A gradient, in general, is a pattern of colors that changes from one color to another. HTML5 Canvas gradients are patterns of color used to fill circles, rectangles, lines, text, and so on, and the canvas shapes aren’t limited to solid colors.
There are two types of gradients:
- createLinearGradient(x,y,x1,y1) - for creating a linear gradient
- createRadialGradient(x,y,r,x1,y1,r1) - for creating a radial gradient
Once you have a gradient object, add two or more color stops. To specify the color stops and the position along the gradient, the addColorStop() method is used. Gradient positions can be in the range between 0 and 1.
Then set the fillStyle or strokeStyle property to the gradient and draw the shape.
Linear Gradient
The linear gradient changes the color in a linear pattern defining the direction of the gradient (horizontal, vertical, or diagonal). The four parameters of this function (x,y,x1,y1) define the direction and extension of the gradient.
Example of a linear gradient using the fillStyle:
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<title>Title of the document</title>
<style>
canvas {
border: 1px solid #cccccc;
}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<canvas id="exampleCanvas" width="300" height="150">
Your browser doesn't support the HTML5 canvas tag.
</canvas>
<script>
var c = document.getElementById("exampleCanvas");
var ctx = c.getContext("2d");
var grd = ctx.createLinearGradient(0, 0, 300, 0);
grd.addColorStop(0, "green");
grd.addColorStop(1, "whitesmoke");
ctx.fillStyle = grd;
ctx.fillRect(20, 20, 260, 110);
</script>
</body>
</html>Example of a linear gradient using the fillStyle with different colors:
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<title>Title of the document</title>
<style>
canvas {
border: 2px solid #202131;
}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<canvas id="exampleCanvas" width="500" height="200"></canvas>
<script>
var canvas = document.getElementById('exampleCanvas');
var context = canvas.getContext('2d');
context.rect(0, 0, 500, 200);
var linear = context.createLinearGradient(0, 0, 500, 200);
linear.addColorStop(0, '#297979');
linear.addColorStop(1, '#2ee035');
context.fillStyle = linear;
context.fill();
</script>
</body>
</html>Example of a linear gradient using the fillStyle and strokeStyle:
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<title>Title of the document</title>
<style>
canvas {
border: 5px solid #cccccc;
}
</style>
<script>
function drawShape() {
var canvas = document.getElementById('canvasGradient');
if (canvas.getContext) {
var ctx = canvas.getContext('2d');
var lgrad1 = ctx.createLinearGradient(0, 0, 0, 300);
lgrad1.addColorStop(0, 'blue');
lgrad1.addColorStop(0.4, 'lightpink');
lgrad1.addColorStop(0.5, 'purple');
lgrad1.addColorStop(1, 'lightsalmon');
var lgrad2 = ctx.createLinearGradient(0, 50, 0, 150);
lgrad2.addColorStop(0, '#7afff3');
lgrad2.addColorStop(0.5, '#191918');
lgrad2.addColorStop(1, '#7afff3');
ctx.fillStyle = lgrad1;
ctx.strokeStyle = lgrad2;
ctx.fillRect(15, 15, 120, 120);
ctx.strokeRect(100, 50, 100, 50);
} else {
alert('Your browser does not support');
}
}
</script>
</head>
<body onload="drawShape();">
<canvas id="canvasGradient"></canvas>
</body>
</html>Radial Gradient
The radial gradient changes the color in a circular pattern. It can be created with two specified circles. In other words, the radial gradient is a color pattern extending circularly, from an inner color to one or more other colors. This can be done with two circles, each of which must have a center point and a radius.
Example of a radial gradient:
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<title>Title of the document</title>
<style>
canvas {
border: 2px solid #cccccc;
}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<canvas id="exampleCanvas" width="300" height="150">
Your browser doesn't support the HTML5 canvas tag.
</canvas>
<script>
var c = document.getElementById("exampleCanvas");
var ctx = c.getContext("2d");
var grd = ctx.createRadialGradient(155, 80, 20, 130, 40, 190);
grd.addColorStop(0, "#14389c");
grd.addColorStop(1, "white");
ctx.fillStyle = grd;
ctx.fillRect(15, 15, 270, 120);
</script>
</body>
</html>Practice Your Knowledge
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