The Power of Easing: How to Use Animation Principles to Add a Smoothness to Your Motion Graphics

As designers, we're always looking for ways to take our creations to the next level.

We’ve been talking a lot about animation in this article so today we are going to talk about one specific detail: easing.

Easing is the secret sauce that brings our animations to life, giving them a sense of weight and momentum that makes them feel like they're moving in the real world. It's the difference between a stilted, robotic animation and one that flows seamlessly and feels natural.

The key to mastering easing is understanding the difference between ease-in and ease-out.

Ease-in is the gradual acceleration of an animation at the beginning, while ease-out is the gradual deceleration of an animation at the end.

By using these techniques together, we can create animations that feel like they're moving with purpose like they're alive.

But that's not all. We can take our animations even further by incorporating overshooting. This is where the animation moves past its final destination before settling into its final position, adding an extra layer of anticipation and follow-through. It's like the cherry on top of an already delicious animation sundae.

When it comes to timing and spacing, it's all about finding that sweet spot. By adjusting the keyframe spacing and timing of our animations, we can create a sense of flow and continuity that makes our designs feel like they're part of a larger, cohesive story.

In short, easing is the key to creating cool, next-level motion graphics. By understanding and mastering this principle, we can elevate our designs and blow our audience away with animations that are not only visually stunning, but truly believable.