5 Favorite Animated Graphic Resources to Make your Instagram, Canva, and Social POP with Movement
*This post is full of affiliate links, but great resources! When you click, I will get a benefit at no cost to you.
Before I share these amazing resources, first, here is a mini FAQ for creators who have questions about movement and animation on Canva and Instagram:
How do I animate my Instagram posts and graphics in Canva?
There are a few ways to animate, and it depends on what you are looking for regarding animation! If you are wanting to add animation elements only, like animating your text or graphics, you’ll click “animations” in the top left of the screen and then tinker around.
If you want to add moving elements, like cool moving cloud backgrounds or gifs, you’ll simply add those to a file and Canva will automatically be sure to export those elements as mp4, which is the format that Instagram uses to show animation and movement.
How do I make animated Reels in Canva?
You might be seeing some awesome “slideshow” or graphic based Reels floating around. These are a great way to add value to your feed while educating folks! You can make these in Canva, it’s true!
How do I add gifs to Canva?
Gifs can be found under “More” and then you click on Giphy. This is an integration with Giphy, which is the largest gif sourcing platform on the web. You will have to get used to using keywords to try to find what you want, or searching by fandom, but once you get used to searching, you’ll start using Giphy like a pro.
Want those cool cut-out gifs? Search “[your keyword] + sticker” to find those. “Sticker” is the key word to find gifs that are non-squares.
Now, without further ado, here are my fave five resources to add that amazing animation to your graphics!
1: Social Motion Pack Videos
This is my best kept secret that I want to share with you! Social motion packs is where I get my amazing subtle backgrounds for my Reels and posts. They have some amazing clouds, glitter, florals, and more. They come out with a new pack each month and are incredibly affordable. They often have BOGO sales and IG sales as well.
They also come in pre-sized vertical format, which is amazing for your stories! Once you download them, simply add them to a new folder in Canva, and you’ve created your own mini library for videos that are totally unique to you. (Adding your elements directly in Canva is a hot tip I can’t stress enough! Don’t continuously drag things from your computer.)
→ Grab a Set of Social Motion Packs Here
2: Search Moving Elements and Animations in Creative Market
WOW does Creative Market have oodles and oodles of resources that are ready to become your new signature element! The best way to search Creative Market is keeping your own brand in mind via keywords.
I love searching “animated gradients” or “terrazzo.” Also try searching for graphics, backgrounds, or even stock photography sets that will support you.
Use this platform to start building what I like to call your “brand library” - a quick set of grabbable items in your computer or Canva account that you know are easy wins.
→ Here’s my curated collection of animated and moving elements in Creative Market!
Love these? browse the whole set!
3: Get a Unique Set of Templates with GIFs
Are you feeling FOMO over those amazing cut-out gifs that you see all over Instagram? How about grabbing the pack that started them all?
→ Grab this pack of 40 cut out gifs.
There are 40 whole templates, complete with amazing textures, strategic content, and CUSTOM cut-out gifs! You don’t even have to use them within the templates (though it’s suggested!)
Use them as your own personal library of gifs. You can pull those gifs to use across your other instagram templates, Reels templates, story templates, etc! When you invest in a pack of something for your business, you’re saving yourself time hunting through Giphy.
4: Become a Member of Your Template Club for TWO sets of Templates Per Month
Did you know that I’m the designer for Your Template Club? If you want TWO sets of Canva templates every single month, I can pretty much guarantee that they’ll have moving elements and strategy from a leading Instagram expert.
When you invest in yourself via templates, you’re investing in your time. When you save time, you save money! By getting Canva templates straight into your inbox, you’ll be covered with your Instagram. We aim for one “simple” design (like gifs, charts, quotes) and one “complex” design (Reels, carousels, stories) once a month, so you get a good mix.
5: Want a free option? Just use Canva!
Are you not ready to invest in a pack of graphics and elements for your business? (Although, I highly recommend it to ensure you’re staying unique and on brand!)
The resources above were hand crafted by very talented makers and strategists, and are worth the money! Animations are particularly hard to create so a lot of time and effort went into each piece.
However, you can simply use Canva to find animated resources. Whether you’re on Canva Pro or Canva free, there are tons of resources for you. They might be harder to find and they’re certainly not curated, but they’re there!
Here’s a video from my FREE Canva library on using animated elements in Canva:
The reason I don’t use Canva graphics and use any combination of the packs above is exactly for that reason: time. When something is already curated and beautiful, you know you’re getting a cohesive look for your brand and it saves you hours of hunting time. Finding elements that are perfect for your brand takes time!
Do you have any amazing animated resources? Put them below, and share the movement!
