If you want to learn how to animate Instagram stories, you’re in the right place. Motion makes your content stand out. Whether you’re promoting a product, sharing a quick update, or building a brand, animated stories are more likely to catch attention than static ones.

In this guide, you’ll learn the full process using Adobe After Effects. You’ll start by setting up your composition, then animate photos, text, or logos using smooth keyframes and simple effects. You don’t need to be an expert in After Effects. With the right approach, anyone can make their stories look polished and professional.

Learning how to animate Instagram stories isn’t about perfection. It’s about movement, clarity, and helping your audience stay focused on what matters.

Let’s break it down, step by step.

Why Animation Matters for Instagram Stories

Instagram moves fast. People tap through stories without thinking. If yours doesn’t stand out, it gets skipped. Animation helps fix that.

When something moves, people notice. A bit of motion, like sliding text or a quick logo pop, can be enough to grab attention. It’s not about being fancy. It’s about making sure the right part of your story gets seen.

Animation also makes your content feel more put together. When your stories have the same style or flow, people start to recognize your work. That builds trust. It makes your page feel more professional, even if you’re just starting out.

Using After Effects gives you more control than Instagram’s built-in tools. You can match your brand colors, pick your own fonts, and decide exactly how things move on screen. No templates or quick hacks. Just clean, custom content that feels like you.

Think about the stories you pause on. They usually move. Even a little bit. That’s what we’re aiming for here.

Learning how to animate Instagram stories helps your content feel more alive. It’s a small change that can make a big difference.

What You Need to Get Started

Before you dive into After Effects, make sure you’ve got the basics ready. You don’t need anything fancy, just a few essentials.

1. Adobe After Effects

This is the main tool we’ll use to animate your stories. If you don’t have it yet, you can download a free trial from Adobe. It works best on a computer with decent speed and enough space for your project files.

2. Instagram Story Size

Set your composition to 1080 pixels wide by 1920 pixels tall. That’s the standard size for stories. You can always crop later, but it’s easier to start with the right dimensions.

3. Your Visuals

Grab the stuff you want to animate. This could be:

• Photos
• Text
• Your logo
• Icons or shapes
• Short video clips

Try to keep everything in folders so it’s easy to drag into After Effects later.

4. An Idea or Flow

You don’t need a full storyboard, but it helps to know what you’re trying to say. Are you announcing something? Promoting a product? Telling a quick story? A simple plan saves you time when it’s time to animate.

That’s it. Once you’ve got these things ready, you’re good to go.

Step-by-Step: How to Animate Instagram Stories in After Effects

Now that you’ve got everything ready, let’s begin the process. Here’s how to animate Instagram stories from scratch using After Effects. Follow these steps, and you’ll have something smooth and professional by the end.

1. Open After Effects and Create a New Composition

Click on “New Composition.” In the settings:

• Set the width to 1080 and the height to 1920
• Frame rate: 30 fps works fine
• Duration: 15 seconds is the default length for an Instagram story

Give your comp a name like “IG_Story_01” so things stay organized.

2. Import Your Assets

Go to File > Import > File. Bring in your photos, logos, icons, or any other visuals you’re using. You can also just drag and drop them into the Project panel.

Once they’re in, drag them onto your timeline. That’s where the fun starts.

3. Start with Simple Animations

Click on a layer (like a photo or text). Press P for Position, S for Scale, or T for Opacity. These are the properties you’ll animate the most.

To animate, click the stopwatch next to the property. Move the playhead, change the value, and After Effects will create a motion between the two points. That’s called keyframing.

For example:

• Have text slide up from the bottom
• Fade in a logo
• Zoom in on a photo

Keep it simple. Clean movement looks better than over-the-top effects.

4. Add Easing for Smoother Motion

Right-click your keyframes and choose Keyframe Assistant > Easy Ease. This makes the animation feel more natural, not robotic.

Want even more control? Open the Graph Editor and adjust the curves so things speed up or slow down at the right time.

