Loading images into Frame animation

[beangurl_2695]

Hey, im a claymation animator and i have been using photoshop to put together my animations and i was wondering if there is a proper way to import photos to frames of animation. So far the quickest way i have found is to import a photo (the same size as the rest of my animation) make a timeline animation, use the import clips feature on there to add in my photos and then convert it to a frame animation and take off the 5 second delay. The only other way i have seen people use images in frame animation is by importing the photos as layers and then individually creating a frame and changing which layer is in view for each frame, wich is alright for short gifs but not for longer animated works.

I was just curious if there is a feature i am missing or not. Thanks 🙂

[c.pfaffenbichler · Accepted solution]

I am not sure I understand the problem. 

To me

File > Scripts > Load Files into Stack, 

Create Frame Animation 

and 

Make Frames from Layers 

would seem a good starting point. 

[Trevor.Dennis]

I'd have thought that Stop Motion would involve many hundreds of frames, and that a video timeline would be a better fit.

Google suggests:

Stop Motion Studio

Life Lapse Stop Motion

iMotion 

I am sure there are others.

How many frames will you be dealing with?

Does the animation need to loop?

Is smooth movement critical?

Can you share an example?

[Sherri_Murphy3916]

Hey! What you’re doing is actually a common workflow in Photoshop, and there isn’t a super “hidden” feature that completely automates importing a bunch of still images into frames for a frame-by-frame animation—but there are a few tips that can make your process smoother:

1. Importing as Layers:
The method you mentioned—importing photos as layers and then creating frames that show/hide layers—is the standard way Photoshop handles frame-by-frame animation. For longer sequences, it’s tedious, but it gives you full control over timing and frame content.

2. Timeline > Import Video Frames to Layers:
Even though it says “video,” you can use this feature for sequences of images. If you name your images sequentially (e.g., frame001.png, frame002.png…), you can go to File > Import > Video Frames to Layers, select your first image, and Photoshop will load all the images in order as layers. Then you can convert that to a frame animation automatically. This is usually faster than manually importing each photo.

3. Scripted Import:
Photoshop allows scripting, and there are scripts online that will take a folder of images and automatically generate a frame animation from them. If you’re doing long animations, this is a huge time saver.

4. Tips for Long Animations:

• Keep all images the same dimensions to avoid resizing hassles.

• If possible, plan your sequence in a numbered order—it makes automated imports much easier.

• Consider organizing layers in groups by sequence if you need to make adjustments later.

So, to answer your question: there’s no single “one-click” feature for importing a folder of images directly into frame animation, but using Video Frames to Layers or scripts is usually the most efficient way for longer works.