Are you tired of the clunky, time-consuming PowerPoint Animation Pane? Do you dream of creating fluid, custom character animations but feel limited by PowerPoint’s standard tools? What if we told you there’s a hidden method that lets you “rig” characters, making them incredibly easy to pose and animate—all without touching a single complex timeline?
Prepare to have your mind blown. Today, we’re pulling back the curtain on a revolutionary technique that combines Connectors and the Freeform Shape Tool. This powerful duo allows you to build dynamic, linked characters that save you hours of work and open up a new world of creative possibilities.
Why This Method is a Game-Changer
Normally, if you build a character from separate shapes and want to move its arm, you have to move the upper arm, the lower arm, and the hand individually. It’s tedious and difficult to get right.
With the method we’re about to show you, the body parts are intelligently linked. When you move the main body, the arms and legs follow automatically. When you move a hand, the arm stretches and pivots realistically. This is the core of “rigging,” a concept usually reserved for professional animation software, now available right inside PowerPoint.
The Secret Sauce: Understanding the Tools
The magic lies in two often-overlooked PowerPoint features.
1. The Magic of Connectors
A Connector isn’t just a regular line. It’s a special type of line designed to “lock” or “glue” onto the Connection Points of a shape (the little grey dots that appear when you hover a line over a shape’s edge). Once locked, the connector will automatically stretch, shrink, and re-route itself to keep the shapes connected, no matter how you move them. This is the foundation of our rig.
2. The Superpower of the Freeform Shape
Standard shapes like rectangles have fixed, default connection points you can’t change. This is a huge limitation. What if you need to attach an arm to a shoulder, not the middle of the shape’s side?
This is where the Freeform Shape becomes our secret weapon. When you draw a shape with the Freeform tool, every node (or corner) you create automatically becomes a custom Connection Point! This gives you complete control to build a central body shape with connection points exactly where you need them—for the neck, shoulders, and hips.
Watch the Full Tutorial in Action
Reading is great, but seeing is believing. Watch our step-by-step video tutorial to see exactly how these concepts come together to create a fully animated character.
Step-by-Step: Build Your First Animated Character
Ready to build it yourself? Here’s the process.
Step 1: Create the Body with the Freeform Tool
Instead of using a standard rectangle for the torso, select the Freeform Shape tool. Click to create a node for the top-left shoulder, top-right shoulder, bottom-right hip, and bottom-left hip, then close the shape. You now have a custom body with perfect connection points for the limbs.
Step 2: Attach the Limbs with Connectors
Select a Connector line (Straight or Elbow works best) and draw it from a shoulder connection point on your Freeform body. Drag the other end of the connector to an oval shape (for the hand). Repeat this process for all four limbs, connecting them to the hands and feet (ovals).
Step 3: Create Your Poses
This is the fun part! Since everything is connected, you can now simply drag the body, head, hands, or feet to create a pose. The connectors will do all the hard work, stretching and moving to keep the character intact. Once you have your first pose, you’re ready to animate.
Step 4: Animate with the “Stop-Motion” Method
- Duplicate the Slide: Right-click your first slide in the Thumbnails pane and select Duplicate Slide.
- Create the Next Pose: On the new slide, move the character’s parts to the next position in your animation sequence.
- Repeat: Keep duplicating the last slide and creating new poses. Create as many slides as you need for your animation.
Step 5: Set the Transitions for Automatic Playback
- Select all your animation slides in the Thumbnails pane (click the first, hold Shift, and click the last).
- Go to the Transitions tab.
- Under “Advance Slide,” uncheck On Mouse Click and check After. Set the time to 00.00.
- Set the Duration of the transition to a very short time, like 0.10 seconds.
Pro-Tip: Make it Silky-Smooth with Morph
If your version of PowerPoint has it, applying the Morph Transition to all your slides will take this to the next level. Instead of jumping between poses, Morph will intelligently calculate the movement and smoothly animate the shapes from their position on one slide to their position on the next.
Get the Free Presentation File!
Want to jump right in and see how the final character is built? Download our free PowerPoint file, which includes the fully rigged stick figure and the completed animation sequence. It’s the perfect way to reverse-engineer the technique and start building your own creations.
How to Use Connectors & Freeform Shapes for Dynamic Animations in PowerPoint
► DOWNLOAD THE FREE POWERPOINT FILE
Now it’s your turn! Experiment with different characters, add more complex parts, and see what amazing stories you can tell. If you create something cool, let us know in the comments below