Comment by ahoge

You do that inside the SVG. Instead of having a yet another path or a group of paths, you just have that `use` element (which just references some other node).

Basically, it lets you reuse something, but you can transform it and set some styles.

http://kaioa.com/svg/chemicalzen3.svg

http://kaioa.com/svg/chemicalzen3_parts.png

The "master" shape is used to create the outline and it's also used to clip the "interior" layer.

http://kaioa.com/svg/armyofclonesani.svgz

There is just one dude. Then there is a row of clones. And then there are transformed clones of that row. Only the original dude is animated.

Edit: A big benefit of clones is that they are always in sync. If you change the shape of the original, the clones follow suit.