On March 23, 2023, Canva held a live virtual event, Canva Create, where it announced several new features. One of them is Animation Tool. This tool is different from the previous Animate feature and gives users the chance to add moving animations to their designs that follow the path they draw.
This tool has quite a few features, and it’s easy to use for creating Elementor animations. Let us show you how to use Canva’s animation tools.
Canva added an animation feature
At Canva Create in March 2023, Canva introduced over ten new features. Most of these features are AI-based tools, but one new feature is a perfect addition to elevate your digital designs: Create an animation.
Using this tool, you can move any element on your Canva artboard around the design. It looks like this is only the beginning of Canva introducing more video animation features, but for now, at the time of writing, this will keep Canva users enthused about designing with motion without the need for video software.
What’s the difference between Canva’s animate and animation features?
If you’ve used Canva before, you’ll know that there’s already an Animate feature. The new animation feature is different.
animate feature
On any Canva design, selecting an element—whether it’s text, an image, or a group of composite elements—will reveal the Animate button above the artboard. This option allows you to animate all elements on the page, or you can choose to animate individual elements.
Animate can apply slight motion to a still element; It doesn’t allow you to move the element in the design. You can set up a page for animation styles on entry and exit, or you can set up entry and exit animations for all kinds of individual elements. This is a great feature for adding a touch of motion to a design.
Animate can be applied to all types of digital designs you create, as long as they are saved in video format or set to presentation mode.
Create Animation Feature
The animation feature enables users to add motion to the entire page of the design. With Create Animation, you can create a path for each element to allow the selected element to animate wherever you draw it to go.
While the Animations feature is simple, it allows you to add a little something different to your Canva designs. Animating in Canva is faster and simpler than animating in Procreate and much simpler than animating in After Effects, but it has fewer customization options.
How to use Canva’s animation tools
Once you’ve created your design, whether it’s a social media post, presentation, or any other Canva design, select the element you want to animate. Once selected, the Animate option will appear above the artboard; Select it.
The menu on the left will open to the Animate page; It includes the old Animate features, which you can use if you want. To use the Animation feature, select the Element, Image, or Text tab for Animation—the type of element you select will change the label to suit—then choose Create an Animation.
Select and drag your element anywhere around your design to create a path. This path will become the animation path that your element will follow. A purple dashed line will follow your element which will follow the visible path.
Once your path is created, a handful of motion styles will appear on the left-hand menu — Basic, Smooth, and Static — a toggle to orient the element on the path, and a speed dial. Your animation will play once after you’ve made any changes you want, but to watch it at any time, select the Play icon in the top right.
If you’re happy with your animation, choose Share > Download to save it. Choose to save it as an MP4 or GIF file to keep the animated aspects and share it wherever you want.
Add more to your designs with Canva’s animation tools
Canva’s animation tools let you move elements of your design anywhere on your artboard to animate them along a self-drawn path. Now you’re stuck with static animated elements with overused entry and exit motions. With Create n Animation, you can animate elements at different speeds, orientations, and in three different styles.