Troubleshooting Lottie Animation Preloading Without Using Lottie Files in HTML/CSS/JS

In web development, creating engaging animations often involves using tools like Lottie to achieve smooth, vector-based motion. However, there are scenarios where developers prefer to replace Lottie animations with CSS and JavaScript solutions, either for performance optimization or greater control.

Recently, I encountered a situation where I attempted to recreate a 3D rotation effect—originally achieved with a Lottie animation—using pure CSS and JavaScript. The goal was to simulate a hovering effect on energy cans, providing a seamless experience without the initial load hiccups associated with Lottie files.

The challenge was ensuring that all image frames for the animation preloaded before user interaction, to prevent flickering or layout shifts on hover. Despite trying to programmatically preload the frames and trigger the animation ahead of time, the images still loaded dynamically on hover, causing unwanted visual disruptions.

I experimented with running the animation once during the page load phase via JavaScript to pre-cache all frames, but this approach didn’t fully resolve the issue. As a result, the initial hover still resulted in a flash as images appeared suddenly.

If you’re working on similar projects and aiming to replace Lottie animations with CSS or JS-driven solutions, consider the following tips:

• Preload all image assets explicitly using JavaScript or CSS to ensure they’re cached before interactions.
• Initialize the animation during the page’s initial load, or trigger a hidden hover event to load all frames in advance.
• Optimize your image sequence for quicker loading times—using sprite sheets or compressed formats might help.
• Test across different browsers and devices to verify consistent preloading behavior.

You can view the live project here for reference: https://mitchangus.design/LiftOff

Implementing smooth, preloaded animations without relying on external animation files can be challenging, but with careful planning and asset management, it’s achievable. Happy coding!