Use the Tween command In this example you will learn how to use the Tween command in an animated Gif. Animated Gifs are gif images that consist of two or more frames, which are played one after the other to give a semblance of animation. The individual frames in an animated gif can be created as separate layers that are then brought together to form an animated Gif. And this is how we will make our animated image. We will first create a few layers that form the two key frames of our animation. Next we will scale our layers and change the layer position in the first frame. Finally, we use the Tween command to automatically add a series of frames between the two key frames-varying the position and size evenly between the new frames to create the appearance of movement. Step 1: Create a new image Create a new image or open the 'Balloon Heart' template from the Template Library. Step 2: Create a few vector layers or use the template. Create a few vector layers or use the 'Balloon Heart' template. Remove the text from the 'Balloon' layer group. This is how the layers palette looks like: Step 3: Convert the image to an animation Convert the image to an animation. In the menu click Animation > Convert Image to Animation. Create a single frame containing all layers. Duplicate the frame. Now you have two frames containing all layers. Step 4: Select the first frame and move the layer group Click on the first frame. In the layers palette select the 'Balloon' layer group. Move the layer group to the upper left corner and scale the layer group. Use the right mouse button to commit your changes. Step 5: Use the Tween command to automatically add a series of frames Use the Tween command to automatically add a series of frames between the two key frames-varying the position and size evenly between the new frames to create the appearance of movement. In the menu click Animation > Tween. Select the number of frames to add, mark the layer group (named 'Balloon', you'll be able to see a thumbnail image of the layer by clicking on it) in the layers list and mark the Position parameter (the layer properties to vary). Uncheck the Angle parameter. This parameter only operates well on a single vector layer. Click OK. The program will automatically add the frames. Step 6: Change the frame duration Change the frame duration (or frame delay). Choose 'Other' in the frame delay drop-down menu. In the frame delay dialog you can change the delay for all frames to for example 0.1 seconds. Step 7: Save your animation Here is how our animated Gif image looks like. Save your animation in Pop Art Studio (.pas) file format or export your image as Animated Gif (*.gif) or Flash file (*.swf). For comments, questions and suggestions, please send email to: contact@fotoview.nl.