Using her Apple Pencil and the iPad animation app Animatic, New York–based designer Jaclyn McKay discovered a totally new way to draw nature-inspired animated GIFs like the one above.

The app lets her quickly try out ideas, sketch over photos, and start from scratch when she changes her mind. It’s a far cry from the days when she would scan each hand-drawn frame, then adjust them all on her computer.

“Even a two-frame drawing can show such emotion compared to a static drawing,” McKay says. “I love Animatic for its simplicity and how quickly you can get something moving.”

Here, McKay shares her strategy for making a charming looping GIF.

Many of McKay’s animations are inspired by flowers, butterflies, and other subjects with natural cycles—so she begins by blocking out her animation in a three-frame sequence.

The first frame approaches the subject, the second arrives at it, and the third exits.

She usually draws that second frame first.

This helps her figure out how to animate in other frames later. “By pressing and holding a frame, I’m able to move it around the sequence pretty easily,” she says. “Once I have the skeleton of my animation, I can explore style tweaks.”

Next she adds more frames. Customizing the onionskin visibility—the feature that lets her see the other frames while she works—helps her figure out what should come before and after.

McKay appreciates all the drawing tools Animatic has to offer—crayons, chisel-tip markers, pencils. To adjust a tool’s color and stroke width, tap the tool after selecting it, advises McKay. Pro tip: You can quickly switch between Erase and Brush modes by double-tapping your Apple Pencil anywhere in the frame.

To ensure your GIF will loop smoothly, pick the first and last frames carefully, says McKay. “You can add as many frames as you’d like to detail the animation, but the first and last ones keep the loop seamless.”

Once she’s finished, McKay uses Animatic to export her animation as a GIF to share via Messages or social media. “It’s great how the app honors traditional animation while using the latest technology.”