Creating Animations

Bring your pixel art to life with simple animations

Procreate's Animation Assist

Procreate has a built-in animation feature called Animation Assist that's perfect for creating sprite animations!

To enable it: Tap the wrench icon → Canvas → Animation Assist (toggle ON)

1Understanding Frames

In pixel art animation, each layer becomes one frame. A simple walk cycle needs just 4-8 frames.

  • Idle animation: 2-4 frames (breathing, blinking)
  • Walk cycle: 4-8 frames
  • Jump: 3-5 frames
  • Attack: 3-6 frames
Start with 4 frames. You can always add more later. Simple animations often look better than complex ones!

2Creating a Simple Walk Cycle (4 Frames)

The classic walk cycle has four key poses:

  • Frame 1: Contact - left foot forward, right foot back
  • Frame 2: Down - both feet on ground, body lowered
  • Frame 3: Contact - right foot forward, left foot back (mirror of Frame 1)
  • Frame 4: Up - passing position, body raised
The secret to smooth animation: keep the character's head at the same vertical position across all frames. Only the body and legs move!

3Step-by-Step Animation Workflow

  1. Draw your character's standing pose on Layer 1
  2. Duplicate the layer (swipe left → Duplicate)
  3. On the new layer, make small changes (move one leg forward)
  4. Repeat: duplicate → modify → duplicate → modify
  5. Use the Animation Assist timeline at the bottom to preview
  6. Adjust FPS (frames per second) - try 8-12 FPS for pixel art

4Keeping Characters on the Same Spot

The biggest challenge: preventing your character from "sliding" across the screen.

  • Turn on Onion Skin in Animation Assist settings
  • You'll see a faint ghost of the previous frame
  • Use this to align your character's position
  • Keep a reference point (like the head or center of body) at the same position

Animated Objects

Not just characters! You can animate objects too:

  • Water fountain: 2-4 frames of water flowing
  • Flickering torch: 2-3 frames of flame shapes
  • Blinking sign: 2 frames (on/off)
  • Swaying tree: 2-3 frames of gentle movement
Object animations are easier than character animations because they don't need to "walk" anywhere. Just create 2-4 variations of the object!

Export Settings for Animations

When your animation is ready:

  1. Tap Share → Animated PNG or Animated GIF
  2. For games, export as PNG Sprite Sheet (Share → PNG)
  3. This creates one image with all frames side-by-side
  4. Your game engine will split it into individual frames
← Characters Create Objects →