Why is this svg not affected by a filter?

Question

This question asks to change the color of an svg using css. I had thought it would be possible to achieve this with a filter, but I'm running into a problem.

I can blur the image with a css filter, but I can't change the color. It seems that from this article, it should be possible to adjust a background-image svg's color using a filter. Where am I going wrong here?

.btn-icon {
  border: 1px solid black;
  height: 40px;
  width: 40px;
  padding: 0px;
  background: url("https://image.flaticon.com/icons/svg/1034/1034153.svg");
  background-size: cover;
}

.blur {
  filter: blur(3px)
}

.color {
  filter: hue-rotate(40deg) saturate(0.5) brightness(390%) saturate(4); 
}

<button class="btn-icon blur"></button>
<button class="btn-icon color"></button>

It looks like you're doing everything fine. I believe the issue is with this specific SVG file structure. I'm not 100% sure, but if the file will contain a single element and a 'fill' attribute with a specific color (black could be good for a default) then it might work. At least that's one of the differences between your file and the ones in the example. — Shahar, Aug 08 '18 at 10:31

score 3 · Answer 1 · answered Aug 08 '18 at 11:46

You have two main issues:

There is a typo. .color: should be .color.
Nothing happens if you hue-rotate() a black and white image. You just get the same black and white image. #000000 just becomes #000000. Same for white. The same applies for most of the other CSS filter primitives. The only one that can really add in any colour is the sepia() filter. And it seems you have to jump through quite a few hoops to get useful colour out of it.

Here is an example with a filter set borrowed from another example elsewhere.

.btn-icon {
  border: 1px solid black;
  height: 40px;
  width: 40px;
  padding: 0px;
  background: url("https://image.flaticon.com/icons/svg/1034/1034153.svg");
  background-size: cover;
}

.blur {
  filter: blur(3px)
}

.color {
  filter: invert(100%) grayscale(100%) brightness(40%) sepia(100%) hue-rotate(-50deg) saturate(600%) contrast(0.8);
 }

<button class="btn-icon blur"></button>
<button class="btn-icon color"></button>

Thanks, I've fixed the typo. Did you see my answer? I was able to adjust the color of the image using filters, without sepia, once I had set the color of the path on the svg. — OliverRadini, Aug 08 '18 at 11:53
I didn't notice that it was you that answered your own question. — Paul LeBeau, Aug 08 '18 at 11:55

OliverRadini · Accepted Answer · 2018-08-08T11:51:52.527

@Shahar had this right; it's to do with how the svg is put together. Without a fill attribute on the path, it's not possible to use color filters on the image. The raw svg has been added below, with one of the paths having color, the other not.

The filter is applied to the part of the image with the fill attribute only.

.btn-icon {
  border: 1px solid black;
  height: 40px;
  width: 40px;
  padding: 0px;
  background: url("https://image.flaticon.com/icons/svg/1034/1034153.svg");
  background-size: cover;
}

.blur {
  filter: blur(3px)
}

.color {
  filter: hue-rotate(40deg) saturate(0.5) brightness(390%) saturate(4);
 }
 
 #testSvg {
  width: 40px;
   filter: hue-rotate(40deg) saturate(0.5) brightness(390%) saturate(4); 
 }

