Your first piece takes two scenes.
Design one scene with a title and a circle, and turn on a transition. Then duplicate the scene and move and enlarge just the circle. When you play it, the circle glides to its new spot as it grows.
Design the first scene
All you need is one blank project. If you don’t have one, see Create your first project first.
-
Create text
Click Text in the toolbar, or press T. Click the left side of the scene. The word “Text” appears with all of it selected, waiting for you to type.
Clicking the scene with the Text tool creates “Text” and selects it. Video: Pressing T and clicking the scene makes a text box with “Text” selected. “Hello there” is typed over it, and Esc finishes. -
Type the title
Type “Hello” right away, and it replaces “Text”. Press esc to finish typing. The title stays selected.
Typing “Hello” and pressing esc finishes the title. Video: Pressing T and clicking the scene makes a text box with “Text” selected. “Hello there” is typed over it, and Esc finishes. -
Make the title bigger
With the title selected, look at the Text panel on the right and find its Size field. Double-click the number in the field (26 at first) to select it, type 120, and press ↩. The title gets bigger.
Changing the size in the Text panel to 120 makes the title bigger. Video: With the “Hello” title selected, the size 26 in the Text panel on the right is double-clicked, 120 is typed, and Enter is pressed. The small title becomes large. -
Draw a circle
Click Ellipse in the toolbar. Below the title, hold ⇧ and drag to draw a perfect circle.
Choosing Ellipse in the toolbar and holding ⇧ while dragging draws a perfect circle. Video: The Ellipse button in the toolbar is clicked, and holding Shift while dragging below the title draws a perfect circle. -
Pick a color
With the circle selected, go to the Ellipse panel on the right and click the color square at the left of the Fills row. If your screen is small and the row is hidden, scroll in the panel. When the Color window opens, click near the bottom end of the rainbow bar at the side, where it turns pinkish. Then click near the top right of the large color area, and the circle turns bright pink.
The color square in Fills is clicked, and pink is chosen in the Color window. Video: An object is selected, the fill color in the right panel is clicked, and a bright pink is picked from the hue bar and the color area.
Add motion
First, click an empty spot on the canvas. The Color window closes and the selection clears. The transition turns on for the whole scene only when nothing is selected.
-
Turn on the transition
Click the first button in the top-right button row, the curve-shaped one. The Motion - Transition panel opens, with “Scene: New Scene” at the top. Click Easing, then click Apply.
The curve-shaped button opens the Motion panel, and Easing and then Apply are clicked. Video: With nothing selected, clicking the curve-shaped button at the top right opens the Motion - Transition panel with “Scene: New Scene” at the top, and Easing and Apply are clicked. -
Duplicate the scene
First, press esc to close the Motion panel. Click the duplicate button in the title row of the Scenes list at the top left. It looks like two overlapping squares. An identical scene appears below and opens, and the transition you just turned on is duplicated with it. Once there are two scenes, the delete button moves into that same spot, so click only once.
Clicking the duplicate button in the Scenes list creates an identical scene and opens the new one. Video: The Duplicate button in the Scenes list copies the scene. In the new scene, the circle is moved to the right and made bigger by dragging a corner. -
Move and enlarge the circle
In the new scene, drag the circle to the right. Drag the bottom-right corner handle to make it bigger. Hold ⇧ while you drag to keep it a perfect circle.
In the new scene, the circle is dragged to the right and enlarged by pulling a corner handle. Video: The Duplicate button in the Scenes list copies the scene. In the new scene, the circle is moved to the right and made bigger by dragging a corner. -
Play from the beginning
At the top right, click the small arrow-shaped Presentation options button right next to the triangle button. Choose Play from the Beginning from the menu, and the first scene fills the screen.
Choosing Play from the Beginning in the presentation options fills the screen with the first scene. Video: While the second scene is being edited, the presentation options next to the triangle button are opened and Play from the Beginning is chosen. The first scene fills the screen, with a “Click to advance” hint at the bottom. -
Click to advance
Click the screen. The circle glides to its new spot and grows. Click once more to see the “End of show” screen, and click again to return to editing. To stop partway, press esc.
A click makes the circle glide and grow, and after the “End of show” screen, the editor returns. Video: Clicking the presentation screen makes the circle glide to the right as it grows. Another click shows the “End of show” screen, and one more click returns to the editor.
What you can do now
- Add text and shapes, and change their size and color in the right panel.
- Turn on a transition for a scene, and create motion by moving things in a duplicated scene.
- Play from the beginning, and click to advance to the next scene.
Polish your piece
Move the title too. In the second scene, drag the title up, then play again. Every object that has the same name in both scenes moves smoothly between them. Two ways to make things move explains how this works.
Slow it down. Select the first scene in the Scenes list and open the Motion panel. Double-click 300 in the Duration field, change it to 1000, and click Apply. The circle now moves for 1 second.
Undo a mistake. Press ⌘Z to undo your last action. This also brings back a scene you deleted by mistake. For details, see Save and undo.
Shortcuts on this page
| Text tool | T |
|---|---|
| Start typing in the selected text | ↩ |
| Perfect circle · keep proportions | ⇧+click and drag |
| Play from the beginning | F5 |
| Stop playback | esc |
Updated 10/14/2026 · The videos on this page were recorded in the current editor.