{"id":812354,"date":"2023-11-14T11:42:21","date_gmt":"2023-11-14T19:42:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/?p=812354"},"modified":"2023-11-14T13:49:56","modified_gmt":"2023-11-14T21:49:56","slug":"how-to-animate-social-post","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/how-to-animate-social-post\/","title":{"rendered":"How to animate a social media post in five minutes, with School of Motion"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Want to add a little pizazz to your next social media post? Try adding some simple animation! School of Motion has an excellent tutorial to make it happen. This post is based on the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=SKwJiMJEwj0\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=SKwJiMJEwj0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">below video<\/a> by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.schoolofmotion.com\/\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.schoolofmotion.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">School of Motion<\/a>, was written by Frank Suarez, and originally appeared on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.schoolofmotion.com\/blog\/how-to-animate-a-social-media-post\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.schoolofmotion.com\/blog\/how-to-animate-a-social-media-post\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">School of Motion's blog<\/a>. School of Motion is an online animation school that offers a wide variety of courses for anyone who wants to take their creative goals to the next level. Check out their <a title=\"website\" href=\"https:\/\/www.schoolofmotion.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">website<\/a> to see all their offerings.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe title=\"How to Animate a Social Media Post in 5 Minutes!\" width=\"1080\" height=\"608\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/SKwJiMJEwj0?feature=oembed\"  allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If you want your social media posts to stand out, you need to learn how to add animation. In just a few minutes, you can take a so-so picture and transform it into internet gold. We all understand that maintaining a presence on these platforms is critical to building both a business and a brand, but the time commitment can turn many new artists off. We\u2019re here to show you a better way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Graphic designers are being asked to create more content for social media these days, and you know what's better than an eye-catching design? An eye-catching design that moves. If you\u2019ve been working in <a title=\"Photoshop\" href=\"https:\/\/www.adobe.com\/products\/photoshop.html\" data-type=\"URL\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.adobe.com\/products\/photoshop.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Adobe Photoshop<\/a> for a while, you\u2019re closer than you think to adding animation. Today, we will fire up <a href=\"https:\/\/www.adobe.com\/products\/aftereffects.html\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.adobe.com\/products\/aftereffects.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">After Effects<\/a> so you can see just how familiar the interface can be. We will take some designs and add some subtle movements in After Effects.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">1. Prep your image in Photoshop<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"960\" height=\"500\" src=\"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2023\/08\/How-to-Animate-a-Social-Media-Post-in-5-Minutes-1.jpeg\" alt=\"How to animate social media 1\" class=\"wp-image-812356\" title=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2023\/08\/How-to-Animate-a-Social-Media-Post-in-5-Minutes-1.jpeg 960w, https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2023\/08\/How-to-Animate-a-Social-Media-Post-in-5-Minutes-1-480x250.jpeg 480w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 0px) and (max-width: 480px) 480px, (min-width: 481px) 960px, 100vw\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We will be working with Photoshop CC 2022 and After Effects CC 2022, for this tutorial, but these techniques should work in other versions as well. We are keeping it very simple for this one. Now you could animate in Photoshop, but that can be quite challenging. Instead, it\u2019s easier to prep your files so they\u2019ll work better in After Effects.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How to pick the right image to animate<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To start, you need to pick the right images. Look for something that has good contrast between the foreground and background elements. That will help us cleanly separate the images. And if you\u2019re still having trouble cutting out pictures,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.schoolofmotion.com\/blog\/the-ultimate-guide-to-cutting-out-images-in-photoshop\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" title=\"we have an entire tutorial showing you all the tips and tricks\">we have an entire tutorial showing you all the tips and tricks<\/a>.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"960\" height=\"500\" src=\"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2023\/08\/How-to-Animate-a-Social-Media-Post-in-5-Minutes-2.