How to Post an Animated GIF from Procreate to Instagram

Procreate just added some amazing new features to the app with their 4.3 update, one of them being the ability to export your artwork as an Animated GIF. So cool, right?! That is, until you open Instagram and try to post it. Your beautiful animation has gone static. Super sad. This post will teach you how to post an Animated GIF created in Procreate to Instagram, both in your Feed, or to your Instagram Stories.

Procreate Animated GIF

Animated GIF in Instagram

Instagram + GIF = 😭

The reason why you can’t just post a freshly exported GIF from Procreate to Instagram is because Instagram does not support GIF files in the Feed or in Stories, and instead treats them like a static image. To work around this, you must first convert your GIF to a video file.

How to export an Animated GIF in Procreate

The first thing to do is make sure all your animation layers are set to visible, then tap the Actions menu (the wrench icon) and tap “Share”. At the bottom tap “Animated GIF”. You may be tempted to use the “Web Ready” option since you are posting to Instagram, but I assure you this will make your artwork look like garbage. Instead, use the “Full Resolution” option. Save the image to your device or share to your iPhone.

Note: If you are using a canvas size larger than 1920 px on the long side, you will need to reduce your canvas size. Tap below for instructions how.

How to optimize canvas size for GIF

If you’re working with a high resolution canvas, you need to downsize your artwork to something more manageable for the web. We’ll be using the GIPHY app to post our GIF to Instagram, and it tends to crash with high-res GIFs. Here’s a non-destructive way to get your canvas GIPHY-compatible.

From Gallery view, duplicate your canvas. Open the duplicate and tap Actions>Canvas>Crop and Resize. Turn on “Resample” at the bottom. Change the horizontal dimension to 1920 pixels. This will ensure your animation still looks high-res, while maintaining a manageable file size.

Option 1: Use GIPHY to share to Instagram

The app GIPHY makes this a super simple process. GIPHY is a free app that allows you to browse, create, and share GIFs. I’d recommend using the iPhone version of GIPHY, as the iPad version does not have all the same options. Tap the plus sign (+) and then tap the photos icon to access your photo library. Find the GIF you just saved and tap the purple arrow. On the next screen, tap “Share GIF”.

To share to Instagram, tap the Instagram icon. You will then have the option to share to your Story or Feed. You can also save it as a video file by tapping “Save Video”. This is the better option if you will be posting to Stories as it allows you to resize your video. Note: If your animation is less than 3 seconds, Instagram will not post it. Try Option 2 below.

Option 2: Use an app to convert the GIF to a video file

You can also use an app to convert the GIF to a video file. I used one called GifVid that set me back a dollar. Your video has to be at least 3 seconds long to post to your Instagram feed. This app is cool because it allows you to specify the number of GIF loops your video makes. Be sure to increase your desired loops to make your video between 3 and 15 seconds. Save the video file to your camera roll, and upload to your Instagram Stories like normal.

I hope you found this information useful! I plan on making a separate full tutorial about creating animations in Procreate. Be sure to subscribe to the Bardot Brush YouTube channel so you’re sure not to miss it!

Categories: Procreate Tutorial

Tia December 22, 2019 at 10:02 am

Seems so simple but every time I attempt to open the animated GIF file in GIPHY or any other similar app it does not open. ;(
Any tips?

Nicole January 13, 2020 at 7:29 am

This is super helpful! Thank you. When I use GifVid to create my GIF into a video and upload it onto Instagram, the “cover” shows as black…do you know if there’s a workaround for this or a way to save a different images as the cover that displays at first on Instagram?

Lisa Bardot January 13, 2020 at 1:57 pm

Hi Nicole! I have never run across this issue before? Be sure you’re saving it as a video, and not a GIF. And see if you can edit the thumbnail/cover.

Gracie March 18, 2020 at 6:04 pm

That happened to me but when I reduced the dimensions to 1920 as directed and reexported, it was fixed.

Mikka Hill January 20, 2020 at 3:10 pm

Great tutorial! Do you know how to save the file with a transparent background?

Priscilla Hopkins September 26, 2020 at 8:29 am

In procreate when you save your GIF you have the option to save it with transparent background. Hope this helps:)

Catherine March 5, 2020 at 11:49 pm

This tutorial was fabulous, but as of yesterday procreate gif can no longer seem to be able to be uploaded to giphy – any ideas anyone else having problems with this (4/3/20)

Rachel March 13, 2020 at 11:40 am

Hi Lisa, great tutorial!
I ma having trouble getting my gif to show up when I try to open it in the app though. I have tried it on both my phone and my iPad. When I click “add gif” I choose the one I created and then it just takes me back to the screen that asks if I want to add a video or a gif….any other ideas on how to upload a animation to Instagram?
Thanks!

T March 18, 2020 at 5:15 am

This happens to me too. I can’t figure out why??

Tara Mosier March 25, 2020 at 12:22 pm

I keep saving my gif from procreate and the preview window looks fine. If I lower the screens per second, nothing appears in the preview though. Then when I save it out, it’s just a blank white gif and nothing happens. I’m trying to save this out without a background to upload to Canva.

Lily September 15, 2020 at 9:57 am

I am also experiencing this! Is there a reason for this/ is there a fix?

Jill September 17, 2020 at 1:01 pm

Same here! Have you figured out how to solve this issue?

Federica April 3, 2020 at 7:03 am

Thank you this was very useful, I have use the GifVid and everything went well, except from the thumbnail that stays black

chloe May 15, 2020 at 10:49 pm

hey guys!! i just found out that you can export it under an animated MP4 and save it to files and it’ll be in video format. then you can post on instagram no problems!

cat July 19, 2020 at 4:45 pm

One problem I noticed is that while I can post an animated MP4, simply downloading an MP4 animation from Procreate to my iPhone makes it very blurry, which is frustrating. Is there a way to stop the MP4 from becoming blurry in the first place?

Tanya August 16, 2020 at 5:50 am

Hi Chloe
This is helpful! Did you save it into iMovie via Files? Or somewhere else? I was thinking creative cloud

Sarah H October 27, 2020 at 9:50 pm

GifVid is nice but when I upload to GIPHY it doesn’t retain the clear/transparent background. Boo. Any updates would be helpful. I’ve used your tutorial to make a couple gifs and it was so fun!

Roma January 10, 2021 at 12:34 pm

Hi! very usefull info!! Thanks
I have a question. If I post the video in my feed people can´t visualize it, it´s appears like a black image, but if you enter the post people will see the video. I´m trying to post it as a gift so you can see it in the whole feed part, even if you don´t enter to the post. How can I do this? Because if I export the gift throug Giphy I can´t because last less than 3 seconds, I even try to repeat the layers on procreate, and nothing happens. And if I post it as a video the previsualization is a black spot.
Hope I was clear, thanks a lot!

Katie Davis October 15, 2021 at 5:16 am

Thank you so much for doing this tutorial! I finally got it and managed to upload my first GIF. The tiny details are the most useful, like not saving as “web ready!” Doy! I was doing that. I’d love to know when you’d use that if it degrades your image.