5. Add Some Motion Blur

Turn on Motion Blur by clicking the little icon that looks like three circles next to your layers. Then enable it at the top of your timeline.

This adds a bit of realism and makes movement feel less stiff.

6. Preview Your Animation

Press the spacebar to preview. Make sure everything flows well. Watch your timing. Instagram stories are quick, so don’t try to cram too much in.

Tip: Leave space at the top and bottom so your text doesn’t get cut off by the Instagram UI.

7. Export Your Story

When you’re happy with how it looks, it’s time to export.

1. Go to File > Export > Add to Adobe Media Encoder Queue
2. In Media Encoder, choose H.264 as your format
3. Preset: Match Source – High Bitrate is fine
4. Hit play to render

Save it somewhere easy to find. Then transfer the video to your phone and upload to Instagram.

That’s the full process. The first time might take you a little longer, but once you get the hang of it, you can create animated stories in minutes.

Bonus: Animate Your Logo in the Same Story

Adding your logo is one of the easiest ways to brand your stories. Even a quick animation can make it feel way more professional. It doesn’t need to be fancy — just something clean and simple that shows up at the right moment.

Here’s how to do it:

Step 1: Import Your Logo

Just like before, drag your logo file (PNG or SVG works best) into the project. Drop it into your timeline.

Step 2: Pick a Simple Animation

You can fade it in, have it slide up, or scale from small to full size. The simpler it is, the better it will look.

Here are a few easy ideas:

• Fade in using the Opacity setting (press T)
• Scale in from 0 to 100 (press S)
• Slide in from the side using Position (press P)

Use the stopwatch, move the playhead, and adjust the settings to create motion.

Step 3: Keep It Quick

Your logo shouldn’t take over the whole story. Aim for a one or two second animation. Enough to be seen, not enough to distract.

Step 4: Place It Right

Put it in a corner or near the bottom, where it doesn’t block the main message. Remember that Instagram puts buttons and text near the top and bottom of the screen, so keep some breathing room.

Step 5: Add Motion Blur (Optional)

If you want it to feel smoother, turn on motion blur for the logo layer too. It makes the movement feel a little more natural, especially if it moves fast.

That’s it. A simple logo animation can go a long way. Once you have it set up, you can even reuse it in other stories by copying it into new comps.

Pro Tips to Level Up Your Instagram Story Animations

You’ve already learned how to animate Instagram stories with the basics. But if you want your work to really stand out, here are a few extra tips that take things up a notch.

Keep It Short and Focused

Don’t cram too much into one story. One clear message is always better than trying to say five things in 15 seconds. Let your animation highlight the key point and keep the pacing easy to follow.

Use Consistent Motion Styles

Pick one or two styles of movement (like fade and slide) and use them throughout the story. It keeps everything feeling clean and intentional instead of random or messy.

Stay On-Brand

Use your own fonts, colors, and style when animating. You want people to recognize your stories at a glance. After Effects gives you full control, so match it to your brand every time.

Save a Reusable Template

Once you’ve made one good animated story, save it. You can reuse the same layout later and just swap out the content. This saves time and helps your stories look consistent week to week.

Leave Room for Instagram’s UI

Keep important text away from the top and bottom edges of the screen. Instagram’s buttons can cover stuff, and you don’t want your message to get lost under a reply bar.

Final Thoughts on How to Animate Instagram Stories

Learning how to animate Instagram stories might seem tricky at first, but once you’ve done it once or twice, it becomes second nature. After Effects gives you all the tools you need to make your stories feel smooth, clean, and way more professional than just using in-app features.

Animation helps you grab attention, tell your story more clearly, and show up with a look that matches your brand. You don’t need crazy effects or complicated plugins. Just a few simple moves like fades, slides, or logo pops can make your content stand out in a real way.

If you stick to the basics and stay consistent with your style, people will start to recognize your stories before they even see your name. That’s the power of good design.

Now that you know how to animate Instagram stories, try making one today. Keep it short, stay on-brand, and see how it feels when you post something that actually moves.

Want a head start? Download our free After Effects story template and jump straight into editing.