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-812357\" title=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2023\/08\/How-to-Animate-a-Social-Media-Post-in-5-Minutes-2.jpeg 960w, https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2023\/08\/How-to-Animate-a-Social-Media-Post-in-5-Minutes-2-480x250.jpeg 480w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 0px) and (max-width: 480px) 480px, (min-width: 481px) 960px, 100vw\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We\u2019ve selected an image of a skateboarder, and we want to animate the background. This is pretty similar to a lot of work you\u2019ll get as a freelance designer and animator. Your client will want some element pulled from the foreground and either placed somewhere new or animated in some way.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So looking at the image above, how should we make them move? Well, we\u2019re going to use an old trick. Instead of the subject moving, the background will cycle from left to right, giving the impression of movement.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"960\" height=\"500\" src=\"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2023\/08\/How-to-Animate-a-Social-Media-Post-in-5-Minutes-3.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-812358\" title=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2023\/08\/How-to-Animate-a-Social-Media-Post-in-5-Minutes-3.jpeg 960w, https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2023\/08\/How-to-Animate-a-Social-Media-Post-in-5-Minutes-3-480x250.jpeg 480w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 0px) and (max-width: 480px) 480px, (min-width: 481px) 960px, 100vw\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">You also need to pay attention to the lighting. While a distinct light source looks great for a still image, it is going to appear off when you start moving it against a different background, or one in which the lighting no longer matches. Your viewer might not know exactly what is wrong, but they\u2019ll get distracted from the effect. Like a drunk magician, it really kills the illusion.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"960\" height=\"500\" src=\"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2023\/08\/How-to-Animate-a-Social-Media-Post-in-5-Minutes-4.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-812359\" title=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2023\/08\/How-to-Animate-a-Social-Media-Post-in-5-Minutes-4.jpeg 960w, https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2023\/08\/How-to-Animate-a-Social-Media-Post-in-5-Minutes-4-480x250.jpeg 480w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 0px) and (max-width: 480px) 480px, (min-width: 481px) 960px, 100vw\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Separate your layers (and name them)<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As you can see in the video above, we\u2019re using masks (preferably non-destructive) to separate out the subject, the board, the shadow, and the background. This allows us to make subtle fixes if we notice an issue down the road. If we\u2019d just deleted pixels, they\u2019re gone forever (once you\u2019re past CTRL\/CMD+Z range).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Make sure to name each layer as you go. Nothing is worse than trying to find that one image in a list of Layer 1 - 100.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The background needs a little polish, as it isn\u2019t quite lined up with our intended perspective.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"960\" height=\"500\" src=\"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2023\/08\/How-to-Animate-a-Social-Media-Post-in-5-Minutes-5.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-812360\" title=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2023\/08\/How-to-Animate-a-Social-Media-Post-in-5-Minutes-5.jpeg 960w, https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2023\/08\/How-to-Animate-a-Social-Media-Post-in-5-Minutes-5-480x250.jpeg 480w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 0px) and (max-width: 480px) 480px, (min-width: 481px) 960px, 100vw\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It\u2019s our intention to loop the background, but you can see the two sides don\u2019t quite match up. Since the left side is more aligned with our guides, let's copy that side, flip it, and drop it over the right. Once we have it lined up, use CTRL\/CMD+E to merge the layers.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Check your image size<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Before we bring the image into After Effects, we need to check our image size. After Effects can handle some pretty huge files\u2026but your computer might not be so powerful.&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.schoolofmotion.com\/blog\/how-to-resize-images-in-photoshop\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" title=\"There are a number of ways to change your image size\">There are a number of ways to change your image size<\/a>, but we\u2019re going to start by changing our canvas. This changes our canvas without messing with any pixels, and then we can resize our images to fit.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"960\" height=\"500\" src=\"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2023\/08\/How-to-Animate-a-Social-Media-Post-in-5-Minutes-6.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-812361\" title=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2023\/08\/How-to-Animate-a-Social-Media-Post-in-5-Minutes-6.jpeg 960w, https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2023\/08\/How-to-Animate-a-Social-Media-Post-in-5-Minutes-6-480x250.jpeg 480w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 0px) and (max-width: 480px) 480px, (min-width: 481px) 960px, 100vw\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We adjusted our canvas (<strong>Image &gt; Canvas Size\u2026<\/strong>) to 1920x1080. Now our images were WAY bigger, so we\u2019ll have to adjust them to fit.