Select the layer you want to animate and then select Motion . The timeline, by default, includes all the objects of the selected layer.
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Learn how to add motion to your artwork using the frame-by-frame or motion path techniques in Fresco.
You can apply motion to elements in your artwork to create compelling visual narratives. You can then export the final artwork in MP4, GIF, or PNG files.
Animate your artwork or its elements
You can use the frame-by-frame or motion path techniques or a mix of both to animate your artwork or its elements.
Before you begin
Before you begin your animation journey, get familiar with these concepts and limitations:
- We suggest creating objects on separate layers when using motion on complex artwork that requires changes to several objects or their properties. This ensures you have finer control over editing each object in your artwork.
- The layer timeline is displayed when you select an object or artwork containing frames. The timeline, by default, includes all objects in the selected layer and displays the total number of frames created and the frame on which you're currently working. For example, a reading of 2/13 indicates that you're working on the second frame out of 13 frames.
Based on the complexity of the changes in each frame, use the frame-by-frame or motion path techniques to apply motion to artwork.
Browse through the tab below and learn how to apply these techniques and configure their settings for your design outcome.
Add frame-by-frame motion to an artwork using the timeline. The incremental changes you make to your artwork in each frame provide an illusion of movement or change in your design.
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Select the frame you want to shuffle, drag along the timeline, and drop to reorder frames. Before you edit your artwork in a new layer, enable Onion skin.
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Select Play All to preview the motion you applied to your artwork. Choose the Playback option from Motion settings to play the preview on loop, boomerang, or just once.
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Configure Motion settings to adjust the speed, change playback options, adjust opacity and frames of Onion skin, and view the document timeline.
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Select your preferred motion layer > More options icon > Set as reference and apply Fill to individual frames of the targeted fill layer to speed up the coloring of your animation.
Follow these steps to use the motion path technique to animate objects on a defined path:
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Select the layer containing the object and select motion
above the ruler . -
In the Motion bar at the bottom, select the Path to open the Layer properties panel.
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Select any of the Motion presets to apply motion effects.
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In Advanced settings, you can:
- Grow/Shrink: Toggle this to increase or decrease the object's size.
- Rotate: Toggle to get the Sway or Spin motion control.
- Sway: Specify the Angle and the Number of times for the motion.
- Spin: Toggle on/off counterclockwise and the Number of times for the motion.
Add Spin or Sway effect
- Fade in/out: Changes an object’s opacity to create smooth transitions at the beginning or end of its motion path.
- Align to Path: Align objects to the specified path.
- Add multiples: Add multiple objects on the same path and preview in real time.
- Scatter: Apply effects to the corresponding objects added and preview them in real time.
- Speed Options: Adjust the playing speed of the motion track.
- Ease In/Out: Apply these effects to make the objects slowly appear or disappear from the screen.
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Select Play All to preview the motion you're working on. Select Path
to see the preview with the paths. You can choose a playback option from motion settings to play the preview on loop, boomerang, or just once. -
Check Motion settings to adjust the speed, change playback options, adjust opacity and frames of Onion skin, and view the document timeline.
Draw multiple paths
You can draw a single or multiple paths on the selected layer. Drawing multiple paths also automatically duplicates the object or the object motion on the same layer, so you don't have to create multiple objects unless you want to apply different motions to every object. When working on single or multiple paths, select Settings > Document timeline > Show paths as frames, to enable the path timeline for converting paths as frames.
Frames/second |
Defines the speed of the animation in frames per second (FPS). Increasing or decreasing FPS correspondingly increases or decreases the speed. |
Playback |
Displays the playback and preview options. Types of playback are Loop, Boomerang, and Play once. |
Document timeline |
Displays all the paths as frames. You can enable another option Show paths as frames to convert a path to a frame timeline. |
Provides a reference by displaying contents of the previous and the following frames on display. The frame under the play-head appears in full color. Enable and disable the onion skin feature within Motion bar settings:
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Onion skin helps you preview the drawing on the frame to help you trace or make those little changes precisely. You can also adjust the number of frames you want to keep visible. Watch the video below to learn more.
Apply motion settings to your animations
To move or resize previously created motion paths along with your content, follow these steps:
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Select Export
, and then select Publish and Export > Motion. -
Choose any of the export formats:
- GIF: Used for web graphic motion.
- MP4: Used to store audio and video. Fresco offers three presets for MP4:
- Automatic: Used to export output in the highest resolution. This can also lead to an increase in the file size.
- Web-ready: Used to optimize the size and quality of the output for web displays.
- PNG set: Used for motions with transparent objects. You can export the PNG file for further editing in Adobe After Effects.
Tip:You can move the Loop slider to set the loop count and duration of an MP4 motion file.
Related resources
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For inspiration, expert tips, and solutions to common issues, visit the Adobe Fresco Community forum. Connect with our team and fellow users to exchange ideas, share your creations, stay updated with the latest features and announcements, and provide feedback.