Alright, let's get started by setting up the beginning and end points for your animation. Draw two frames on your canvas. Give them clear names like "Frame 1" and "Frame 2" so you can easily tell them apart later.

Next, pop the elements you want to animate into each frame. Make sure the elements that need to animate between the frames have the same layer name and type in both frames. This is super important for Smart Animate to do its thing.

Now, tweak the properties of the elements between the frames. Maybe you want to change their position, opacity, size, or color. Figma will handle the in-between stuff during the animation.

Select the first frame, then head over to the prototype tab on the right sidebar. Drag the interaction arrow from the first frame to the second frame. This links the two frames together.

After linking the frames, a modal with interaction settings will pop up. From the "Trigger" dropdown, pick the interaction type you want, like "On Click" or "While Hovering".

In the same interaction settings modal, find the "Animation" section. From the dropdown menu, select "Smart Animate".

You can fine-tune the animation by setting the easing type (like "Ease In" or "Ease Out"), duration, and delay. Play around with these settings to get the animation just right.

To see your animation in action, click the play button in the top-right corner of Figma to open the prototype viewer. Interact with your design as you've set it up to trigger the Smart Animate effect.

After previewing, you might want to go back and tweak the elements, properties, or interaction settings. Adjust sizes, positions, or other properties to perfect the animation.