Creating Liquid Glass Effects in Figma

In this tutorial, we'll learn how to create realistic Liquid Glass frosted glass effects in Figma. This is currently the closest method to the official iOS 26 effect.

🎯 Tutorial Goals

After completing this tutorial, you'll master:

The principles of creating Liquid Glass effects
Correct use of background blur in Figma
Layer structure building techniques
Precise control of color and transparency
Implementation of responsive design

🛠️ Preparation

Required Tools

Figma Desktop (latest version recommended)
Basic Figma operation knowledge

Materials Preparation

Background images (gradients or texture-rich images recommended)
Reference iOS interface screenshots

📚 Part One: Understanding Liquid Glass

What is a true frosted glass effect?

A true frosted glass effect contains three core elements:

Background Blur: Blurring the content behind
Transparency: Allowing the background to show through
Border: Subtle borders to enhance layering

Apple's Implementation

Apple uses the following parameters in iOS:

Blur Radius: 20-40px
Transparency: 10%-30%
Border: 1px, 10%-20% transparency
Shadow: Soft drop shadow

🎨 Part Two: Creating Basic Effects

Step 1: Create Background

1. Create a 375×812 iPhone artboard
2. Add gradient background
   - Start color: #667eea
   - End color: #764ba2
   - Angle: 135°

Step 2: Add Texture Layer

To make the frosted glass effect more noticeable, we add some texture:

1. Create a rectangle covering the entire artboard
2. Fill: Linear gradient
   - Color 1: rgba(255,255,255,0.1)
   - Color 2: rgba(255,255,255,0.3)
3. Add noise texture (optional)

Step 3: Create Frosted Glass Card

1. Create rectangle 327×200
2. Corner radius: 20px
3. Fill: rgba(255,255,255,0.15)
4. Stroke: 1px, rgba(255,255,255,0.2)
5. Effects > Background blur: 20px

⚡ Part Three: Advanced Techniques

Technique 1: Multi-layer Transparency

Create more realistic depth:

1. Base layer: rgba(255,255,255,0.1)
2. Enhancement layer: rgba(255,255,255,0.05) 
3. Highlight layer: rgba(255,255,255,0.3) (top 1px only)

Technique 2: Smart Components

Create reusable components:

1. Select frosted glass element
2. Right-click > Create component
3. Set variants:
   - Size: Small, Medium, Large
   - State: Default, Hover, Pressed
   - Theme: Light, Dark

Technique 3: Responsive Design

Use Auto Layout for responsiveness:

1. Select container
2. Add Auto Layout (Shift+A)
3. Settings:
   - Direction: Vertical
   - Spacing: 16px
   - Padding: 24px
   - Resize: Fixed width, auto height

🌙 Part Four: Dark Mode Adaptation

Dark Mode Parameter Adjustments

Best parameters for dark mode:
- Fill: rgba(255,255,255,0.05)
- Stroke: rgba(255,255,255,0.1)
- Blur: 25px (slightly stronger)
- Shadow: Deeper shadow

Variant Switching

1. Create component variants
2. Add Theme property
3. Set boolean value: Light/Dark
4. Adjust corresponding color values

🎭 Part Five: Animation Presets

Hover Effect

Smart animation settings:
1. Duplicate frame (Cmd+D)
2. Adjust hover state:
   - Fill transparency: +5%
   - Y-axis offset: -2px
   - Shadow spread: +4px
3. Set transition: Smart animation, 300ms, easing

Click Feedback

Pressed state:
- Scale: 98%
- Fill transparency: -3%
- Shadow: Reduced
- Transition time: 150ms

🔧 Part Six: Common Problem Solving

Problem 1: Blur Effect Not Obvious

Solution:

Ensure background has sufficient contrast
Increase blur radius to 25-30px
Adjust transparency to 20-25%

Problem 2: Performance Issues

Optimization suggestions:

Use a reasonable number of blur effects
Turn off unnecessary animations in prototypes
Use images instead of complex background blurs

Problem 3: Inaccurate Colors

Calibration methods:

Reference real iOS devices
Use digital color card tools
Check in different lighting environments

📱 Part Seven: Practical Cases

Case 1: Music Player Interface

Create a Liquid Glass style music player:

Structure:
1. Background (blurred album cover)
2. Main control panel (frosted glass card)
3. Progress bar (semi-transparent bar)
4. Control buttons (frosted glass circles)

Case 2: Notification Center

Components:
1. Notification cards (adaptive height)
2. Action buttons (embedded frosted glass)
3. Group titles (transparent background)
4. Clear button (frosted glass button)

📋 Quick Checklist

After completion, check the following points:

[ ] Background blur value within 20-40px range
[ ] Moderate transparency, can see background without affecting foreground
[ ] Border color coordinates with background
[ ] Visible clearly in both dark and light backgrounds
[ ] Animation transitions are natural and smooth
[ ] Components support different sizes
[ ] Complies with iOS design guidelines

🎓 Advanced Learning

Recommended Resources

Next Steps

Learn implementation methods in SwiftUI
Master CSS backdrop-filter property
Research more complex layering effects

💬 Discussion and Feedback

If you encounter problems during learning, or have better tips to share, feel free to:

Comment below the article
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