How to Add Graphics to Video with Elements: A Guide
Don't let your videos get lost in the sea of content. Make your videos pop with Elements!
In this blog post, we will explore the ins and outs of Elements including ideas for how to use them, tips from our team, and how to customize them to match your brand. Keep reading to learn how to bring your videos to life with the magic of Elements!
What are Elements?
Elements are like “video stickers.” But unlike regular stickers, our Elements bring new life to your videos with eye-catching animations. Our Elements library contains thousands of illustrated shapes, frames, arrows, symbols, and calls-to-action that you can “stick” to your video Blocks.
Elements can be customized to match your brand colors or video aesthetic, and placed anywhere to add more value to your video’s content. Most of all, Elements add a touch of personality to your videos, making them more eye-catching, expressive, and impactful.
Just take a look at the video below to see the magic for yourself!
How to add Elements to videos
Elements are easy (and fun) to use! Here’s how you can add a variety of Elements to your training videos, promos, celebration videos, and more.
Our Element Library is broken down into the following categories so you can easily find the perfect fit for your video:
- Shapes: Geometric forms such as squares, circles, triangles, and rectangles.
- Abstract Forms: Organic, textured, and irregular shapes to create a sense of individuality and artistic expression.
- Backgrounds & Accents: Various underlines, solid backgrounds, and accents to create emphasis, underline and accentuate areas of interest
- Arrows & Frames: Direct your viewers’ attention to your text or media and create a sense of enclosure with animated arrows and frames.
- Symbols: Familiar shapes like hearts, pins, and check marks to reinforce your message.
- Characters: Quotations, text symbols, and numbers to convey information quickly.
- CTAs & Callouts: Short and visually-distinct text statements designed to direct a response or gain attention.
- Illustrations: Visual interpretations and drawings of familiar items to add artistic flair to your video.
1. Select a template
Start off with a strong aesthetic by using our professional templates! You can choose a template that already has Elements in it like this one, or add your own! You can always edit, add, or remove Elements as you go. Or, start with a blank canvas by starting from scratch.
2. Edit your video to make it your own
Lay the foundation of your video with your own text, photos, video clips, and brand colors. This will help you decide when and where you can use Elements to amplify your story. Here’s a blog with tips for creating custom videos in Animoto.
3. Add Elements
Now comes the time to add stickers to your videos! Click on the sticker icon in your workspace, just below the “T” text icon. Scroll through the Element Library to explore the various shapes, frames, backgrounds, arrows, symbols, characters, illustrations, and calls-to-action.
Click on the plus icons next to each category to see more Elements. Then, hover over them with your mouse to see how they animate and come to life. Just click on the one you want to add or drag and drop it into your video Block.
4. Adjust the placement, position, size, and timing
Once added to your Block, drag and drop your Element to emphasize your text, highlight images or photos, or add motion. Click and drag the handles on each corner of the frame to make your Element larger or smaller. Use the rotate icon to make it appear diagonally.
Make your Element appear in front of behind text or other Elements by using the “Change position” button. Then, send it to the very front, very back, or forward or back one layer.
Finally, decide when you'd like your Elements (and text) to appear and disappear by opening the timeline! Drag and drop the bumpers on either end to sync them with your video and control when they appear.
5. Change the color and opacity
Finally, make your elements match your brand and video style effortlessly by customizing the colors. Just click on the underlined drop in the Elements menu bar to change the color. Click again on the rightmost drop icon and use the slider to make it more or less opaque. This gives you the freedom to make your Elements blend into your video or boldly stand out against the background.
And that’s it! You now have a totally unique video with your personal signature.
Note: You can bring your videos to life with up to 10 Elements in a single Block!
Tips for using Elements
Elements make it easy to add personality, motion, and flair to your videos! Here are some creative ways to use them.
Use creative Elements to add personality
Want to make emotional moments of your birthday, anniversary, or graduation videos hit home? Infuse your videos with personality by using graphics that bring your stories to life. Abstract Forms, Symbols, and Illustrations are a great place to look for creative Elements.
Make your message pop with backgrounds
Use backgrounds and frames behind text to make your message stand out. Or, place a frame around your media to emphasize charts, photos, and video clips.
Use check marks and underlines to highlight key info
Add Elements to longer videos like trainings to help keep your audience engaged and attuned to your message. These dynamic animations and pops of color will hook viewers in and keep them looking for more! Try adding check marks next to a list of to-dos or use a circle or underline to highlight key takeaways that they won’t want to miss.
Add Elements to Instagram Stories and TikToks
Finally, use our intuitive user-friendly platform to add playful animations to your Instagram Stories and TikToks! Customize Elements with your brand colors rather than relying on the limited amount of stickers available on Instagram.
Templates with Elements
Check out some of the example videos we made by adding Elements to our video templates!
Add stickers to videos in Animoto
Bring your videos to life with the magic of Elements! Start creating with any of our premade customizable templates and watch your creativity take off.