Animated arrows are a frequently-used element in a video to draw viewers’ attention to a moving object or a specific area in the video for explanatory purposes.
In this tutorial, we will walk you through how to easily create a hand-drawn animated arrow in After Effects and animate this arrow in Premiere Pro and also offer you a quick online solution to quickly add an animated arrow to your video in seconds.
Here is what you will learn:
How to Create a Hand-drawn Animated Arrow in After Effects
Well, there are multiple ways to create an animated arrow in After Effects, the easiest way we believe is to use a Wacom tablet to draw a custom arrow and import this arrow clip to Premiere Pro and animate the moving arrow there. So, let’s find out how to do it.
How to create a custom animated arrow in After Effects.
Step 1
Create a new composition and click Ok.
Step 2
Right-click on the timeline > New > select Solid to create a solid background layer.
Step 3
Double-click the solid layer > use Ctrl+B to activate Brush Tool. Make sure the Paint and Brushes panels are on.
Step 4
Go to the Paint panel > set Duration to White on > set the property and size of your brush in the Brush panel.
Step 5
Head back to the solid background and draw an arrow on the tablet. The hand-drawn arrow will disappear because you are on the first frame of the clip. No worries. The arrow will appear as you move the playhead forward.
Step 6
Open the Solid layer > Effects > Paint > set Paint on Transparent on.
Step 7
Go to Composition > Add to Render Queue > click Lossiess in Output Module and set video format to Quicktime and Channel to RGB + Alpha > click OK and Render to export the video.
Step 8
Open Premiere Pro > drag the arrow clip on top of another clip on the timeline > scale down, rotate or change the color of the arrow you wish for in the Effects Control panel.
Step 9
To animate the arrow clip in and out, cut the arrow clip where the arrow animation in ends > duplicate this part and drag it to the end of the arrow clip > right-click Speed/Duration > check
Reverse Speed and click OK. Done.
How to Easily Create an Animated Arrow in a Video by FlexClip Online
Well, if you couldn’t afford the patience and time to create an animated arrow and animate it in After Effects, a viable alternative is to use FlexClip online video maker.
With FlexClip, you can easily select from a wide array of designer-made arrow animations and add one into your video, and customize its color, position, opacity. No software download and design experience are needed. Easy peasy lemon squeezy.
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Add animated arrows in a video by FlexClip online
All you need to do is:
Step 2
Add the clip onto the timeline and move the playhead to locate the frames you wish to add an arrow animation.
Step 3
Check the Elements tab on the left sidebar > check Arrow category > select one or multiple animated arrows. You may rotate or flip the arrow or customize its color and opacity. > place it in the parts of the video you wish for.
Step 4
Make more edits: add animated texts or royalty-free sound effects like Pop-pop SFX when the arrow animation appears to call one’s attention.
Here is the resulting video with an animated arrow created from the example above:
Add animated arrows in a makeup tutorial video by FlexClip
Step 5
Export the video and share it on social media.
Now, It's Your Move
Hopefully, you can create fun and eye-catching animated arrows with our tutorial. If you find this how-to guide helpful, don’t forget to share it with friends on Facebook and leave your comments and tag us. Looking forward to hearing your feedback.
Frank
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Passionate about photography, video-making and travel, Frank is a seasoned copywriter and a beloved father of 2-year-old daughter at FlexClip. He is always keen to share his latest discovery about video marketing and tricks to relive your memories through videos and images.