by 
Watch the tutorial
Step 1: Select the Pen tool
Place your map image on the timeline. Then select the Pen Tool in the toolbar, or press P.
Step 2: Draw the route
In the Program monitor, go to the starting point of your animation and left-click. Then go to the final destination and hold the left mouse button while dragging. Dragging pulls out a handle that lets you curve the path the way you like.
Step 3: Turn the shape into a line
Make sure the new graphic layer is selected and open Effect Controls. Expand Shape and, under Appearance, disable Fill and enable Stroke. You now have a white line. Increase the stroke width to make it bigger. In the video it is around 29. If the line looks strange at the ends, change the stroke option to Inner or Center instead of Outer.
Step 4: Change the color of the line
Click the Stroke color swatch and pick whatever color you want. The video uses red, which stands out against a black and white map. Click OK.
Step 5: Add Crop and animate the Right value
To make the line draw itself, open the Effects panel, search for Crop and apply it to the shape layer. In Effect Controls, move to the start of the clip and click the stopwatch next to Right to create a keyframe. Then increase the Right value until the line is hidden.
Next, move forward to the point where you want the animation to finish and decrease the value back toward 0% so the line is fully visible again. The line now grows from the starting point to the destination.
Faster with BetterFX: skip the Effects panel. Press your BetterFX shortcut, type the first letters of Crop and press Enter to apply it to the selected clip. Get BetterFX
Step 6: Smooth the animation
To smooth out the animation, select both keyframes, right-click one and choose Ease In, then do the same again for Ease Out. The line now speeds up and slows down gently instead of moving at a constant speed.
Smoother with EaseFlow: select the keyframes and apply a real easing curve in one click instead of dragging Bezier handles. See EaseFlow
Tips
- Add a glow. The finished example has a soft red glow around the line. Try our glow highlight effect.
- Chain several routes. Draw a new line for each leg of the trip and start each one when the last ends.
- Match the speed to the voice-over. A longer animation suits a long distance.
FAQ
How do I make a line draw itself in Premiere Pro?
Apply the Crop effect to the line and keyframe its Right value from a high value down to 0%.
How do I curve the line?
With the Pen tool, click the starting point, then click and drag at the destination to pull out a curved handle.
Why does my line look strange?
Change the stroke alignment from Outer to Inner or Center.
Want a ready-made map-style animation? Check our Smooth Graph Animation project.
