Create an animated Gif
In this article you will learn how to create a very basic animated gif consisting of two frames. 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 frames of our animation. Next we will change the layer visibility in both frames to give a semblance of animation.
Step 1: Create a new image
Create a new image. In the menu click File > New (Ctrl+N). The image size is 200 x 200 pixels. Set the Image canvas color to Transparent.
Step 2: Create the first layer
Create a yellow circle. In the menu click Tools > Shapes > Shape. In the Preview Window customize your circle and click OK. Press Ctrl+A to select the entire canvas. Press the right mouse button and click 'Apply as new Vector Layer'.
Step 3: Create the other layers
Add a second and third layer for the eyes. Just create one eye and duplicate the layer to create the second eye. Use the Bezier tool to add a fourth and fifth layer for the mouth.
Step 4: Convert the image into an animation.
Convert the image into 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 5: Change the layer visibility and frame duration
Change the layer visibility. Click on the first frame and in the layers palette make layer four invisible. Click on the second frame and make layer five invisible. Set the delay for both frames to 0.5 seconds.
Step 6: 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).
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