We're nearing the end of 2021 and we're almost sure everyone has heard about Adobe Photoshop! A raster graphics software that has been around over 30 years, Photoshop has been used by students and professionals all over the world to edit photographs and produce amazing pieces of artwork. But did you know you can also animate in Photoshop? Here are our top 5 methods to animate in Photoshop!
Number 1: Puppet Warp Animation
Puppet Warp animation requires a simple workflow, so have your artwork and a background layer ready! Using the animation timeline in Photoshop, you'll want to duplicate layers and use the Puppet Warp tool to add pins to your artwork (keeping in mind joints or moveable parts) and move it however you like! By working between the animation timeline and image layers you can ensure only the images you want are visible per frame.
Number 2: Pixel animation
If you're into 8-bit art then you'll love creating pixel animations! Simply draw out your frames with a small hard brush (we recommend using the Pencil Tool) and using Layers structure your animation. You may want to start with a blink or bounce animation, from there you can jump into walk cycles. There are dozens of pixel animation tutorials out there for Photoshop, so do check out YouTube or art sites like DeviantArt for an array of tips and tricks!
Number 3: 2D animation
Probably the most popular technique of animation, 2D follows similar steps to the previous methods in which you'll need a couple of things: the animation timeline and a brush of your choice! You might start out simple by drawing out the frames of a bouncing ball, before moving onto character animation. If you're looking into following a tutorial then you have plenty to pick from! Check out places like YouTube, where many artists post their step by step videos.
Number 4: Stop Motion
A fun way to animate, stop motion involves photographing an object frame by frame whilst physically manipulating it. Using Photoshop is an easy way to bring in those photographs and create your stop motion animation! Simply open your photos as a sequence and create frame animation; from there you'll want to import your layers into the animation timeline as frames. You can make adjustments to the timing of these frames and loop the animation if you wish!
Number 5: Rotoscoping
The process of rotoscoping involves tracing over footage frame by frame, and has been used in animated films and music videos for decades. Rotoscoping in Photoshop is relatively straightforward, with plenty of tutorials out there for beginners. To start, try importing in a simple video and import the layers into the animation timeline. From there you'll want to create normal layers and beginning drawing over each frame. It's recommended you organise your workspace with folders, as this process can get messy!
We hope you enjoyed reading through the top 5 Photoshop animation methods. If you're a user of Adobe Photoshop we recommend trying out one of these methods; we had a blast trying these out!
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