How To Animate Birds In Anime Style In Toon Boom Harmony

Hello my friends! In this new lesson, I’m going to explain to you how to animate birds in your anime scenes, in a simple and fast way, without needing to draw every detail from scratch. Many of us work on outdoor scenes like the sky, the street, or the front of a house. Here, the importance of adding flying birds appears — because they give the scene a sense of life and movement.

Imagine, for example, that you're working on a shot in front of the hero’s house. The sky is clear blue, and pigeons are flying over the house… beautiful, right? So let’s learn together how to add this lively element without complications.

Note: This bird has already been animated and saved in the library. If you’d like to get it, contact me.

Preparing the Background to Animate Birds

We open Toon Boom Harmony and start by adding the background. For instance, we can draw or insert an image of the hero’s house from the outside. The background helps us understand the space and gives realism to the scene.

How to animate birds in an Anime toonboom harmony](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/3cb17f_6e0587ada31848458d5bb25a51894bf8~mv2.png "")

Adding the Bird from the Library

After we finish adding the anime background, we go to the library and select a ready-made bird model, such as a pigeon. Let’s drag it directly into the Timeline. The steps are simple:

1. Open the library.

2. Drag the bird into the timeline.

3. Ensure it’s placed in the correct layer.

   
   

How to animate birds in an Anime toonboom harmony](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/3cb17f_7dd78fbdfbd44eef9689c3ed180b2a7a~mv2.png "")

Organizing the Layers

Now we will arrange the layers:

• The background stays at the back.

• The bird should be in the front.

  
  

If the bird doesn't appear clearly, try these two methods:

• Drag the bird layer above the background layer manually.

• Use the Maintain Size drag tool.

• Go to the Top View Window and drag the bird closer to the camera.

  
  

How to animate birds in an Anime toonboom harmony](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/3cb17f_246de1e05b7e4eb58fe018822ef5f2c4~mv2.png "")

Showing the Back Wing of the Bird

It's possible that the bird’s back wing doesn’t show. Don’t worry, fixing this is simple:

1. Temporarily hide the background to focus on the bird.

2. Click on the hidden wing.

3. Press the B key to enter the wing’s properties.

4. Go to the Coord and Control Point section, then in the Z field, add a value like 0.005f.

   
   

How to animate birds in an Anime toonboom harmony](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/3cb17f_802949774c344b0a92f16be52606e70b~mv2.png "")

Video to Explain How to Animate Birds

Animating the Bird from Left to Right

Now we come to the most important step in how to animate birds:

• Select the bird.

• Press B, then add a Keyframe.

• Use the Rotate tool and set the pivot point in the center of the bird.

  
  

How to animate birds in an Anime toonboom harmony](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/3cb17f_44aec336fb2240c9b30bff2440766e37~mv2.png "")

Next, select the Transform tool and move the bird to the left side of the screen.

How to animate birds in an Anime toonboom harmony](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/3cb17f_444543df76054161ae07118eb545a4aa~mv2.png "")

Then, stay on the Transform tool and go to frame 20 (or any frame you prefer). Move the bird to the right. You can do this manually or press the right arrow key on your keyboard.

How to animate birds in an Anime toonboom harmony](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/3cb17f_67d6a8c7bf8c4615906803d9b6dfed66~mv2.png "")

Now we have a beautiful morning scene, with the hero’s house and birds flying smoothly in the sky.

The movement brings life to the scene and adds a beautiful touch without having to draw every detail.

After you finish the steps, you can copy the bird into multiple copies, resize it, and move it around the scene so it looks like there’s a flock of birds.

In summary, we have learned how to animate birds in outdoor anime scenes, in an easy and practical manner. There’s no need to draw the birds frame by frame; everything is ready, and you simply move it into place.

I encourage you to try this method — you’ll find it very satisfying. Simple movement can often be the difference between an average scene and one that feels alive. I hope you enjoyed this lesson, and I look forward to our next session together! Keep creating and don’t stop.