Fill SVG path element with a background-image

Question

Is it possible to set a background-image for an SVG <path> element?

For instance, if I set the element class="wall", the CSS style .wall {fill: red;} works, but .wall{background-image: url(wall.jpg)} does not, neither .wall {background-color: red;}.

Solution

You can do it by making the background into a pattern:

<defs>
  <pattern id="img1" patternUnits="userSpaceOnUse" width="100" height="100">
    <image href="wall.jpg" x="0" y="0" width="100" height="100" />
  </pattern>
</defs>

Adjust the width and height according to your image, then reference it from the path like this:

<path d="M5,50
         l0,100 l100,0 l0,-100 l-100,0
         M215,100
         a50,50 0 1 1 -100,0 50,50 0 1 1 100,0
         M265,50
         l50,100 l-100,0 l50,-100
         z"
  fill="url(#img1)" />

Working example

Comments

[Phrogz]

Showing how to set the background image for SVG text, optionally on a per-character basis: stackoverflow.com/a/10853878/405017

[Paulo Bueno]

for those looking for some more in deep info check this article link

[Christoph]

very nice, does this work with base64 images too? instead of wall.jpg something like data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAA like you would in normal CSS?

[robertc]

@Christoph I don't know, try it and see.

[Christoph]

@robertc I tried and it didn't work, but i had a duplicate style element. By eliminating it, it worked just fine;)

[Tobias Golbs]

@robertc: I have a question regarding your answer. The pattern starts at the global coordinates (0,0). Is it possible to let the pattern use the local coordinate system from the object attached to? I want to draw a rect at different places in my svg and what happens is, that the pattern is repeated in the hole background and the objects are used as masks.

[robertc]

@TobiasKun I suggest you ask your own question.

[Protagonist]

This is a really helpful answer, especially if you're working with d3.js or other similar libs. Upvoted because damn, it saved me.

[Joseph Coco]

Unfortunately TCPDF doesn't support SVG Patterns, as I imagine other programs which don't yet have full SVG2 support don't either.

[mesqueeb]

@robertc I have a question. Is it possible to have the image cover the surface of of the path? instead of entering manual width and height.

[Blake Regalia]

@robertc please update your answer to mention that xlink:href is deprecated since SVG 2 and to simply use href now. developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/SVG/Attribute/xlink:hre‌​f