Animating SVG paths is a powerful way to bring graphics to life on a web page. SVG, or Scalable Vector Graphics, are made up of vector shapes such as paths, lines, and curves. Each path can be styled with properties like stroke, which defines the color and width of the line, and fill, which colors the inside of a shape. To create the illusion of a path being drawn, you use the stroke-dasharray and stroke-dashoffset properties.

The stroke-dasharray property defines the pattern of dashes and gaps used to paint the path. By setting it to the total length of the path, you essentially create a single dash that covers the entire path. The stroke-dashoffset property determines how far into the dash pattern the stroke starts. When you set stroke-dashoffset to the full path length, the stroke is completely hidden. As you animate stroke-dashoffset from the full length down to zero, the path appears to be drawn in real time.

Anime.js makes this animation simple. It can smoothly transition the strokeDashoffset property from the initial value to zero, revealing the path as if it is being drawn by hand. This technique is often used to animate logos, icons, and illustrations for engaging visual effects in web design.