Circle an object

A great way to emphasize and draw attention to an object on a slide is to circle it.

Of course, the easy way is to insert a circle, and use the Appear or Fade entrance animation. Be sure to format the circle with no fill. I like to use a red outline and give it a weight of at least 2 pt. To format the circle, right-click and choose Format AutoShape (in 2007, Format Shape). In the Fill section, choose No Fill from the drop-down list. In the Line section, choose a red color and change the Weight. To add the animation, select the circle, and choose Slide Show> Custom Animation. (In 2007, choose Animation tab> Custom Animation.) Choose Add Effect> Entrance> Appear or Fade.

But wouldn’t it be more effective for the animation to circle the object? In other words, your audience would see the circle draw itself around the object. You can do this using the Wheel animation. Follow these steps:

1. Insert a circle over an object. Format the object as just described so that it has no fill.
2. Select the circle.
3. Choose Slide Show> Custom Animation. (In 2007, choose Animation tab>
   Custom Animation.)
4. Choose Add Effect> Entrance> Wheel.
5. In the Custom Animation task pane, change the number in the Spokes text box to 1.
6. Play the animation. You’ll see the circle drawn around the object.

Let’s go even further. We might want the circle to have more character than an AutoShape. Instead, wouldn’t it be interesting if the circle were drawn with crayon or lipstick?

Here’s how I did it:

1. I drew circles with lipstick on a white sheet of paper.
2. I photographed them with my digital camera and uploaded the photo to my computer.
3. I inserted the photo onto a slide and cropped it to the bottom circle. Use the Crop button on the Picture toolbar. (In 2007, use the Picture Tools Format tab> Size group> Crop button.)
4. I made the background transparent. On the Picture toolbar, click the Set Transparent Color button. (In 2007, Picture Tools Format tab> Adjust group> Recolor drop-down> Set Transparent Color. Click on the background.
5. I moved and resized the circle to encircle the object, a photo of a peacock feather.
6. To add the animation, I chose Slide Show> Custom Animation. (In 2007, choose Animation tab> Custom Animation.)
7. I chose Add Effect> Entrance> Wheel.
8. In the Custom Animation task pane, I changed the number in the Spokes text box to 1.
9. The animation always starts at the top and this meant that a little of the left end of
   the circle showed at the beginning of the animation. To counteract that, I rotated
   the circle slightly counterclockwise.

Click here for a workaround to this animation always starting at the top.

Related posts:

1. Make an object disappear behind another object
2. Animate a revolving earth
3. Highlight important words
4. Create a cascading animation effect
5. Tutorial on animation and best practices