Animated Snowball Loading Spinner With Pure CSS

Preview:

Description:

A CSS-only loading indicator/spinner that appears to be like a snowball rolling through the snow. Perfect for any Christmas or winter-themed web design.

How to use it:

1. Build the HTML for the snowball loading spinner.

<div class="pl">
  <div class="pl__outer-ring"></div>
  <div class="pl__inner-ring"></div>
  <div class="pl__track-cover"></div>
  <div class="pl__ball">
    <div class="pl__ball-texture"></div>
    <div class="pl__ball-outer-shadow"></div>
    <div class="pl__ball-inner-shadow"></div>
    <div class="pl__ball-side-shadows"></div>
  </div>
</div>

2. The necessary CSS styles for the snowball.

.pl,
.pl__ball,
.pl__ball-inner-shadow,
.pl__ball-side-shadows,
.pl__ball-texture,
.pl__inner-ring,
.pl__outer-ring,
.pl__track-cover {
  border-radius: 50%;
}
.pl {
  position: relative;
  width: 16em;
  height: 16em;
}
.pl__ball,
.pl__ball-inner-shadow,
.pl__ball-outer-shadow,
.pl__ball-side-shadows,
.pl__ball-texture,
.pl__ball-texture:before,
.pl__inner-ring,
.pl__outer-ring,
.pl__track-cover {
  position: absolute;
}
.pl__ball,
.pl__ball-inner-shadow,
.pl__ball-outer-shadow,
.pl__ball-texture:before,
.pl__track-cover {
  animation: ball 3s linear infinite;
}
.pl__ball {
  top: calc(50% - 1.25em);
  left: calc(50% - 1.25em);
  transform: rotate(0) translateY(-6.5em);
  width: 2.5em;
  height: 2.5em;
}
.pl__ball-inner-shadow {
  animation-name: ballInnerShadow;
  box-shadow:
    0 0.1em 0.2em hsla(0, 0%, 0%, 0.3),
    0 0 0.2em hsla(0, 0%, 0%, 0.1) inset,
    0 -1em 0.5em hsla(0, 0%, 0%, 0.15) inset;
  width: 100%;
  height: 100%;
}
.pl__ball-outer-shadow {
  animation-name: ballOuterShadow;
  background-image: linear-gradient(hsla(0, 0%, 0%, 0.15),hsla(0, 0%, 0%, 0));
  border-radius: 0 0 50% 50% / 0 0 100% 100%;
  filter: blur(2px);
  top: 50%;
  left: 0;
  width: 100%;
  height: 250%;
  transform: rotate(20deg);
  transform-origin: 50% 0;
  z-index: -2;
}
.pl__ball-side-shadows {
  background-color: hsla(0, 0%, 0%, 0.1);
  filter: blur(2px);
  width: 100%;
  height: 100%;
  transform: scale(0.75,1.1);
  z-index: -1;
}
.pl__ball-texture {
  overflow: hidden;
  width: 100%;
  height: 100%;
  transform: translate3d(0,0,0);
}
.pl__ball-texture:before {
  animation-name: ballTexture;
  animation-duration: 0.25s;
  background: url(./snow.jpg) 0 0 / 50% 100%;
  content: "";
  display: block;
  filter: brightness(1.05);
  top: 0;
  right: 0;
  width: 200%;
  height: 100%;
}
.pl__inner-ring {
  box-shadow:
    0 -0.25em 0.5em hsla(0, 0%, 100%, 0.4),
    0 0.5em 0.75em hsla(0, 0%, 100%, 0.4) inset,
    0 0.5em 0.375em hsla(0, 0%, 0%, 0.15),
    0 -0.5em 0.75em hsla(0, 0%, 0%, 0.15) inset;
  top: 2.375em;
  left: 2.375em;
  width: calc(100% - 4.75em);
  height: calc(100% - 4.75em);
}
.pl__outer-ring {
  box-shadow:
    0 -0.45em 0.375em hsla(0, 0%, 0%, 0.15),
    0 0.5em 0.75em hsla(0, 0%, 0%, 0.15) inset,
    0 0.25em 0.5em hsla(0, 0%, 100%, 0.4),
    0 -0.5em 0.75em hsla(0, 0%, 100%, 0.4) inset;
  top: 0.75em;
  left: 0.75em;
  width: calc(100% - 1.5em);
  height: calc(100% - 1.5em);
}
.pl__track-cover {
  animation-name: trackCover;
  background-image: conic-gradient(hsla(223, 90%, 95%, 1) 210deg, hsla(223, 90%, 95%, 0) 270deg);
  top: 0;
  left: 0;
  width: 100%;
  height: 100%;
}

3. Animate the snowball using CSS3 animations.

@keyframes ball {
  from {
    transform: rotate(0) translateY(-6.5em);
  }
  50% {
    transform: rotate(180deg) translateY(-6em);
  }
  to {
    transform: rotate(360deg) translateY(-6.5em);
  }
}
@keyframes ballInnerShadow {
  from {
    transform: rotate(0);
  }
  to {
    transform: rotate(-360deg);
  }
}
@keyframes ballOuterShadow {
  from {
    transform: rotate(20deg);
  }
  to {
    transform: rotate(-340deg);
  }
}
@keyframes ballTexture {
  from {
    transform: translateX(0);
  }
  to {
    transform: translateX(50%);
  }
}
@keyframes trackCover {
  from {
    transform: rotate(0);
  }
  to {
    transform: rotate(360deg);
  }
}