Earthquake Text Effect
Every few seconds the letters rumble, each one jolting and tilting in its own direction, then the ground goes still. Per-letter custom properties flip the direction, so one keyframe drives them all.
Also known as: trembling text, shaking letters loop, rumble text animation.
HTML
<div class="txt-earthquake-text" aria-label="Aftershock"><span aria-hidden="true"><span style="--i: 0">A</span><span style="--i: 1">f</span><span style="--i: 2">t</span><span style="--i: 3">e</span><span style="--i: 4">r</span><span style="--i: 5">s</span><span style="--i: 6">h</span><span style="--i: 7">o</span><span style="--i: 8">c</span><span style="--i: 9">k</span></span></div>
CSS
.txt-earthquake-text {
--c: var(--txt-color, #3b82f6);
font-size: var(--txt-size, 32px);
font-family: system-ui, sans-serif;
font-weight: 700;
line-height: 1.2;
color: var(--c);}
.txt-earthquake-text span span {
--x: 1;
display: inline-block;
animation: txt-earthquake-text-rumble 2.6s linear infinite;
}
.txt-earthquake-text span span:nth-child(2n) { --x: -1; }
.txt-earthquake-text span span:nth-child(3n) { --x: 0.6; }
@keyframes txt-earthquake-text-rumble {
0%, 36%, 100% { transform: translate(0, 0) rotate(0deg); }
3% { transform: translate(calc(var(--x) * 0.07em), -0.06em) rotate(calc(var(--x) * 5deg)); }
6% { transform: translate(calc(var(--x) * -0.08em), 0.04em) rotate(calc(var(--x) * -5deg)); }
9% { transform: translate(calc(var(--x) * 0.06em), 0.06em) rotate(calc(var(--x) * 4deg)); }
12% { transform: translate(calc(var(--x) * -0.07em), -0.05em) rotate(calc(var(--x) * -4deg)); }
15% { transform: translate(calc(var(--x) * 0.08em), 0.03em) rotate(calc(var(--x) * 3deg)); }
18% { transform: translate(calc(var(--x) * -0.05em), -0.05em) rotate(calc(var(--x) * -2.5deg)); }
22% { transform: translate(calc(var(--x) * 0.04em), 0.03em) rotate(calc(var(--x) * 1.5deg)); }
26% { transform: translate(calc(var(--x) * -0.02em), -0.02em) rotate(calc(var(--x) * -1deg)); }
31% { transform: translate(calc(var(--x) * 0.01em), 0) rotate(0deg); }
}
@media (prefers-reduced-motion: reduce) {
.txt-earthquake-text, .txt-earthquake-text *, .txt-earthquake-text::before, .txt-earthquake-text::after, .txt-earthquake-text *::before, .txt-earthquake-text *::after {
animation-duration: 0.01ms !important;
animation-iteration-count: 1 !important;
transition-duration: 0.01ms !important;
}
}Customizing this snippet
- Color: set
--txt-coloron the element or a parent. Currently previewing#3b82f6. - Font size: set
--txt-size. Every other dimension is inem, so the whole thing scales together. Currently previewing40px. - Speed: change the duration on the
transitionoranimationshorthand. Staggered delays are relative, so they keep their rhythm. - Reduced motion: the rule at the end of the CSS turns the motion off for people who asked their OS for less of it. Keep it.