4D printing of highly printable and shape morphing hydrogels composed of alginate and methylcellulose

•A versatile strategy to develop shape morphing hydrogel with swelling anisotropy.•The use of single ink to create heterogeneous structures without using chemical reactions.•Excellent printability of the shape morphing hydrogel.•Ability to print out a series of simple and complex dynamic structures with high accuracy.•Relatively fast shape morphing process within just a few minutes.