Javascript

How to Create a Cloud Rain Effect with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript

By Cristian Quiñones, Published on January 23rd 2025 | 4 mins, 635 words

Welcome to this creative tutorial, today I will show you how to create a "Cloud Raindrops Effect" with only HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. This effect looks like a raindrops falling from a cloud, tranforming your website with engaging and interactive elements.

Things you will learn after this tutorial:

Create a Cool Animations: Discover how to use CSS Animation Keyframes for smooth and captivating visual effects.

Adding JavaScript for Interactivity: Understand how to dynamically create elements and real-time animations.

Dynamic Web Design: Master the art of combining HTML, CSS, and JavaScript to create a user-friendly and dynamic web layouts.

Now let's get started!

Step 1: Setting Up the HTML Structure

We’ll start by creating an index.html then follow this code:

index.html

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
    <meta charset="UTF-8">
    <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
    <link rel="stylesheet" href="style.css">
    <title>Cloud Rain Effect</title>
</head>
<body>
    <div class="container">
        <div class="cloud">
            <h2>Cloud Rain Effect</h2>
        </div>
    </div>
    <script src="main.js"></script>
</body>
</html>

Step 2: Styling the HTML structure with CSS

Enhance the UI to make it more visually appealing, including the glowing cloud and raindrops. Here's the CSS code:

style.css

@import url('https://fonts.googleapis.com/css2?family=Poppins:ital,wght@0,100;0,200;0,300;0,400;0,500;0,600;0,700;0,800;0,900;1,100;1,200;1,300;1,400;1,500;1,600;1,700;1,800;1,900&display=swap');
*
{
    margin: 0;
    padding:0;
    box-sizing: border-box;
    font-family: 'Poppins', sans-serif;
}

:root{
    --clr: #0f0;
}

body{
    display: flex;
    justify-content: center;
    align-items: center;
    min-height: 100vh;
    background: #000;
    transform: scale(0.6);
}

.container {
    position: relative;
    top: 100px;
    height: 400px;
    width: 100%;
    display: flex;
    justify-content: center;
    animation: animateColor 5s linear infinite ;
}

@keyframes animateColor {
    0%{
        filter: hue-rotate(0deg);
    }
    100%{
        filter: hue-rotate(360deg);
    }
}

.container .cloud {
    position: relative;
    width: 300px;
    /* height: 300px; */
    z-index: 100;
    filter: drop-shadow(0 0 35px var(--clr));
}

.container .cloud h2 {
    position: absolute;
    left: 50%;
    transform: translateX(-50%);
    white-space: nowrap;
    color: #000;
    font-size: 2em;
    z-index: 1000;
    font-weight: 400;
    padding:0 10px;
    border-radius: 10px;
    text-transform: uppercase;
    background: var(--clr);
}

.container .cloud h2::before {
    content: '';
    position: absolute;
    top: -115px;
    left: 50%;
    transform: translateX(-50%);
    border-radius: 100px;
    width: 120%;
    height: 100px;
    background: var(--clr);
}

.container .cloud h2::after{
    content: '';
    position: absolute;
    top: -150px;
    left: 25px;
    width: 120px;
    height: 120px;
    border-radius: 50%;
    background: var(--clr);
    box-shadow: 120px -30px 0 10px var(--clr);
} 

.container .cloud .drop{
  position: absolute;
  top: 60px;
  height: 20px;
  line-height: 20px;
  color: var(--clr);
  transform-origin: bottom;
  animation: animate 2s linear infinite;
}

@keyframes animate {
    0%{
        transform: translateY(0) scaleY(0);
        transform-origin: top;
    }
    10%{
        transform: translateY(0) scaleY(0.25);
        transform-origin: top;
    }
    20%{
        transform: translateY(0) scaleY(1);
        /* transform-origin: top; */
    }
    
    70%{
        transform: translateY(300px) scaleY(1);
        transform-origin: bottom;
    }
    80%{
        transform: translateY(300px) scaleY(1);
        transform-origin: bottom;
    }
    100%{
        transform: translateY(300px) scaleY(0);
        transform-origin: bottom;
        text-shadow: -180px 0 0 var(--clr), 180px 0 var(--clr);
    }
}

Step 3: Make our application more Interactive with Javascript

we have defined a basic structure and added some designs now lets make our application dynamic with Javascript. Here's the main.js code:

main.js

function randomText(){
    var text = ("!@#$%^*()")
    letters =text[Math.floor(Math.random() * text.length)];
    return letters;
}

function rain() {
    let cloud = document.querySelector('.cloud');
    let e = document.createElement('div');
    e.classList.add('drop');
    cloud.appendChild(e);

    let left = Math.floor(Math.random() * 300)
    let size = Math.random() * 1.5;
    let duration = Math.random() *1;

    e.innerText = randomText();
    e.style.left = left + 'px';
    e.style.fontSize = 0.5+size +'em';
    e.style.animationDuration = 1+duration+'s';

      setTimeout(function(){
      cloud.removeChild(e)
      },2000)
}

setInterval(function(){
    rain()
},20);


// The cloud effect completes here.

Testing the Application:

Open the application on your browser and check if it's working

cloudraineffect.PNG 105.75 KB

🎉 Congratulations!!! 🎉

You have successfully created a glowing cloud raindrops effect with just HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, You can further customize the color, speed, and size that suits your creativity.

💡 What will you build next with this technique? Unleash your creativity! ✨ We'd love to hear your ideas—drop them in the comments below!! 💬