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"960\" height=\"500\" src=\"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2023\/08\/How-to-Animate-a-Social-Media-Post-in-5-Minutes-7.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-812362\" title=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2023\/08\/How-to-Animate-a-Social-Media-Post-in-5-Minutes-7.jpeg 960w, https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2023\/08\/How-to-Animate-a-Social-Media-Post-in-5-Minutes-7-480x250.jpeg 480w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 0px) and (max-width: 480px) 480px, (min-width: 481px) 960px, 100vw\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There are still some imperfections, but we can fix those in After Effects with a little motion blur. You\u2019ll notice that there are a few pixels hanging outside the edge of the canvas. Sometimes you might want those to stay, but we\u2019re not going to need them in AE. Use the&nbsp;<strong>Crop<\/strong>&nbsp;tool (<strong>C<\/strong>) to quickly trim your images to fit the canvas. Now it\u2019s time to bring our image into After Effects and start animating.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Importing Photoshop files into After Effects<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Check your layer names and then&nbsp;<strong>save your work<\/strong>&nbsp;(we recommend adding something like \u201cto_AE\u201d so you can easily find your file. If you need help&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.schoolofmotion.com\/blog\/how-to-import-photoshop-layers-into-after-effects\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" title=\"getting over to After Effects, we\u2019ve got you covered\">getting over to After Effects, we\u2019ve got you covered<\/a>. You can go check out that video, or use this quick method.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How to import a file from Photoshop into After Effects<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\" type=\"1\" start=\"1\">\n<li>Open After Effects<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Go to File &gt; Import &gt; Files<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Select your file<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Click Import<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Now check out the comparison between Photoshop and After Effects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"960\" height=\"500\" src=\"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2023\/08\/How-to-Animate-a-Social-Media-Post-in-5-Minutes-8.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-812363\" title=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2023\/08\/How-to-Animate-a-Social-Media-Post-in-5-Minutes-8.jpeg 960w, https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2023\/08\/How-to-Animate-a-Social-Media-Post-in-5-Minutes-8-480x250.jpeg 480w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 0px) and (max-width: 480px) 480px, (min-width: 481px) 960px, 100vw\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Looks pretty similar? Adobe made an effort to keep things familiar between various software, making it even easier to move between apps in Creative Cloud. You\u2019ll notice our layers down in the timeline, although they look slightly different. This is why naming your layers was such an important step.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">With this new composition (comp to us pros) you\u2019ll be able to set your FPS or frames-per-second. In general, animation is done at 24 fps (24 frames equal 1 second of footage), but there may be situations where you need more or less. It all depends on the project and your client\u2019s needs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Set up your composition<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We hope you\u2019ve had your coffee, because we\u2019re about to go fast (the name of the game is an animated social media post in no time at all, right?)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Now, the easiest way to animate this skateboarder is to move the background, right? When we move it out of the way, it almost seems like the skater lunges forward.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"960\" height=\"500\" src=\"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2023\/08\/How-to-Animate-a-Social-Media-Post-in-5-Minutes-9.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-812364\" title=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2023\/08\/How-to-Animate-a-Social-Media-Post-in-5-Minutes-9.jpeg 960w, https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2023\/08\/How-to-Animate-a-Social-Media-Post-in-5-Minutes-9-480x250.jpeg 480w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 0px) and (max-width: 480px) 480px, (min-width: 481px) 960px, 100vw\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">All we\u2019ll need to do is duplicate the background, much like they do in cartoons. Grab the layer, then go to&nbsp;<strong>Edit &gt; Duplicate<\/strong>&nbsp;(<strong>CMD\/CTRL + D<\/strong>) and you\u2019ll get a brand new layer. We could theoretically make dozens of copies and animate them flying by, but there\u2019s an easier method: Motion Tile.