How to Import Illustrator Files Into Adobe Animate

Adobe Animate is a vector-based application, as is Adobe Illustrator, so the two programs are often used in tandem. Illustrator provides the robust drawing tools that allow creation of richly detailed art, while Animate puts that art to action. Illustrator files can be imported to either the stage or the Library.

1. It is best practice to create the Illustrator art using a web or mobile color profile so that all colors are RGB. To import an Illustrator file to the stage, go to File > Import > Import to Stage and navigate to the file.
2. The next dialog box gives you various options for import. The art that's being imported here was deliberately created so that all elements are on separate layers. By using the Convert layers to Animate layers option, those layers will appear in the Timeline.
3. Here they are in the Timeline. Each element can now be repositioned and manipulated in Animate.
4. Sometimes the layout is built in Animate using only a few Illustrator objects. On those occasions, you may want to import the art to the Library. The process is similar. Go to File > Import > Import to Library. The import options in the next dialog box are similar.
5. The art doesn't appear on either the stage or in the Timeline, but it has been added to the Library.