POWTOON BASICS

PowToonisanonlinepresentationsoftwaretoolthatallowsyoutocreatefreeandprofessionalanimated
videoexplainers/messagesandpresentationsasanalternativetoPowerPoint.

Throughthistutorialyouwilllearnto:
AccessPowToonandcreateapresentation
NavigatethePowToonInterface
Accessandusethepanels
Applythebasicanimationworkflow
Publishyourpresentation

AccessingthePowToon
Step1:WheredoIlogin?
Loginathttp://www.powtoon.com/.

Step2:StartaPowToon
YoucancreateaPowToonfromaReadyMadepresentationor
startfromScratchwithorwithoutatemplate.Startfromscratchcategoriesincludeprearrangedslides
forPromotionalVideos,Slideshows,EducationalClips,InfographicVideosandSocialClips.SelectEdit
forReadyMadepresentationsorGoafterselectingaBlankProjectortemplate.Note:Some
ReadyMadepresentationsandtemplatesareonlyavailabletoPremiumusers.

TheInterface&Panels

TheLibraryPanel
ThePowToonLibraryismadeupofdifferentcategoriesoftext,
objects(shapes,markers),propsandcharactersthatcanbeadded
toyourpresentation.Youcanevenaddyourownimagestothe
librarybyselectinganImageHolder(imageframe)option.

UsingItemsintheLibrary
TousetheLibraryselectaStylefromthetopofthepanel.Toadd
objects,propsandcharacterssimplydrag/droptotheslide.Note:
SomeItemsintheLibrarymaybepartofthepremiumPowToon
package(markedasMore).

TheTimeline
ThePowToonTimelineisusedtoaddanimationtimingtoobjectsin
yourpresentation.
1. Playhead:Theplayheadindicatesatwhatsecondyouare
currentlyinyourslide.Youcanslidetheplayhead
throughoutthetimelinetopreviewtheanimationforeachslide.
2. TotalSlideTime:Eachslidebydefaultisassigned10seconds.Thiscanbedecreasedor
increasedtoupto20secondsmaximum.
3. ObjectDurationBar:Eachobjecthasaanimationtimingdurationbar.Toaccessthisbarselect
theobjectonthestageandadjustthetimingasdesired.
4. ObjectThumbnails:Allobjectsintheslidewillappearbelowthetimeline.Clickonanobjectto
adjusttheeffectanddurationoftheobject.
5. ObjectEffects(Animation):ObjectscanbesettoEnterorExitthestageusingavarietyof
optionsincludingfades,directionalityandevenahandfunction(whereahumanhandslidesthe
objectontothepresentation).Eachobjectcanbeanimatedusingtheseeffects.Note:Youcan
alsoFlipanobjectsorientationfromthisarea.
6. PlaybackControls:Helpyoupreviewyourpresentationanimationasyougo.Note:thereare
fourplaybackoptionsfromlefttoright(a)playallslidesfromstart,(b)playcurrentslide
fromstart,(c)playfromplayheadthencontinue,and(d)playcurrentslide.

TheSlidePanel
TheSlidePanelcontainsyourslidesforyour
presentation.

SlideOptions:Youcanadd/removeand
duplicateslides(allobjectsandtiming).Note:
Youcanalsocloneslides,whichduplicatesthe
previousslidewiththelastframe(1second)on
it.Thiscanhelpyoumakeasmoothtransition
fromslidetoslide.

Presentation/MovieMode:Togglebetween
themovieandpresentationmodesdependingon
howyouwanttoshoworexplainyour
information.Note:Presentationmodeallows
youtocreateHoldPointsforlivepresentation
narration.

Transitions:Transitionsbetweenslidescanbeaddedby
accessingtheTransitionOptionsfromtheLibraryPanel.
Toaddatransition,selecttheslideandclickonthedesired
transitioneffect.Thetransitionwillappearbelowtheselected
slideandthenameofthetransitioneffectwillappearbetween
thetwoslides.Note:Transitionsareastandardlengthand
cannotbeedited.Toremoveatransition,selecttheslideand
fromTransitionoptionsfromtheLibraryPanel,selectNone.

