science
CSS Research
Research
Atmospheric CSS Shaders
Pushing CSS filter and blend mode capabilities to create atmospheric visual effects without WebGL.
- Category
- CSS Research
- Complexity
- Research
- Published
- Jul 15, 2026
- Technologies
- cssshadersfiltersblend-modes
About this Experiment
An investigation into the outer limits of CSS visual capabilities — creating atmospheric fog, depth of field, and light scattering effects using only CSS filters and blend modes.
Technical Approach
By layering multiple pseudo-elements with carefully tuned filter values and blend modes, we can achieve effects that are typically reserved for WebGL shaders, entirely within the CSS specification.