---
title: "Animation presets and stagger"
description: "Lesson 3.5 of Creator Terminal's lesson films (Animating): Give five dots a ready-made animation, each starting a little after the last."
canonical: "https://terminal.lottiefiles.com/presets-stagger/"
last_updated: 2026-10-27
---

# Animation presets and stagger

> Lesson 3.5 of Creator Terminal's lesson films (Animating): Give five dots a ready-made animation, each starting a little after the last.

- The film (1:17): https://terminal.lottiefiles.com/media/3.5-presets-stagger/46641be447b2/3.5-presets-stagger.mp4
- Vertical cut: https://terminal.lottiefiles.com/media/3.5-presets-stagger/3016363ded53/3.5-presets-stagger-vertical.mp4
- Captions: https://terminal.lottiefiles.com/media/3.5-presets-stagger/ad8f428b9a38/3.5-presets-stagger.vtt
- The page: https://terminal.lottiefiles.com/presets-stagger/

## In this lesson

### Select the dots (0:08)

Here are five dots, with no animation yet. Drag a box round them, starting on empty stage. The outlines show they're all selected.

### Find the presets (0:19)

We'll animate them together with a preset. Press colon for the command palette. Type apply preset, then press return to open the ready-made animations.

### Add a stagger (0:30)

We'll space their starts five frames apart. Type slide up, followed by a space and five. That delay is called a stagger.

### See the timing (0:40)

Watch the score as we press return. Each dot has its own keys, and their starts form a staircase.

### Play it (0:48)

Let's watch them arrive. Press zero, then space. The dots rise and fade in, one after another. Each begins before the previous one finishes.

### A little overlap (0:59)

That overlap makes the group feel more natural. We're repeating one animation, with its copies starting a little apart. Press space to pause.