Layouts:Layoutsforslidesinclude
animationplaceholdersandbasic
timings.Accesstheslidelayoutoptions
byclickingontheslideandselecting
thelayoutoptionstab.Amenuof
layoutswillappear.Selectalayout.
Edittheindividualitemsontheslideandtimingstoadjusttheeffects.Note:Youcanonlyapplyalayout
optiontoaslideonce.Toapplyanewlayout,simplyaddanewslideandselectanewlayoutoption.

TheMenuPanel
TheMenuPanelcontainsfeaturescommontomanypresentationtools.

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

Save:althoughPowToonwillautosaveevery5minutesitisimportanttosaveregularly.
New:tocreateanewPowToon.
Cut,Copy,Paste:cut,copyandpasteslides,objectsinyourpresentation.
Sound:addasoundfile(eitherimport,recordoruseatrackfromthePowToon).
Image:Importimagefromcomputerorfromtheweb.
Text:addtexttoaslideandformattextoptions.
Preview(Share/Link,Embed):SelectpreviewtoreviewyourPowToonandshareviaaURL
link,socialmediasiteorembedintoawebsite.
8. Exporting(YouTube):directlyshareyourPowToontoYouTubeorexportasavideofile(paid
option).Note:freeaccountsincludePowToonbranding.

TheBasicWorkFlow
Step1:Storyboard
Itishighlyrecommendedthatyouplanyourpresentation
usingastoryboardthatoutlinesyourvisualideasand
narration.Itisthemosteffectiveapproachforanimation.

Step2:AddtheVoiceover/Music
Itismucheasiertoaddthevoiceoverfirstthenaddthe
animations.Why?Itprovidesyouwiththetimings,
makingiteasiertoaddslidesandanimations.

AddingSound
FromtheMenuPanelselectSoundORselecttheAudioIconfromtheTimeline.
1. ImportorRecordVoiceover
2. ImportorAddMusicTrackNote:Somemusicrequiresapaidaccount.
3. Adjustsoundwithcontrols
4. Preview/Play
5. Apply

Step3:AddSlides
UsingtheSlidePaneladdslidestoyourpresentationbasedonyourstoryboard.

Step4:AddObjects
DraganddropobjectsfromthePowToonLibraryPanelonto
yourslides(includingcharacters,text,objectsandprops).

Tip:Youcanlayerobjectsontopofeachotherandusethe
animationtimingstointroduceobjectsstrategicallytocreatea
senseofdynamicmovementandcartooninteraction.

ManagingObjects
ManagingobjectsinPowToonissimilartoMS
PowerPoint.
Leftclickontheitemtoselectandeither
holdandmoveonthestagewiththemouse
orusethearrowkeys.
Usetheobjecthandlestoresizethe
object.
Rightclickformoreobjectmanagement
optionssuchasarrangement(back,front),
orientation(flip),etc.

Step5:Animate
Objects
FromtheTimelineusethe
DurationBartoanimateeach
objectontheslide.
1. Selecttheobjectto
animate.
2. Chooseaneffectstyle
fortheobject
entry/exit.
3. Usetheslidersto
adjustthedurationof
theobjectanimationintheslide.
4. Add/Removeoverallslidetimingasneeded(slidescanbeupto20secondsinlength).

Step4:Preview
UsethePlaybackControlsORselectPreviewfromtheMenuPaneltoreviewyourvideo.NOTE:
Dontforgettosavethroughouttheprocessofcreatingyourpresentation.Thesavefeatureislocatedin
theMenuPanel.

Step5:Publish
ToPublishyourPowToonselectfromthe
following:

ShareViaLinkorEmbed
1. SelectPreviewfromtheMenu
Panel
2. Choosefromoneofthesharing
optionsinthePreviewdialog.

ExporttoYouTube/Other
1. SelectExportfromtheMenuPanel
2. InthedialogselectanoutputoptionandAddaYouTubeAccount.NOTE:IntheFREE
PowToonaccountyoucanonlyexportupto30videosatmediumresolutionwithbranding.Video
exportsarealsopartofpremiumpackages.

AdditionalResources
VideoTutorials
http://www.powtoon.com/tutorials/

FAQs
http://support.powtoon.com/knowledgebase/articles/all

eBook&Workbook
https://tinyurl.com/POWTOONebook

Blog
http://www.powtoon.com/blog/

Editorials
AnimatedVideos:http://www.powtoon.com/blog/russexplains/
VideoMarketing:http://www.powtoon.com/blog/justaminuteexplainers/
VideoPresentations:https://tinyurl.com/POWTOONPres