CSS apply border to a cloud shape? - css

Question

I drew a cloud via CSS3 using different div tags I am trying to add a border to the whole shape but I am having trouble since every shape get its own border how can I apply a border to the whole cloud?
HTML:
<div id="cloud">
<div id="bottom_c"></div>
<div id="right_c"></div>
<div id="left_c"></div>
</div>
CSS:
* {
margin: 0;
padding: 0;
border: 0;
}
body{
background-color: #4ca3ff;
}
#cloud {
position: absolute;
}
#bottom_c {
position: relative; top: 200px; left: 500px;
width: 350px;
height: 150px;
background-color: #fff;
border-radius: 100px;
border: solid 5px black;
z-index: 100;
}
#right_c{
position: absolute; top: 140px; left: 640px;
width: 150px;
height: 150px;
border-radius: 100%;
background-color: #fff;
border: solid 5px black;
}
#left_c{
position: absolute; top: 170px; left: 550px;
width: 100px;
height: 100px;
border-radius: 100%;
background-color: #fff;
border: solid 5px black;
}
Image:

Answer 1

You can do it without any additional elements. Just use the ::before and ::after pseudo-elements with the same size and round shape as the top cloud bubbles. z-index keeps everything in the right layer.
Demo:
Output:
CSS:
body{
background-color: #4ca3ff;
}
#cloud {
height: 230px;
margin: 40px;
position: relative;
width: 400px;
}
#cloud div {
border: solid 5px black;
}
#bottom_c {
background-color: #fff;
border-radius: 100px;
height: 150px;
position: absolute;
top: 100px;
width: 350px;
z-index: 0;
}
#right_c{
background-color: #fff;
border-radius: 100%;
height: 150px;
left: 140px;
position: absolute;
top: 40px;
width: 150px;
z-index: -1;
}
#left_c{
background-color: #fff;
border-radius: 100%;
height: 100px;
left: 50px;
position: absolute;
top: 70px;
width: 100px;
z-index: -1;
}
#cloud::before {
background-color: white;
border-radius: 50%;
content: '';
height: 100px;
left: 55px;
position: absolute;
top: 75px;
width: 100px;
z-index: 1;
}
#cloud::after {
position: absolute; top: 45px; left: 145px;
background-color: white;
border-radius: 50%;
content: '';
width: 150px;
height: 150px;
z-index: 1;
}
HTML:
<div id="cloud">
<div id="bottom_c"></div>
<div id="right_c"></div>
<div id="left_c"></div>
</div>

Answer 2

Thank you for the original solution! I needed to create multiple clouds and dynamically resize and recolor them, so I adapted to original solution as follows:
I made the clouds resizable by using percentages values for the height, width, top and left properties. The .cloud class uses padding-top to adjust the height of the cloud relative to the cloud's width.
I made the :before and :after pseudo-elements divs.
I changed the id selectors to class selectors
And I reorganized the properties so they're easier to read.
I hope this helps someone. Here's the code:
Output
I don't yet have the reputation to post images :/. So here's a link to the output: http://imgur.com/nN9dBiQ
CSS:
.cloud {
position: relative;
width: 100%;
padding-top: 57.5%;
box-sizing: border-box;
}
.cloud_bottom,
.cloud_left,
.cloud_right {
border: solid 5px black;
}
.cloud_bottom,
.cloud_left,
.cloud_right,
.cloud_leftCircle,
.cloud_rightCircle {
background-color: #fff;
}
.cloud_bottom {
position: absolute;
top: 43.48%;
height: 65.2%;
width: 87.5%;
border-radius: 100px;
z-index: 0;
}
.cloud_left {
position: absolute;
top: 30.43%;
left: 12.5%;
height: 43.48%;
width: 25%;
border-radius: 100%;
z-index: -1;
}
.cloud_right {
position: absolute;
top: 17.39%;
left: 35%;
height: 65.2%;
width: 37.5%;
border-radius: 100%;
z-index: -1;
}
.cloud_leftCircle {
position: absolute;
top: 32.61%;
left: 13%;
height: 43.48%;
width: 25%;
border-radius: 50%;
z-index: 1;
}
.cloud_rightCircle {
position: absolute;
top: 23.48%;
left: 35%;
height: 65.21%;
width: 37.5%;
border-radius: 50%;
z-index: 1;
}
HTML:
<div class="firstCloud cloud">
<div class="cloud_bottom"></div>
<div class="cloud_left"></div>
<div class="cloud_right"></div>
<div class="cloud_leftCircle"></div>
<div class="cloud_rightCircle"></div>
</div>
<div class="secondCloud cloud">
<div class="cloud_bottom"></div>
<div class="cloud_left"></div>
<div class="cloud_right"></div>
<div class="cloud_leftCircle"></div>
<div class="cloud_rightCircle"></div>
</div>
JavaScript:
function updateCloudColor(cloudElement, color) {
cloudElement.children().css("background-color", color);
}
$(window).load(function () {
updateCloudColor($(".firstCloud"), "red");
updateCloudColor($(".secondCloud"), "blue");
});