<button class="btn-icon blur"></button>
<button class="btn-icon color"></button>


<?xml version="1.0" encoding="iso-8859-1"?>
<!-- Generator: Adobe Illustrator 19.0.0, SVG Export Plug-In . SVG Version: 6.00 Build 0)  -->
<svg id="testSvg" version="1.1" id="Capa_1" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" x="0px" y="0px"
  viewBox="0 0 511.874 511.874" style="enable-background:new 0 0 511.874 511.874;" xml:space="preserve">
<g>
 <g>
  <g>
   <path fill="red" d="M490.114,12.813H132.568c-12.012,0.014-21.746,9.748-21.76,21.76v98.62l-16.35-24.525
    c-7.484-11.289-22.535-14.676-34.133-7.68l-33.638,20.224c-11.016,6.464-19.097,16.946-22.545,29.244
    c-12.271,44.681-3.166,121.66,109.824,234.667C203.821,474.885,270.816,499.06,316.99,499.06
    c10.69,0.049,21.339-1.34,31.659-4.13c12.293-3.448,22.775-11.518,29.252-22.519l20.198-33.673
    c6.968-11.589,3.584-26.609-7.68-34.091l-80.546-53.692c-11.049-7.308-25.859-4.905-34.031,5.521l-23.45,30.148
    c-2.451,3.226-6.897,4.166-10.445,2.21l-4.463-2.458c-14.686-8.004-32.964-17.971-69.879-54.886
    c-3.994-3.994-7.612-7.731-11.008-11.307h333.517c11.982,0.009,21.713-9.676,21.76-21.658V34.573
    C511.86,22.561,502.126,12.827,490.114,12.813z M229.318,401.362l4.335,2.381c10.897,6.093,24.614,3.266,32.213-6.639
    l23.45-30.148c2.666-3.396,7.49-4.179,11.093-1.801l80.546,53.692c3.659,2.439,4.759,7.321,2.5,11.093l-20.198,33.673
    c-4.218,7.233-11.071,12.553-19.123,14.848c-40.337,11.093-110.933,1.707-218.078-105.446S9.56,195.273,20.627,154.97
    c2.293-8.051,7.61-14.903,14.839-19.123l33.673-20.207c3.773-2.254,8.652-1.155,11.093,2.5l53.717,80.546
    c2.382,3.602,1.599,8.43-1.801,11.093l-30.157,23.458c-9.903,7.597-12.731,21.311-6.639,32.205l2.389,4.335
    c8.533,15.65,19.14,35.123,57.805,73.779C194.212,382.213,213.677,392.828,229.318,401.362z M494.808,298.526
    c-0.028,2.567-2.127,4.627-4.693,4.608H141.203c-11.083-12.674-20.64-26.604-28.476-41.506l-2.458-4.48
    c-1.96-3.54-1.022-7.982,2.202-10.428l30.157-23.458c10.43-8.17,12.833-22.982,5.521-34.031l-20.275-30.43V34.573
    c-0.014-1.249,0.476-2.451,1.359-3.334c0.883-0.883,2.085-1.373,3.334-1.359h357.547c1.249-0.014,2.451,0.476,3.334,1.359
    c0.883,0.883,1.373,2.085,1.359,3.334V298.526z"/>
   <path d="M460.725,52.323l-142.618,108.16c-4.035,2.932-9.499,2.932-13.534,0L162.008,52.323
    c-3.756-2.849-9.111-2.113-11.959,1.643c-2.849,3.756-2.113,9.111,1.643,11.959l142.583,108.151
    c10.144,7.494,23.989,7.494,34.133,0L471.034,65.925c1.805-1.368,2.992-3.398,3.299-5.642c0.307-2.244-0.29-4.518-1.661-6.321
    C469.824,50.213,464.478,49.48,460.725,52.323z"/>
   <path d="M238.517,174.793l-87.415,93.611c-3.214,3.447-3.025,8.848,0.422,12.062c3.447,3.214,8.848,3.025,12.062-0.422
    l87.416-93.653c2.888-3.484,2.553-8.617-0.762-11.698C246.924,171.612,241.78,171.656,238.517,174.793z"/>
   <path d="M384.728,174.793c-3.214-3.447-8.614-3.637-12.062-0.422c-3.447,3.214-3.637,8.614-0.422,12.062l87.39,93.611
    c3.214,3.447,8.614,3.637,12.062,0.422c3.447-3.214,3.637-8.614,0.422-12.062L384.728,174.793z"/>
  </g>
 </g>
</g>
</svg>

Why is this svg not affected by a filter?

2 Answers2