Hi folks! Do you like cinemagraphs, still images that have moving parts? For me, they can be mesmerizing. There’s something so relaxing about slow-mo animation. I decided to turn some layouts into cinemagraphs using MotionLeap on my iPad.

created by Ann Morton using Manu’s Mulled Collection. Photo by freestocks on Unsplash

I used Manu’s new Mulled Collection.

It’s part of the larger Mulled Studio event. There is a beautiful variety of designer styles in this collection. It’s gorgeous!

I used the app MotionLeap to create the movie (formerly Pixaloop). It’s available for both iOS and Android. The free version includes some good effects. The paid version has additional effects as well as export options. Pay with a monthly or yearly subscription, or make a one-time purchase. As a side note, Adobe also has animation in Photoshop if you are a Creative Cloud subscriber.

I made my layouts on iPad. However, that’s not a requirement – you can create the image anywhere! Once inside MotionLeap, I started a new project, then imported a layout into the app from my camera roll.

For the Happy Holidays layout above, I used a simple fire spark from Overlays.

created by Ann Morton using Manu’s Mulled Collection. Photo by Alisa Anton on Unsplash

In this layout, I used Steam from the app’s built-in element pack.

Swipe the panel down to dismiss the elements tab
Selected element, positioned on canvas. Play to preview.

Pinch to resize and use your finger to drag the effect around on the canvas. Adjust the opacity with the slider. Press Play to try it out.

created by Ann Morton using Manu’s Mulled Collection

This final one used the Animate tool. This requires drawing a path for your motion and delineating areas of motion with anchor points.

Use the Freeze tool to paint (orange overlay) areas of the canvas you don’t want affected by the animation.

When you’re satisfied with the effect, export. You have different options for export: Video, Live Photo, GIF, and Instagram. You can adjust various settings in each option.

This could make a lively, personalized digital greeting for someone! Have you created a cinemagraph before from your scrapbook layouts?