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Animating in After Effects<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Motion Tile<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On the right side of your screen, go to Effects and Presets, then search Motion Tile. Drag and drop that onto your layer (be careful not to drop it on the wrong layer, although that can create some cool effects).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On the left you\u2019ll see your effects controls, with two key options: Output Width and Output Height. When we put \u201c200\u201d in Output Width\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"960\" height=\"500\" src=\"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2023\/08\/How-to-Animate-a-Social-Media-Post-in-5-Minutes-10.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-812365\" title=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2023\/08\/How-to-Animate-a-Social-Media-Post-in-5-Minutes-10.jpeg 960w, https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2023\/08\/How-to-Animate-a-Social-Media-Post-in-5-Minutes-10-480x250.jpeg 480w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 0px) and (max-width: 480px) 480px, (min-width: 481px) 960px, 100vw\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Now we have a little bit more of our background on the left and right. We\u2019ve effectively duplicated the image by a small amount. Now if you try to click on the duplicated area, you won\u2019t be able to. Only your original layer can be moved.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Of course, simple duplication or tiling creates small artifacts. If we look at the ground or the background, there are lines that don\u2019t quite look right. And finally, don\u2019t overdo it with the Output number. You\u2019ll crash your computer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To animate this, let\u2019s first adjust our composition length. Go to <strong>Composition &gt; Composition Settings<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-medium\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"600\" height=\"544\" src=\"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2023\/08\/How-to-Animate-a-Social-Media-Post-in-5-Minutes-11-600x544.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-812366\" title=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2023\/08\/How-to-Animate-a-Social-Media-Post-in-5-Minutes-11-600x544.png 600w, https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2023\/08\/How-to-Animate-a-Social-Media-Post-in-5-Minutes-11-480x435.png 480w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 0px) and (max-width: 480px) 480px, (min-width: 481px) 600px, 100vw\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We can also change our FPS, as we discussed above. Set this for 5 seconds, and it\u2019s time to animate this image.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Animating With Keyframes<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Twirl down on your clean plate layer and you\u2019ll see your Transform options.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"896\" height=\"498\" src=\"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2023\/08\/How-to-Animate-a-Social-Media-Post-in-5-Minutes-12.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-812367\" title=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2023\/08\/How-to-Animate-a-Social-Media-Post-in-5-Minutes-12.png 896w, https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2023\/08\/How-to-Animate-a-Social-Media-Post-in-5-Minutes-12-480x267.png 480w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 0px) and (max-width: 480px) 480px, (min-width: 481px) 896px, 100vw\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Make sure your&nbsp;<strong>Playhead<\/strong>&nbsp;is all the way at the beginning of your timeline, then click the&nbsp;<strong>Stopwatch<\/strong>&nbsp;next to&nbsp;<strong>Position<\/strong>. This marks the x and y axis of your layer at that moment on the timeline. You just created your first&nbsp;<strong>Keyframe<\/strong>&nbsp;on the timeline. These are the basic building blocks of animation in After Effects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Move the Playhead to the end of your timeline and you\u2019ll create another Keyframe. Now go back to Transform and adjust the Position so the background has moved from left to right (or right to left, if you\u2019re aiming to have this Tony Hawk wannabe flipping a gnarly 360 to Boneless).&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When you press play, After Effects interpolates how the layer needs to move in order to exist at the first and last keyframes within the allotted time.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">GIF<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If we want our skateboarder to move faster, we just need to move further down the plate in the allotted time. To move slower, cover less ground. But there is one thing we\u2019re noticing that\u2019s not so thrifty. The seam where our duplicated tile comes together is a little janky. Luckily, we can cover that up with some motion blur.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Add Motion Blur<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Motion blur is the streaking or smearing of images caused by an object moving during the exposure of the lens. In video motion blur is usually caused by the lens focusing on one object while out-of-focus items move in the background. In our case, that\u2019s the effect we want to use.