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Quick Tip: Pure CSS Text Gradients

by Jeffrey Way21 May 2010

Difficulty:IntermediateLength:QuickLanguages:

With the latest advancements in CSS, we now have access to powerful styling techniques, including box shadows, rounded corners, background gradients, etc. However, we don't currently have the ability to apply gradients to the text itself. Luckily, with a bit of trickery, we can force this effect -- at least in webkit browsers! I'll show you how in today's video quick tip.

4 Minutes: Video Tutorial

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Final Code

<!DOCTYPE html>

<html lang="en">
<head>
	<meta charset="utf-8">
	<title>Text Gradients</title>
	<link href='http://fonts.googleapis.com/css?family=Lobster' rel='stylesheet' type='text/css'>

	<style>
	body {
		background: #292929;
		padding: 1em;
	}
	
	h1 {
		position: relative;
		font-size: 70px;
		margin-top: 0;
		font-family: 'Lobster', helvetica, arial;
	}
	
	h1 a {
		text-decoration: none;
		color: #666;
		position: absolute;
		
		-webkit-mask-image: -webkit-gradient(linear, left top, left bottom, from(rgba(0,0,0,1)), color-stop(50%, rgba(0,0,0,.5)), to(rgba(0,0,0,1)));
	}
	
	h1:after {
		content : 'Hello World';
		color: #d6d6d6;
		text-shadow: 0 1px 0 white;
	}
	
	</style>
</head>
<body>
     <h1> <a href="#"> Hello World </a> </h1>
</body>
</html>

I originally learned this technique from the guys over at NiceWebType.com. Be sure to visit their website to learn more! So what do you think?