March 28, 2011

Creating an Animated GIF

marty's wink

After the last photo challenge, I received a few blogger questions about how I showed “before” and “after” photos by flipping back and forth in the same photo frame. What is this technique and how to do you do it? Here are the key words you need to know: animated GIF. It’s a single graphic file that contains a series of images which are displayed sequentially to give the illusion of movement or change over time.

Many photo editing programs can help you create an animated gif file. I recommend that you use your favorite web browser search engine to find tutorials for the programs that you use. There are also many free animated gif generators available on the web, but I haven’t personally tried them. Thus, I can’t endorse them.

If you are looking for a good photo editing program that you can download for free, I recommend Photoscape (Microsoft Windows compatible). Besides doing basic editing chores, Photoscape makes many specialty tasks easy, like creating animated gifs and mosaics. That’s what I used to upload two pictures and create the animated picture of Marty shown above. Cool, huh?

To save your gif file for your blog post, upload it to Picasa via your Blogger editor. If you upload your pictures to another photo web host site and then use web links, you’ll have to test out whether the site successfully uploads gif files. I use Flickr and Photobucket links for the finer photographic images in my blog posts. I tested uploads to both sites. Gif files do not work on Flickr, but they do on Photobucket. Go figure!

So I hope that you will try creating a gif file soon! Then you’ll be “winking” right back at Marty!

13 comments:

  1. I used to make animated gifs all the time in my former life...blinkies, you name it. I gave all that up when I came to Blogdom because I struggle to stay focused. However, this blinking rabbit is very cute and quite subtle. I might prefer to slow his blink...is that possible? A slowed blink may just freak some poor reader out, though. Always something new here to think about!

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  2. I'll have to download Photoscape and give it a try! Thanks for that information.

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  3. Oh My Dear! I LUV what you do! But won't try this, right away. :-)

    Plus, I kinda' think that Photoscape, like so many items, don't easily work [for me anyway] with a Mac. I've gotten "skiddish" about even trying a lot of these downloads, actually.

    More fun for those of you who do play with them!!!!!

    ♥ Gentle hugs ♥

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  4. Vee- Oh yes, the blinking rate can be adjusted ever so quickly!

    Aunt Amelia - Unfortunately, Photoscape doesn't work on the Mac platform. An free alternative is GIMP. However, it isn't as user friendly as Photoscape.

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  5. Well frig....I have Windows but Photoscape won't download?!!
    I'll try my other computer when I get home...
    Thanks sweetie!!
    hughugs

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  6. Girl you are just to talented for your own good. Can you put all your happy knowledge in .pdf form so I can print it out. LOL!
    HUGS
    Kim

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  7. I made a few of those quite some time ago but it's been so long don't know if I would remember how to.
    Maybe this weekend if I find some time I'll try it again

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  8. I'll check this free download out, too! I love working with photos...but I'm very limited with Image Zone and Picassa! ♥

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  9. Thanks for stopping by and telling me about the other flavors! I'll try them, too! Hugs! ♥

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  10. You are just too good *wink*! I love photoscape, so I'll have to check out animation!

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  11. Definitely gonna try this. I always wondered what that was called. Thanks for the info!

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  12. Well, I just stopped by to say "HI". You know I don't know nothin' 'bout no computer stuff!!!

    Have a great evening, Donna!! Love your blinkin' Marty. So cute!! :)

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  13. That blinking bunny is so cuuuute!

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Marty, here! Donna loves comments, and I faithfully pass them on to her. Thank you so much for visiting!