5 Easy Steps to Create Animations in Procreate

Written by Daisie Team

Published on 11 July 2023 6 min read

Are you ready to dive into the world of digital art and create your own animations using Procreate? This Procreate animation tutorial will guide you through the process, breaking it down into five easy steps. Whether you're a seasoned artist or just starting out, this tutorial will help you understand the tools and techniques necessary to bring your ideas to life in Procreate.

1. Get Familiar with Procreate

Before you start creating your masterpiece, it's important to familiarize yourself with Procreate. This means understanding the interface, exploring the different tools and brushes available, and tweaking settings to suit your needs.

Navigate the Interface

Procreate's interface might seem overwhelming at first, but once you understand where everything is, it becomes second nature. Here's what you need to know:

The toolbar, located at the top, houses your brush library, layers panel, and color picker.
The sidebar on the right provides quick access to essential tools such as smudge, erase, and the selection tool.
At the bottom, you'll find the layers panel and the gallery button, which takes you back to your Procreate gallery.

Explore Tools and Brushes

Procreate offers a vast range of tools and brushes, each with its own unique features. To create animations, you'll primarily use the sketching, inking, and painting brushes. Spend some time testing out different brushes and observing their effects. Remember, there's no right or wrong brush to use—it's all about what feels comfortable and helps you achieve your desired effect.

Adjust Settings

Every artist works differently, and Procreate allows you to adjust settings to cater to your individual style. You can customize gesture controls, brush settings, and even the interface's overall appearance. Most importantly for our Procreate animation tutorial, you'll want to enable Animation Assist under the Canvas settings. This feature turns your layer stack into frames for animation, making the animation process smoother and more intuitive.

2. Sketch your Idea

Once you're comfortable with Procreate's interface, it's time to sketch your idea. This will set the foundation for your animation, so don't rush this step. Take your time to choose your brush, draw your concept, and refine your sketch.

Choose Your Brush

Sketching in Procreate is a joy due to the vast array of brushes available. There's a brush for every style, whether you prefer a pencil-like feel or a more painterly touch. A good starting point is the "Sketching" category, where you'll find versatile options like the 6B Pencil or Technical Pencil. Remember, you can adjust the brush size and opacity to your liking using the sliders on the sidebar.

Draw Your Concept

Sketching your idea is the first step in bringing your animation to life. Start by creating a new layer for your sketch—this way, you can easily erase or modify it later without affecting other parts of your animation. When sketching, focus on basic shapes and forms rather than intricate details. Think of it as a blueprint for your animation. And don't worry if it's not perfect—this is just the first draft, and we'll be refining it in the next step.

Refine Your Sketch

Once you're happy with the basic forms, it's time to refine your sketch. This involves adding details, fixing proportions, and cleaning up unnecessary lines. Procreate's Eraser tool is your best friend here—you can set it to any brush type, allowing you to erase with the same texture as your sketch. By the end of this step, you should have a clean, detailed sketch ready for animation.

3. Animate your Sketch

Now that your sketch is ready, let's bring it to life through animation. In this part of your Procreate animation tutorial, we will use Animation Assist, create frames, and set the playback speed. Are you ready? Let's get animating!

Use Animation Assist

Procreate's Animation Assist is a game-changer for creating animations. It simplifies the animation process by allowing you to manage all your frames in one place. To enable Animation Assist, go to Actions (the wrench icon), then Canvas, and toggle on Animation Assist. You'll notice a new timeline at the bottom of your screen — that's where all the magic happens!

Create Frames

Let's create your first animation frame. Each layer in Procreate corresponds to a frame in your animation. So, to add a new frame, simply create a new layer. Now, draw the next stage of your animation on this layer. If you're making a bouncing ball animation, for example, the ball should be slightly lower in your second frame than in your first. Keep adding layers and drawing your animation stages until your motion sequence is complete.

Set Playback Speed

After creating all your frames, it's time to set the playback speed. This determines how fast your animation will play. In the Animation Assist panel, you'll see a Frames Per Second (FPS) option. The higher the FPS, the faster your animation will play. A good starting point is 12 FPS, but feel free to experiment and find the speed that suits your animation best.

By the end of this step, you'll see your sketch come to life as an animation. But we're not done yet—let's move on to the next step of this Procreate animation tutorial: polishing your animation.

4. Polish your Animation

Creating an initial animation is half the battle—polishing it is what will truly make your work shine. In this section of the Procreate animation tutorial, you'll learn how to add colors, adjust frame timings, and preview your animation. Are you ready to make your animation even more eye-catching? Let's dive in!

Add Colors and Details

Adding colors and details can give your animation a whole new dimension. To add color, select the layer you'd like to color and use the Color Picker to choose your desired shade. You can then fill in your drawing using the selected color and brush. To add details, zoom in on your image and use a smaller brush to create finer elements. These might be patterns, textures, or small objects that can enhance your animation's overall look.

Adjust Frame Timings

Procreate allows you to adjust the timing of each frame, giving you greater control over your animation's rhythm and flow. To do this, tap on the individual frame in the Animation Assist timeline, then adjust the Hold duration. This will affect how long the frame appears during playback. Changing the Hold duration can create dramatic pauses or speed up certain actions, adding a dynamic feel to your animation.

Preview Your Animation

Now it's time for the exciting part: previewing your animation! Press the Play button in the Animation Assist panel to see your creation in motion. Watch it a few times and observe if it flows smoothly. If necessary, you can go back and make adjustments until you're pleased with the result.

With your animation now polished to perfection, you're ready to share it with the world. But first, let's explore the last step of this Procreate animation tutorial: how to save and share your work.

You've put in the effort, honed your creativity, and crafted a unique animation—it's time to show off your masterpiece! In this final step of our Procreate animation tutorial, we'll cover how to save your animation for optimal viewing, share it on social media platforms, and gather feedback to further improve your skills. Ready to take the leap? Let's get started!

Save as GIF or MP4

When it comes to saving your animation, Procreate offers two options: GIF and MP4. GIFs are perfect for simple, looping animations. They're widely supported on the web and keep your file size manageable. On the other hand, MP4s are great for longer animations with more complex movements. To save your animation, simply tap on the wrench icon, choose ‘Share’, then select either 'Animated GIF' or 'Animated MP4'.

Next up: sharing your creation with the world. Social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter are great places to start. You can also use artist-centric platforms like Behance or Dribbble. When you post your animation, remember to write an engaging caption and use relevant hashtags to reach a larger audience.

Get Feedback

Finally, one of the most rewarding aspects of sharing your work is receiving feedback. Constructive comments can help you improve your animation skills and see your work from new perspectives. Don't shy away from asking for feedback directly—most people love to help and share their insights. And remember, any critique is a stepping stone to becoming a better animator.

And there you have it! You've just walked through a complete Procreate animation tutorial, creating and polishing your own animation, and learning how to share it with the world. What's next on your creative journey? Whatever it is, embrace it with curiosity, creativity, and a dash of courage. Happy animating!

If you're excited about creating animations in Procreate and want to explore even more techniques, don't miss the workshop 'Animating with Procreate and Photoshop' by Nyanza. This workshop will help you develop your skills further, combining the power of Procreate and Photoshop to create stunning animations for your projects.