Adobe CS4

Animated GIF images are popular on websites as avatars, titles and other elements. Ranging from humorous animations to strictly informative ones, the animate GIF has a become a great way to transfer clips of video and moving pictures over the Internet in a small, imagelike package. Learn how to make your own animated GIFs with Adobe CS4.

1. Create a Photoshop file that contains each of the elements and pieces you wish to animate. Set each piece on a seperate layer, as GIF animation commonly utilizes turning layers on and off. If animating the movement of an object, it is not necessary to have each frame of movement on a seperate layer, because this will be taken care of by the “Tween” command.
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Step 2

Open the “Windows” menu at the top of the screen and select “Animation” to open Photoshop’s animation palette. The first frame of the animation will be visible in the palette. Turn off any layers you do not want to appear in the first frame by clicking the visibility icon next to each one.
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Step 3

Create new frames for your animation one at a time by clicking the “New Frame” icon at the bottom of the animation palette. For each, turn off or on any layers you wish to appear or disappear in a given frame.
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Step 4

Animate the movement of an object by moving the object to its final destination in the image window, then selecting “Tween” from the pop-up menu of the animation palette. Select the number of frames you wish to be created, and the time that each frame should be visible. Click “OK,” and Photoshop will automatically animate the object.
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Step 5

Export your animate GIF image by selecting “Save for Web….” Be sure that the file type is set to .GIF.