Why start with a bouncing ball?
The bouncing ball is the “hello world” of animation. It teaches timing (how long things take), spacing (how far they move each frame) and squash and stretch — three principles every animator relies on. It's also simple enough that you can focus on learning ToonSquid's tools rather than drawing skills. The exact names of buttons can change between versions, so if something looks different, check the official handbook.
Step 1: Set up your project
- Open ToonSquid and create a new project.
- Choose a canvas size. 1920 × 1080 (16:9) works for video; a square canvas suits social media loops. Remember the 4096 × 4096 maximum.
- Set the frame rate. 24 fps is the film standard; many animators draw “on twos”, holding each drawing for two frames, which effectively gives 12 drawings per second.
- Draw a simple horizontal line on its own layer for the floor, so it stays fixed while the ball moves.
Step 2: Draw the key poses
Create an animation layer for the ball. Draw three key drawings:
- Top: the ball at its highest point, perfectly round.
- Contact: the ball touching the floor, slightly stretched vertically.
- Squash: the ball flattened against the floor, wider than it is tall.
Keep the ball's area roughly the same in every drawing — when it squashes, it should get wider, not smaller. That consistency is what makes the motion feel solid.
Step 3: Turn on onion skin and add inbetweens
Enable onion skinning so ToonSquid shows faint copies of the previous and next drawings. Use them as a guide to draw inbetweens between the top and the contact. Here's the key insight: spacing changes speed. Near the top of the arc the ball moves slowly, so drawings are close together; near the floor it moves fast, so drawings are far apart. Version 1.10 also introduced “Out of Pegs” (shift and trace), which temporarily moves onion skins so you can line up shapes while drawing inbetweens.
Step 4: Adjust timing on the timeline
In the timeline you can control how long each drawing stays on screen. Try holding the squash for one frame and the top pose for two or three to give the ball a satisfying “hang time”. Play the animation back on loop and adjust until the bounce feels natural. Small timing changes make a big difference.
Step 5: Add motion with keyframes
Now combine hand-drawn animation with keyframes — ToonSquid's signature workflow. Instead of drawing the ball moving across the screen, keep your bounce in place and add position keyframes to the layer so it travels from left to right. Apply an easing preset to ease in or out, or enable looping. You can also keyframe a camera layer for a gentle pan, which is far quicker than redrawing the background.
Step 6: Polish
- Add a simple shadow on its own layer that grows and shrinks with the ball.
- Try a different blend mode for the shadow, such as Multiply.
- Add a squash sound by importing or recording audio, and line it up with the contact frame.
- Turn the finished bounce into a symbol so you can reuse it in later scenes.
Step 7: Export and share
Export your animation as an MP4 for video platforms or a GIF for quick sharing. Use “Save to Files” to keep a copy, and export the project file too as a backup. If you want a transparent background for compositing, export a PNG sequence or MOV with HEVC transparency on an iPad with an A10 chip or newer.
The animation principles you just used
| Principle | Where it appears in the bouncing ball |
|---|---|
| Timing | How many frames the fall and rise take |
| Spacing / slow in and out | Drawings close together at the top, far apart near the floor |
| Squash and stretch | The ball flattens on impact and stretches as it falls |
| Arcs | The ball follows a curved path between bounces |
| Follow-through | Each bounce is a little lower than the last as energy is lost |
Common beginner mistakes
- Even spacing everywhere makes the ball look robotic — vary the gaps.
- Changing the ball's volume when squashing makes it look like it's shrinking.
- Forgetting the hold at the top removes the sense of weight.
- Too many layers too soon makes timing harder to edit; keep it simple at first.
- Not backing up — export the project file before experimenting with big changes.
A 7-day practice plan
- Day 1: bouncing ball in place.
- Day 2: bouncing ball travelling across the screen with keyframes.
- Day 3: a heavy bowling ball vs a light beach ball — compare timing.
- Day 4: a pendulum to practise arcs.
- Day 5: a flour sack jump for squash and stretch with character.
- Day 6: a simple lip-sync of one short word using audio markers.
- Day 7: combine everything into a 5-second loop and export it as a GIF.
When you're ready for more, the official handbook covers advanced tools like bones and symbols.
What to learn next
Once you're comfortable, try a pendulum, a flour sack jump and a simple walk cycle. Then explore bones with inverse kinematics for character rigs. The official ToonSquid handbook documents every tool in detail. Haven't got the app yet? See how much ToonSquid costs.