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"960\" height=\"500\" src=\"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2023\/08\/How-to-Animate-a-Social-Media-Post-in-5-Minutes-13.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-812368\" title=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2023\/08\/How-to-Animate-a-Social-Media-Post-in-5-Minutes-13.jpeg 960w, https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2023\/08\/How-to-Animate-a-Social-Media-Post-in-5-Minutes-13-480x250.jpeg 480w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 0px) and (max-width: 480px) 480px, (min-width: 481px) 960px, 100vw\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Hit the&nbsp;<strong>Motion Blur<\/strong>&nbsp;control (three circles close together). You\u2019ll see boxes appear next to your layers. Only select your clean plate, and watch the motion blur hide the imperfections. Just like that, we have some great animation without breaking a sweat. But we can always touch things up even more.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Adding realistic shadows<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">You might notice that the shadow under the skateboard still has a line from the original ground.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"960\" height=\"500\" src=\"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2023\/08\/How-to-Animate-a-Social-Media-Post-in-5-Minutes-14.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-812369\" title=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2023\/08\/How-to-Animate-a-Social-Media-Post-in-5-Minutes-14.jpeg 960w, https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2023\/08\/How-to-Animate-a-Social-Media-Post-in-5-Minutes-14-480x250.jpeg 480w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 0px) and (max-width: 480px) 480px, (min-width: 481px) 960px, 100vw\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We\u2019re not trying to make an okay social image. We\u2019re trying to make something that\u2019s worth sharing around. Let\u2019s fix that quickly. Now, we could have simply fixed this in Photoshop before bringing it over, but we forgot (or rather, we skipped that step so we could show you here! See, we knew what we were doing the whole time).&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">First, create a new layer by going to&nbsp;<strong>Layer &gt; New<\/strong>&nbsp;(<strong>CMD\/CTRL + Y<\/strong>) and select a black fill. This creates a black solid the size of our composition. Using the Pen tool (P), we\u2019re going to draw a simple shape. It doesn\u2019t have to be perfect, just the basic idea of a shadow.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"960\" height=\"500\" src=\"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2023\/08\/How-to-Animate-a-Social-Media-Post-in-5-Minutes-15.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-812370\" title=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2023\/08\/How-to-Animate-a-Social-Media-Post-in-5-Minutes-15.jpeg 960w, https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2023\/08\/How-to-Animate-a-Social-Media-Post-in-5-Minutes-15-480x250.jpeg 480w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 0px) and (max-width: 480px) 480px, (min-width: 481px) 960px, 100vw\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Once we close off the mask we\u2019ll see the created shape over our image. It\u2019s\u2026fine. But we can make it work. Using the points and Bezier Handles, adjust the shape until it fits underneath the skateboard. If you\u2019d made masks in Photoshop, this should feel familiar.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">With a little work, we have something that fits underneath the skateboard.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"960\" height=\"500\" src=\"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2023\/08\/How-to-Animate-a-Social-Media-Post-in-5-Minutes-16.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-812371\" title=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2023\/08\/How-to-Animate-a-Social-Media-Post-in-5-Minutes-16.jpeg 960w, https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2023\/08\/How-to-Animate-a-Social-Media-Post-in-5-Minutes-16-480x250.jpeg 480w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 0px) and (max-width: 480px) 480px, (min-width: 481px) 960px, 100vw\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Now toggle off the original shadow layer and rename our new layer Shadow (or Shadow 2, or Darkwing Duck, or whatever works for you). Just like in Photoshop, we have Blending Modes. If you don\u2019t see them, hit&nbsp;<strong>F4<\/strong>. Switch your new Shadow to&nbsp;<strong>Multiply<\/strong>.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This looks a little harsh, so let\u2019s feather the edges. Twirl open the Mask menu and you\u2019ll see more options.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"595\" height=\"250\" src=\"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2023\/08\/How-to-Animate-a-Social-Media-Post-in-5-Minutes-17.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-812372\" title=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2023\/08\/How-to-Animate-a-Social-Media-Post-in-5-Minutes-17.png 595w, https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2023\/08\/How-to-Animate-a-Social-Media-Post-in-5-Minutes-17-480x202.png 480w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 0px) and (max-width: 480px) 480px, (min-width: 481px) 595px, 100vw\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Adjust the&nbsp;<strong>Feathering<\/strong>&nbsp;and voila! When we play back, we now have a slick animated image, and it honestly took us no time at all.