Canva Animation Tutorial: Easy Steps for Engaging Social Videos

There are some really effective tools within Canva, but the real power and magic happen when you combine those tools and make use of the whole ecosystem. Today, we're going to be bringing together image editing, video tools, animations and transitions, elements, and text to create a vertical video introducing our definitely not completely made up team.

Preparing Individual Elements

One of the keys to success when you're working with videos and animations made up of multiple parts is to prepare the individual elements or groups of elements before you start compiling and animating. Particularly when the end result is going to be a vertical video, I often like to have a working document that gives me a little more screen space to prepare those elements. I can then copy and paste them into that smaller canvas when I'm ready.

Let's have a look at what I've prepared so far. This is my working document where I'm gathering all the elements that I'm going to use. The first is the photographs of my team. Here, you have four photographs that I have uploaded of my completely real and not made-up team. I used the image I uploaded, went to the "Edit Photo" option, and used the background remover to remove the background. I added a drop shadow to give some depth. For the circular images, I used a circular frame and added a circular shadow behind them for more depth.

I also created collections of elements for each team member, including text boxes and simple icons, to give information about each member. After setting these up, I grouped them, making each group act as a single element, which is easier to move and animate.

Creating The Vertical Video

This is my vertical video document that I've started. I brought in the circular pictures of my team and staggered them for an interesting look. I added an animated background element and a couple of text boxes with various animations to make an engaging intro slide.

To profile each team member, I resized and aligned their pictures at the top of the slide. I also added a white bar to act as a signpost. By using the "Match and Move" animation between slides, Canva helps to auto-create the transition animations for us.

Adding Elements and Animations

We enhance the slides by copying the elements from our working document and pasting them into the necessary positions. For example, I copied Sum's grouped information, resized it, and added her photograph to the slide while maintaining consistency using guidelines. This process is repeated for each team member.

Enhancing with Gradient Shapes and Animating Elements

To highlight the person being talked about, I added a gradient shape behind their images to provide a glow effect. For animations, the "Match and Move" transition handled most of the hard work. I added subtle animations like "Rise" to the main and grouped elements to make the slides more dynamic. Adjusting the timing of these animations ensured a smooth flow.

Finalizing the Animation

After refining the animations and timing for each slide, I watched through the entire video to check for any needed tweaks. At the end, I added branding to finish the video.

To learn more about these steps and enhance your animation skills, visit my YouTube channel or sign up for my Canva OS course, which includes specific resources and checklists to guide you through creating videos and animations.

Keywords

Canva
image editing
video tools
animations
transitions
vertical video
team introduction
background remover
circular frame
drop shadow
gradient shapes
animating elements
match and move
Canva OS course

FAQ

Q: What are the essential tools to use in Canva for this project?

A: You need image editing, video tools, animations, transitions, elements, and text.

Q: How do I prepare elements for the animation?

A: Use a horizontal video document to gather your assets, remove backgrounds, add shadows, and group elements.

Q: What's the 'Match and Move' animation in Canva?

A: 'Match and Move' helps to smoothly transition between slides by auto-creating animations based on element positions from slide to slide.

Q: How can I make my elements stand out more?

A: Use gradient shapes and drop shadows behind elements to give depth and make them pop.

Q: When is the best time to add animations to the slides?

A: Add animations after positioning all elements to ensure consistent timing and smooth transitions.