Getting started
Benzo Animate runs entirely in your browser. No installs, no accounts, no sign-ups. Just open the editor and start drawing.
- Open the Studio.
- Pick a tool from the left panel (Brush is selected by default).
- Adjust brush size, opacity, and hardness in the right panel.
- Draw on the canvas. Your work auto-saves to your browser.
- Add more frames with the N key or the + Frame button.
- Press Space to play your animation.
- Export from File → Export as GIF.
Interface tour
Top bar
Contains the menu (File, Edit, View, Help), project name, undo/redo, export button, and dark/light toggle.
Left toolbar
Every drawing tool. Selected tool is highlighted. Hover to see its shortcut.
Centre canvas
The drawing surface. Zoom with Ctrl+scroll or the View menu.
Right properties panel
Six tabs: Brush, Colour, Layers, Canvas, Animation, Effects. Everything you can tune lives here.
Bottom timeline
Frame strip with thumbnails. Playback controls on the left, FPS on the right.
Drawing
Press B for brush, P for pencil, E for eraser. Adjust size with [ and ].
The Smoothing slider (0–100%) simplifies vector points as you draw. At 0% you get every micro-tremor; at 100% the engine aggressively straightens curves into sweeping arcs.
If you have a stylus, enable Pressure sensitivity in the Brush tab and set Min Size and Min Opacity to control how thin and faint the line gets at your lightest touch.
Frames
Each frame is a snapshot of the whole composition (all its layers). Use + Frame to add a blank frame, Dup to copy the current frame, and the ✕ to delete.
Click any thumbnail in the timeline to jump to that frame. Reorder frames by deleting and re-adding if needed.
Layers
Each frame has unlimited layers. In the Layers tab you can:
- Add, duplicate, delete layers
- Toggle visibility with the eye icon
- Adjust opacity (0–100%)
- Choose from 16 blend modes
- Move up/down in the stack
Onion skinning
Toggle onion skin in the Canvas tab. Set how many previous (onionPrev, 0–4) and next (onionNext, 0–4) frames to ghost behind your current drawing.
Previous frames tint red, next frames tint blue. Adjust the opacity with the slider (5–80%).
Playback
Press Space to play/pause. Use , and . to step one frame at a time. Set FPS in the Animation tab (1–60). Toggle loop for continuous preview.
Percentage reference
Every animation parameter in Benzo Animate that uses a percentage follows the same convention. Here's what each value does at 0%, 50%, and 100%.
| Parameter | 0% | 50% | 100% |
|---|---|---|---|
| Opacity | Completely invisible | Semi-transparent blend | Fully opaque |
| Smoothing | Raw jitter, high point count | Balanced cleanup | Max simplification, straight arcs |
| Ease-in / Ease-out | Linear velocity, mechanical | Natural acceleration | Extreme slow start/stop |
| Deformer weight | No influence | Shared joint influence | Full control lock |
| Tint / overlay | Original artwork | Mid-tone blend | Solid flat fill |
| Min size (pressure) | Tapered needle tips | Half-range limit | Constant uniform width |
| Min opacity (pressure) | Fully transparent at light touch | 50% opacity floor | Constant opacity regardless of pressure |
| Hardness | Fully soft edge | Medium falloff | Sharp crisp edge |
| Flow | Invisible dabs | Half-intensity build-up | Full-intensity dabs |
Export
Animated GIF
File → Export as GIF. The export uses the current FPS and respects transparency if enabled. Larger canvases and more frames take longer.
Current frame PNG
File → Export current frame. Exports at full resolution with or without transparency.
Sprite sheet PNG
File → Export sprite sheet. All frames laid out in a square-ish grid. Useful for game engines.
Keyboard shortcuts
FAQ
Where is my work saved?
In your browser's localStorage. Nothing leaves your device.
What if I clear my browser data?
Your project is lost. Use File → Export frequently to keep backups.
Can I use this commercially?
Yes. Everything you make in Benzo Animate is yours, no attribution required.
Does it work offline?
After the first load, yes. Except GIF export, which needs the encoder on first use.
How many frames can I make?
No hard limit. 200+ frames work fine on any modern device.