Express Animate Getting Started Tutorial
Express Animate is a simple yet efficient digital visual effects and motion graphics program
with powerful tools for enhancing and animating movie projects.
The main interface includes three panels: the Objects Panel on the left,
the canvas in the center and the composition panel on the bottom.
The Home, Object and Draw toolbars at the top give you easy access to frequently used tools.
Continue watching this tutorial for more details on getting started with Express Animate.
The Home tab at the top of the program has your most used tools.
Click the Load Media button to add video, image, and audio files to your composition.
The New Object button opens a list of objects to use in your composition.
Easily Add Text, Masks or Effects to your project from the Home tab also. On the right side of the
Home tab are common editing tools, such as, Undo, Redo, Cut, Copy and Paste. Save your
project as a movie file use the Save Video button or export to HTML5 using the Save HTML5 button.
Easily save your project at any time using the Save button on the top left of the title bar.
The Objects Panel on the left side of the program displays
objects and their hierarchy in the active composition. You can select an object,
delete it, or assign a parent by dragging and dropping an object onto another object.
The Composition Panel at the bottom of the program is used to adjust an object’s order,
properties, timing and keyframes. The composition panel toolbar has buttons to toggle scrub,
snapping, and the curve editor on or off.
Click the duration button to edit the composition duration in the Composition Duration dialog.
Use the scroll bar on the right of the composition panel to scroll the view to another object.
To zoom in or out on the composition panel, use the zoom controls on the bottom right.
The Canvas Panel in the middle of the window displays the composition at the current
time marker. You will also edit selected objects and their properties on the Canvas.
Use the play controls beneath the canvas to watch your animation.
Next to the play controls are buttons to toggle the onion skin,
grid view, and snapping to canvas grid. You can also edit the aspect ratio or the composition,
change the preview quality or zoom the canvas view. Immediately above the Canvas Panel is a
‘Tip’ area that provide useful details on how to use your currently selected tool.
Use your mouse wheel to zoom in and out on the canvas when you are hovering over the canvas.
The Object tab contains buttons for each object type to quickly add them to your project.
Drawing tools include Pencil, Line, Rectangle, Ellipse, Custom Shape, Poly Line
and Bezier Curve. Add text, parent objects, clipart or stock sounds.
Click Record Audio to add your own audio to your composition.
This has been a quick overview of the Express Animate program.
For more Express Animate tutorials, visit the address shown on your screen.