ANIMATION

Animate with presets and the timeline

Apply searchable motion presets, refine clips and understand every timeline interaction.

10 min read6 sectionsUpdated 23 August 2026

SceneLoft Animate workspace with preset browser and timeline

Presets are editable starting points. Applying one creates ordinary clips, tracks and keyframes that remain visible and adjustable on the timeline.

Enter Animate

Select the layer you want to move, then choose Animate at the top. The right dock becomes the preset browser and the timeline opens below the canvas.

Only compatible presets appear. Text Motion is hidden for shapes, while text selections gain character, word and line-aware effects.

Animate mode with preset browser and timeline — Animate mode keeps the design visible while adding motion controls.

Find and preview a preset

Use the realtime search field for a behavior such as bounce, elastic, fade, slide, cartoon or reveal. Each card previews the character of the motion instead of showing a generic dark block.

Choose a preset to add it to the selection. Presets never flatten the artwork or create an opaque video layer.

Animation preset search and cards — The browser filters both general and selection-specific motion.

Position and resize a clip

Drag the body of an animation bar to move its complete timing. Drag the padded right edge to change duration. Extending to the right can scroll the timeline; shortening never pulls the view away from the handle.

Show and Hide use draggable point markers because they represent events, not clips with stretchable duration.

Timeline animation bars and playhead — A short entrance clip and a longer ambient loop share one readable ruler.

Edit properties and easing

Select an animation item to open only the properties that make sense for it. Move exposes source and destination positions, Fill exposes start and end colors, and Scale can link X and Y or edit them separately.

Expand a clip when individual tracks or keyframes are needed. Easing changes how values travel between keys, while the selected option remains visible in its dropdown.

Animate text as text

Type On supports Normal, Fade In, Blur, Fade In and Blur, Top to Bottom, Bottom to Top and side-based reveals. Directional modes move each text unit into place rather than dropping the complete text block at once.

Emission, glow and shadow follow per-letter Type On opacity. A partly visible letter emits and casts a partly visible shadow, which keeps illuminated reveals physically coherent.

Preview and loop

Use playback controls to start, pause and return through the timeline. The Loop control highlights while active so repeated preview state is unambiguous.

Zoom the timeline around the area being tuned. Animation drawing remains clipped behind the left labels and floating dropdowns.