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Render in the render queue<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Of course, this image isn\u2019t doing anything for you if it sits in After Effects forever. Let\u2019s see if we can fix that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If you\u2019re unfamiliar with the term, Rendering just tells After Effects (or whichever app you using to build a composition) to bake down all the layers into one movie (mp4, mpeg, Quicktime, etc). Quicktime will work for most of your needs, but we also recommend Apple ProRes 422. In this case, let\u2019s use Animation, which will be an uncompressed, high-resolution file. If you have any Audio, make sure it is turned at the bottom of the window.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"582\" height=\"515\" src=\"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2023\/08\/How-to-Animate-a-Social-Media-Post-in-5-Minutes-18.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-812373\" title=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2023\/08\/How-to-Animate-a-Social-Media-Post-in-5-Minutes-18.png 582w, https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2023\/08\/How-to-Animate-a-Social-Media-Post-in-5-Minutes-18-480x425.png 480w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 0px) and (max-width: 480px) 480px, (min-width: 481px) 582px, 100vw\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Hit&nbsp;<strong>Okay<\/strong>, and then you need to select where this file will go. Hit&nbsp;<strong>Output To<\/strong>&nbsp;and find your desired location.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Guess what? You just made an animation. You took a picture, cut it into neat layers, animated those layers, and turned that composition into a movie. We\u2019re pretty stoked to know you right now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Of course, if you want to get&nbsp;<em>really<\/em>&nbsp;fancy, you should head back up to the video so we can teach you a few more tricks.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Want to learn more?<\/h1>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns are-vertically-aligned-center is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-8f761849 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-vertically-aligned-center is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:20%\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"225\" height=\"225\" src=\"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2023\/07\/School-of-Motion-Logo.jpg\" alt=\"School-of-Motion-Logo\" class=\"wp-image-811227\" title=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2023\/07\/School-of-Motion-Logo.jpg 225w, https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2023\/07\/School-of-Motion-Logo-200x200.jpg 200w, https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2023\/07\/School-of-Motion-Logo-100x100.jpg 100w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-vertically-aligned-center is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:80%\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Check out <a href=\"https:\/\/www.schoolofmotion.com\/\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.schoolofmotion.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">School of Motion<\/a> for tons more courses, tips, tricks, and tutorials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Are you ready to take your animation skills to the next level? Check out&nbsp;<a title=\"Animation Bootcamp\" href=\"https:\/\/www.schoolofmotion.com\/animation-bootcamp\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Animation Bootcamp<\/a>, School of Motion\u2019s most popular course, which teaches the principles behind great animation. Or try <a href=\"https:\/\/www.schoolofmotion.com\/courses\/after-effects-kickstart\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.schoolofmotion.com\/courses\/after-effects-kickstart\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">After Effects Kickstart<\/a>, which will introduce you to the fundamentals of Adobe After Effects in the easiest and most fun way possible. And there are a bunch more on&nbsp;<a title=\"their course page\" href=\"https:\/\/www.schoolofmotion.com\/courses\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">their courses page<\/a>!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Want your social media posts to stand out? Learn how to animate your social media posts in just five minutes with this School of Motion tutorial.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":88,"featured_media":812395,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2326,2338,2341],"tags":[135,260,97,2547],"class_list":["post-812354","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-animation","category-how-to","category-software","tag-adobe","tag-after-effects","tag-photoshop","tag-school-of-motion"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/812354","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/88"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=812354"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/812354\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/812395"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=812354"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=812354"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/community.wacom.com\/en-us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=812354"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}