to animate the opacity of the div element from 0 to 1 over a duration of 1 second.

Slide-in Animation

Another basic animation you can create is a slide-in effect. You can use the from method to animate the x property from a negative value to 0. Here's an example:

import { gsap } from "gsap"
import React, { useRef, useEffect } from "react";

const SlideIn = () => {
  const ref = useRef(null);

  useEffect(() => {
    gsap.from(ref.current, { duration: 1, x: -100 });
  }, []);

  return <div ref={ref}>Slide In</div>;
};;        

In this example, we are using the from method to animate the div element from a position 100 pixels to the left of its initial position to its initial position over a duration of 1 second.

Scale Animation

A scale animation is another simple effect you can create using GSAP. You can use the from method to animate the scale property from 0 to 1. Here's an example:

import { gsap } from "gsap"
import React, { useRef, useEffect } from "react";

const Scale = () => {
  const ref = useRef(null);

  useEffect(() => {
    gsap.from(ref.current, { duration: 1, scale: 0 });
  }, []);

  return <div ref={ref}>Scale</div>;
};;        

In this example, we are using the from method to animate the div element from a scale of 0 to 1 over a duration of 1 second.

Rotate Animation

Rotating animation is a great way to add visual interest to your UI. To do this, you can use the from method to animate the rotation property from a specified angle to 0. Here's an example:

import { gsap } from "gsap"
import React, { useRef, useEffect } from "react";

const Rotate = () => {
  const ref = useRef(null);

  useEffect(() => {
    gsap.from(ref.current, { duration: 1, rotation: 180 });
  }, []);

  return <div ref={ref}>Rotate</div>;
};;        

In this example, we are using the from method to animate the div element from a rotation of 180 degrees to 0 degrees over a duration of 1 second.

Staggered Animation

a great way to animate multiple elements with a delay between each animation. To do this, you can use the staggerFrom method to animate elements with a specified delay between each animation. Here's an example:

import { gsap } from "gsap"
import React, { useRef, useEffect } from "react";

const Staggered = () => {
  const refs = useRef([]);

  useEffect(() => {
    gsap.staggerFrom(refs.current, { duration: 1, opacity: 0, y: 50, stagger: 0.2 }, 0.5);
  }, []);

  return (
    <>
      <div ref={el => (refs.current[0] = el)}>Staggered 1</div>
      <div ref={el => (refs.current[1] = el)}>Staggered 2</div>
      <div ref={el => (refs.current[2] = el)}>Staggered 3</div>
    </>
  );
};;        

In this example, we use the staggerFrom method to animate a set of three div elements with a stagger of 0.2 seconds between each animation and an initial delay of 0.5 seconds.

Conclusion

GSAP is a powerful animation library that can help you create dynamic and engaging animations for your React application. You can create various UI effects using some of the basic animations discussed in this article. With the ability to reference DOM nodes using Refs, you can create targeted animations that add a new level of interactivity to your application. Start experimenting with GSAP and React today and take your UI to the next level!

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