Improve Timeline Workflow for Frame-by-Frame Animation in Photoshop

Hi Adobe Team,

My name is Aniu. I’m an artist and animator who has been working with Adobe software for over 15 years. Photoshop has been my primary tool for animation for the past 10 years.

I’ve been meaning to share this feedback for a while, and I’m finally gathering the courage to write to you.

Recently, I’ve felt that there haven’t been many updates to the video timeline features in Photoshop, especially for those of us who use it extensively for frame-by-frame animation. My workflow has remained almost exactly the same for years, and I believe there are opportunities to improve the experience for animators.

Here are a few challenges I’ve been experiencing:

• It would be incredibly helpful to move to the next frame and start drawing immediately without having to manually click the frame each time.

• The cut tool in the timeline feels unintuitive. I haven’t found a smooth way to use it efficiently.

• The bucket fill tool can be difficult when filling areas that are not fully closed. Other drawing software handles gap detection more smoothly, and many artists I know struggle with this in Photoshop as well.

• Recently, when dragging a .mov file into the timeline, the screen turns black and Photoshop freezes or crashes.

• I’ve also experienced frequent crashes in general.

• Adding more animation-focused tools or upgrading existing ones to better support frame-by-frame workflows would significantly improve usability for animators who rely on Photoshop as a primary animation tool.

As an independent animator, and as someone who also taught university students using Adobe tools for animation, I truly hope future updates can further support indie animators and frame-by-frame workflows.

Thank you very much for taking the time to read my feedback. Adobe software has been a big part of my career, and I’m genuinely grateful to use it every day, both as an animator and as a contributor uploading animation content.

Best regards,
Aniu