Publishing your animation
In a desktop animation app you render a video file. In FoundryInk you publish, and readers press play right in the browser. This page walks the whole publish path end to end: what publishing actually does, what readers receive, how an animation can become a Short, how to pick a cover, and where the in-engine frame and GIF exporter fits (honestly).
1Exporting here means Publish
The biggest mindset shift coming from desktop animation software is the finish line. There is no "render to a video file on my computer" step as the main event. Instead you Publish the asset, and it goes live for readers to watch inside FoundryInk. Publishing is the real, reader-facing export path, so when this course says "export your animation", it means publish it. Everything below is that one path, done well.
2What publishing actually does
When you Publish, FoundryInk takes your animation and makes a reader-facing version of it that lives on the platform. That published version is what your audience opens; your working project stays yours to keep editing. Publishing is the moment your private workshop file becomes a public thing people can find and watch. It is a deliberate step, so nothing goes live by accident while you are still tinkering.
3What readers get: it just plays
This is the part that makes publishing worth it: a reader opens your animation and it plays inline in the browser, with nothing to download and nothing to install. No video player app, no file to open, no plug-in. They click and it moves. Because it plays on the platform, it also sits alongside everything else you make, so a reader can wander from your comic to your animation without ever leaving.
4Before you publish: watch it through
Give your animation one honest pass before it goes live. Turn on Loop and Play the whole thing at speed to feel the timing, then scrub slowly through any moment that felt off to catch a sliding foot or a missing key. Check the start and end frames especially, since a shot that begins or ends abruptly reads worse to a reader than to you. A five-minute review now saves a re-publish later.
5Choosing a cover
Your animation needs a cover, the still image a reader sees before they press play. Pick a frame that is clear, readable, and makes someone want to click: a strong pose, a good expression, the moment the shot is really about. Avoid a blurry mid-motion frame or an empty opening frame, because that thumbnail is doing your advertising. A great cover earns the play; a dull one gets scrolled past.
6The publish step, walked
When the animation is reviewed and the cover is chosen, run Publish on the asset. Confirm the details it asks for, then let it go live. Once it is published, it has its own reader-facing home on the platform where people can watch it. That is the entire core loop: make it, review it, cover it, publish it. Everything after this is about reach, how the animation gets seen and where it can travel.
7Becoming a Short
A published animation can become a Short, FoundryInk's snackable, vertical-friendly format for quick clips that readers flick through. Shorts are how a small, punchy animation gets discovered by people who were not already looking for you, because they surface in the fast-scrolling places. If your piece is short, loops well, and lands a single clear idea, it is an ideal candidate. A tidy loop is worth ten sprawling clips here.
8After publishing: keep working
Publishing is not the end of the road for your project. Your working animation stays fully editable, so you can refine timing, fix a pose, or add a beat and then publish the improved version. This is why you should not treat the first publish as a final exam: it is a checkpoint. Ship a solid version, watch how it plays for real readers, then come back and make it better with what you learned.
9The in-engine exporter: what it is
There is also an in-engine frame and image exporter, the Export animation dialog, described plainly here. It offers a Format of PNG Sequence (ZIP), JPEG Sequence (ZIP), or Animated GIF, an Output name, a Resolution (Original (300 DPI), 1080p, 720p, or Custom), a Background (Opaque or Transparent), and for GIFs a Palette, Dithering, and Loop. You also set a Frame range before you Export.
10The catch about the exporter
Here is the straight truth, because this course does not pretend. The Export animation dialog is not wired to a trigger button in the current build, so there is not a reliable "open the exporter" control to press today. And MP4 deliberately routes through Publish anyway. So for getting your animation to readers, Publish is the real path, full stop. The exporter exists as a frame and GIF idea, but do not plan your workflow around reaching it right now.
11When you want a GIF or frames
Say you specifically want an animated GIF or a folder of PNG frames rather than a reader-facing play. The Export animation dialog is the feature built for that, with its Animated GIF and PNG Sequence (ZIP) formats and a Transparent background option for overlays. Just remember the catch above: it is not currently on a trigger, so treat it as a known capability rather than a step you can lean on today. For anything a reader watches, publish.
12What good looks like
A well-published animation is easy to spot. It opens on a cover that sells the click, it plays cleanly inline with no rough start or abrupt end, its timing has been watched and scrubbed, and if it is short and loopable it is riding as a Short to reach new eyes. The craft of publishing is not clicking one button; it is presenting a finished piece so a stranger presses play and stays. Aim for that and your work travels.
13Where publishing leads next
With your animation live, the natural next question is how to make more of them, and better. A big part of that is rigging: building a character as a posable puppet so you can animate it fast instead of drawing every frame. The next tutorials in this course move into rigging, and the very first thing rigging needs is art prepared the right way. So publishing a finished piece is the perfect moment to turn toward preparing your next character.
Questions about publishing
You publish it. In FoundryInk, Publish is the export path: the animation goes live and readers watch it inline. There is no separate render-to-video-file step as the main way out, and the MP4 option deliberately routes through Publish.
Nothing. A published animation plays inline in the browser with nothing to download and nothing to install. A reader clicks and it plays, on a phone or a laptop alike.
A Short is FoundryInk's snackable, flick-through format for quick clips. A published animation can become a Short, which helps a small, loopable piece get discovered by people who were not already following you.
Yes. Publishing makes a reader-facing version, but your working project stays fully editable. Refine it and publish again whenever the new version is ready, and the reader-facing version updates.
A clear, readable frame that makes someone want to press play, like a strong pose or a telling expression. Avoid a blurry mid-motion or empty opening frame, since the cover is the thumbnail doing your advertising.
Yes, the Export animation dialog offers PNG Sequence (ZIP), JPEG Sequence (ZIP), and Animated GIF, with resolution, background, and GIF palette options. Honestly, though, it is not wired to a trigger button in the current build, so Publish is the reliable path today.
Because video for readers goes through Publish. In the Export animation dialog the MP4 choice reads "MP4 (use Publish)" and is disabled on purpose, pointing you back to the Publish path.
No. Publish a solid version, see how it plays for real readers, then iterate. Treat the first publish as a checkpoint, not a final exam, since real feedback beats endless private polishing.
It's live, and readers can press play
You know the whole publish path now: review, cover, Publish, and let a short piece ride as a Short, with an honest read on where the in-engine exporter fits. Your animation plays inline for readers with nothing to install. Next, we turn toward making the next one faster, starting with preparing art for a rig.