Top JavaScript Animation Libraries

Sometimes you have seen some amazing cool animations on different websites or landing pages. It gives an appealing look to your websites when you add eye-catching animations. And animations are one of the most effective and efficient ways to attract users' attention to your website.

But have you guys ever wondered how these cool animations are created or developed? In this article, we are going to cover some pretty amazing JavaScript Animation Libraries, which will let you create amazing, eye-catching animations.

What is JavaScript?

JavaScript is a programming language used to create interactive effects within web browsers. It's one of the core technologies of the web, alongside HTML and CSS. JavaScript allows developers to add dynamic behavior to websites, such as responding to user actions, updating content without reloading the page, and handling complex interactions like animations or form validation. It can be used for both client-side (in the browser) and server-side (on the server) development. JavaScript is an essential part of modern web development, helping to make websites more interactive and user-friendly.

Top JavaScript Animation Libraries

1. ThreeJS

Three.js is one of the most famous JavaScript Animation Library which will let you create 3D computer graphics objects (like cameras, lights, 3D avatars, materials, effects, scenes, and many more) in a web browser. It allows you to create GPU-accelerated 3D animations using JavaScript. It was first released in 2010 by a developer named Ricardo Cabello. Three.js is an open-source animation library and its source code is available on GitHub, and it is made available under MIT License. 

Some of the cool websites that are made using Three.js are Cornrevolution and scroll-based 2050.

2. GreensockJS

GreensockJS is also another super amazing JavaScript Animation Library that helps you to animate HTML elements easily, and it also helps Front-End Developers and Designers to create robust timeline-based animations. It also allows more precise control over more involved and complex animations, It includes a broad set of tools, utilities, plugins, and extensions,  which you can leverage to handle any kind of complex web animations. It offers super awesome resources like documentation, tutorials, etc. at its GSAP Forum. The best part about GreensockJS is, that it is easy to play around with it, and it's super lightweight 

Some of the cool websites that are made using GreensockJS are the GSAP 3 Logo and scroll-based text animation.

3. AnimeJS

AnimeJS is a lightweight JavaScript library with a simple and bit-size API, which allows users to animate different CSS properties and DOM attributes. It allows you to control all the ingredients of animation and provides you full control over the elements that you target, or the properties/elements you want to animate. 

Some of the cool websites that are made using AnimeJS scroll-based Based Animation. 

4. MoJS 

MoJS is a JavaScript library, which allows users to play with motion graphics, which is retina-ready, very fast, and open source as well. The source code of MoJS can be found on GitHub. It provides built-in components, through which we can create motion graphics effects from scratch (like, swirl, zoom-in, zoom-out, expand, and many more). Even though MoJS is in the beta version, already there are tons of features to play with.

5. Popmotion 

Popmotion is a functional JavaScript Library that allows users to write their features using functions, rather than waiting for the library's admin to create them. It contains tons of features like pointer tackling and many more other features, and Popmotion is a bit of a sized library (11.5KB only). 

Using the Popmotion library, animating DOM or SVG elements can be done easily and nicely, and it is also really easy to animate 3D objects and charts as well. 

6. VelocityJS 

VelocityJS is an animation engine that offers blazing speed, easings of elements, animation of SVGs, colour animation, feature scrolling, and many more. VelocityJS has 15k stars in their source code on Github which is a pretty impressive number. And we can easily add VelocityJS to our website by simply referring to a CDN (Content Delivery Network).

You can also download VelocityJS from their website, and you can use it directly in your project. And we can do a lot of stuff using VelocityJS like playing with CSS animatable properties, adding fade and sliding events to your website, and much more stuff.

7. VivusJS 

VivusJS is a tool that is designed to create a simple animation with a super cool drawing effect, with tons of customization that can be made by the user. It will animate your SVG's animate strokes as if an artist or painter were drawing them. VivusJS offers users a more detailed approach, due to which users can apply animations to inline SVG files.  

8. ScrollRevealJS

scrollReveal.js is a JavaScript library that helps the user to easily reveal elements as they enter the viewport of the particular webpage. It’s very small, as its weight is roughly 3Kb if minified and zipped. And it no basic dependencies to play with this library, so users don't need to use another library to play with scrollReveal.js. 

9. KuteJS

KUTE.js is a JavaScript-based animation engine that focuses on performance while animating different elements present on a webpage. The entire codebase is worked on the latest coding standards and conventions. Each component comes with well-documented guides and a ton of tips and tricks on how to optimize the performance of a particular animation. KuteJS comes under MIT License.

10. TheatreJs

TheatreJs is a javascript animation library that is used to create high-precise motion graphics. Theatre.js can be used both programmatically and visually.  Theatre.js is a work-in-progress design tool suitable for creating any animation, from cinematic scenes to delightful UI interactions. It is also used to animate the 3D objects created using ThreeJs, such as manipulating camera angles, adjusting lights or shades, and more.

Conclusion

In this article, we've explored some of the top JavaScript animation libraries that can help you create amazing, eye-catching animations for your website. These libraries, like Three.js, GreensockJS, and AnimeJS, offer unique features and tools that allow developers to add dynamic and interactive animations, making websites more engaging and user-friendly. Whether you're working on 3D graphics, motion effects, or simple transitions, there's a library that can meet your needs.

By using these libraries, you can bring your website to life, capture users' attention, and create a more memorable browsing experience. Each of these libraries has its strengths, so depending on your project, you can choose the one that best fits your goals. With the right tools, creating stunning animations on the web is easier than ever!