How to Animate an SVG in the Browser (No Code)
Animate an SVG online without code: import the file, break it into editable paths, keyframe the motion, add easing, then export MP4, WebM or a PNG frame.
By the end of this guide you will have an animated SVG rendered as an MP4 or WebM file, built entirely in a browser tab. You need a KinoViz account and an .svg file. Everything described here works on the Free plan; the only differences on paid plans are export resolution, frame rate and the watermark.
What you need
- An SVG file that fits your plan's per-import limit: 10 MB on Free, 50 MB on Creator, 100 MB on Pro, 1 GB on Studio.
- A modern desktop browser. Nothing to install.
- Roughly ten minutes for a first, simple reveal.
Step by step
1. Create a project and pick a canvas size
From the dashboard, start a new project and choose a canvas preset — Square (1080 × 1080), Landscape (1920 × 1080), Portrait (1080 × 1920) or Custom. The canvas is the exported frame, so match it to the final placement before you start laying out.
2. Bring the SVG onto the canvas
Drag the file from your desktop directly onto the canvas. KinoViz detects the type and creates an image element for it. Alternatively open the Asset Library, click My Assets, then Upload — assets uploaded this way are saved to your account and available in every project.
3. Break the SVG into editable pieces
A freshly imported SVG behaves as a single image. To animate its parts separately, right-click it and choose Explode to Paths. Each shape inside the file becomes its own path element: selectable, restylable, keyframable, and usable in Boolean operations.
If the file contains real text you want to keep editable, choose Convert to editable instead. It preserves text elements and geometric grouping rather than flattening everything to outlines.
4. Order and group the layers
In the Layer Panel on the left, drag layers into the order you want. Layers nearer the top of the panel sit in front on the canvas. Select several related pieces and press Ctrl/Cmd+G to group them — a group animates as one object while its children stay individually editable.
5. Switch to Animation Mode and set the first keyframe
Flip the Design / Animate switch in the top bar. The timeline appears along the bottom, with a track per layer. Park the playhead at 0 s, select a path, and give it a starting state: opacity 0, a smaller scale, or a position off the edge of the frame. Changing any property while the playhead is parked records a keyframe automatically.
6. Move the playhead and create the motion
Drag the playhead to a later time and set the property to its finished value. KinoViz fills in every frame in between. Useful properties to animate:
| Property | Typical use |
|---|---|
| Opacity | Fade a piece in or out |
| Scale | Pop, grow or shrink on entry |
| Position (X and Y separately) | Slide in, arc across the frame |
| Rotation | Spin a badge, tick a dial |
| Fill and stroke colour | Shift a palette mid-shot |
Press K to record a keyframe manually at the playhead position.
7. Refine the timing with easing and offsets
Right-click a keyframe and choose Easing. KinoViz ships more than 40 preset curves — ease in and out variants, bounce, elastic, back, step — each drawn as an inline preview so you can see the shape before applying it. You can also enter a custom cubic Bezier.
To reveal many pieces in sequence, offset them in time. Drag each layer's clip bar in the timeline so it starts a fraction of a second after the previous one, or drag its first keyframe along the track. Delays of 0.05–0.15 s per layer read as one deliberate motion.
8. Export
Open the export dialog from the top bar. Choose MP4 for broad compatibility, WebM when you need a transparent background, or PNG for a single frame. Set the resolution and frame rate within your plan's ceiling and start the render. The render happens in your browser, so leave the tab open until it completes.
Tips
- Animate groups, not dozens of paths. A complex icon can have hundreds of subpaths. Group them by visual element first, then keyframe the groups.
- Set the ending state first. Design the finished frame, then step back to 0 s and take things away — it is faster than building forward blind.
- Reuse rather than rebuild. If a badge appears in several projects, turn it into a Component so edits to the master propagate to every instance.
- Draw-on effects live on paths. Once a shape is a path with a stroke, the Draw start and Draw end sliders let you keyframe a line drawing itself on.
FAQ
Do I need to write code or use After Effects to animate an SVG?
No. KinoViz runs in the browser and animates SVG artwork on a keyframe timeline, so there is nothing to install and no JavaScript, CSS or Lottie runtime to wire up. You import the file, keyframe the properties you want to change, and export a video file.
Can I animate individual shapes inside one SVG file?
Yes. Right-click the imported SVG and choose Explode to Paths. Each shape becomes an independent path element with its own layer, keyframes and styling. Choose Convert to editable instead if the file contains text you want to keep as live text.
Does the artwork stay sharp when I scale it?
Yes. SVG imports stay vector on the canvas, so scaling does not soften the edges. The final output is a raster video or PNG, and its resolution is capped by your plan — 540p short edge on Free, 1080p on Creator, and 1920px short edge on Pro and Studio.
Can I animate an SVG on the free plan?
Yes. Importing SVG, exploding it to paths, keyframing, easing and exporting MP4, WebM and PNG are all available on Free. Free exports carry a KinoViz watermark and are limited to 540p at 24 fps. Exporting the .kino source file requires Creator or above.
Related
- How to Make a Logo Reveal Animation
- How to Export a Transparent PNG
- Design Mode — layout, Boolean operations and styling
- Animation & Timeline — keyframes, easing and clip timing
- Export Formats — what each plan can render
- Glossary — motion design terms explained
- Pricing — resolution, frame rate and watermark by plan