Animations in Android help create a smooth, engaging user experience. In this guide, you’ll learn how to add simple animations (like fade in, scale, translate, rotate) using Java in Android Studio.
Step 1: Design Layout
Edit your activity_main.xml
to include a view to animate (e.g., ImageView or Button):

<RelativeLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android" android:layout_width="match_parent" android:layout_height="match_parent"> <ImageView android:id="@+id/myImage" android:layout_width="200dp" android:layout_height="200dp" android:src="@drawable/ic_launcher_foreground" android:layout_centerInParent="true"/> </RelativeLayout>
Step 2: Create Animation XML
- Right-click on
res
>New
>Android Resource Directory
. - Set
Resource type
toanim
. - Inside
res/anim
, create a new XML file likefade_in.xml
:
- Right-click on
- Â
- Â
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?> <alpha xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android" android:duration="1000" android:fromAlpha="0.0" android:toAlpha="1.0" />
You can create other animations:
- rotate.xml
- scale.xml
- translate.xml
Step 3: Apply Animation in Java
Open MainActivity.java
and add:

import android.os.Bundle; import android.view.animation.Animation; import android.view.animation.AnimationUtils; import android.widget.ImageView; import androidx.appcompat.app.AppCompatActivity; public class MainActivity extends AppCompatActivity { ImageView myImage; @Override protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) { super.onCreate(savedInstanceState); setContentView(R.layout.activity_main); myImage = findViewById(R.id.myImage); // Load the animation Animation fadeIn = AnimationUtils.loadAnimation(this, R.anim.fade_in); // Start the animation myImage.startAnimation(fadeIn); } }
Tips
- Place animation logic inside a button click or activity transition for better interactivity.
- Use
AnimationListener
to listen for animation start/end.
Output
The image will fade in when the app starts.
