- \n
- Upload images to Photoshop<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Open the Timeline window<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Create frame animations<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Create a new layer for each frame<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Make frames from layers<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Select frame duration and looping option<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Preview and test your gif<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Save in Photoshop and export<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Celebrate<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nStep 1: Upload images to Photoshop <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
To start, create a new document and input what size you\u2019d like your canvas to be\u2014this should be the size you want your final gif to be when you export. Then, you\u2019ll need to upload the files you want to work with in Photoshop. Go to File > Scripts > Load Files Into Stack. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Choose either Files or Folders to upload, select Browse, and select each file you want to use. After you click OK, Photoshop will automatically create a layer for each image. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"Photoshop](\"https:\/\/wpengine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/gif1.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nYou\u2019ll want to create a name for each layer so later when you\u2019re editing, you don\u2019t get confused. Consider a numerical or other naming format that\u2019s easy to remember.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\nStep 2: Open the Timeline window<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
You\u2019ll do all your editing in the Timeline window so we\u2019ll need to open that by going to Window > Timeline and select the option to get started. Now, you should see the timeline window at the bottom of the screen like this: <\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"screenshot](\"https:\/\/wpengine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/gif2.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nAbove the layers section of the Timeline, you\u2019ll see controls for playing your animation, the sound, and resolution settings. The scissors icon in that toolbar will split a layer wherever the playhead (that vertical red line) is. The final icon (the square with the triangle inside in the toolbar) enables options for fading a layer in or out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\nStep 3: Create Frame Animations<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Before you can begin to animate anything, you\u2019re going to need the ability to create frame animations. To do this, find the dropdown arrow next to Create Video Timeline and select Create Frame Animation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"screenshot](\"https:\/\/wpengine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/gif3.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nOnce you’ve done so, you can take a minute or two to play around with the settings outlined in step two to get familiar with what they do and how they affect your soon-to-be gif.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\nStep 4: Create a New Layer for Each Frame<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
In the top menu, click Select and then \u201cAll Layers.\u201d You should see all layers highlighted and selected now. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"Screenshot](\"https:\/\/wpengine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/gif4-542x1024.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nFrom there, click the Menu button in the Timeline window (the three horizontal lines on the right-hand side) and select Create New Layer for Each New Frame. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"Screenshot](\"https:\/\/wpengine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/gif5.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\nStep 5: Make Frames From Layers <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
In the same menu in the Timeline window, select \u201cMake Frames From Layers.\u201d This will turn each layer you\u2019ve created into a frame. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"screenshot](\"https:\/\/wpengine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/gif6.jpeg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nOnce you do this, you can select individual frames and edit them as needed. The simpler the animation, the less frames you\u2019ll need. For this example, there are 15 individual frames: <\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"Screenshot](\"https:\/\/wpengine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/gif7.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nIf the frames aren\u2019t in the correct order, now\u2019s the time to rearrange and reorder them by dragging them where they should be. You\u2019ll want this as perfect as possible before moving on to the next step. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\nStep 6: Select Frame Duration and Looping Option<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Now that the frames are in the correct order, it\u2019s time to figure out how long each frame plays. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
To do this, select the frame you want to edit, click the arrow below the frame, and select the time from the dropdown. Your options for these are .1 seconds, .2, .5, 1.0 and so on. Select one that makes sense for this animation and how fast that specific frame should play. If none of the options seem quite right, you can customize the time duration by selecting Other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For this piggy bank gif, each frame was originally set to play for one second.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"Screenshot](\"https:\/\/wpengine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/gif8.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nUnder your frames, you\u2019ll see an option on the left that says \u201cForever.\u201d By default, your gif will loop forever. If you want that, leave it be and go to the next step! If you don\u2019t, click the dropdown next to Forever and choose whether your want your gif to loop once or three times. There\u2019s also the option to customize the number of loops if you wish.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\nStep 7: Preview and Test Your Gif<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
This is arguably the easiest step. To preview your animated GIF, simply press the Play button in the Timeline window. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you play it through and something looks off, that\u2019s okay. Go back to step 5 and keep tweaking your frame order, time duration, etc. In this case, one second was a bit too long for each frame. After changing the frame time to .2 seconds per frame, the gif looks perfect!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\nStep 8: Save in Photoshop and Export<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Once you\u2019re happy with your gif, save your masterpiece by going to File > Export > Save for Web. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"Screenshot](\"https:\/\/wpengine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/gif9.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nOnce you click that a new box will pop up: <\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"screenshot](\"https:\/\/wpengine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/gif10.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nIn this window, you\u2019ll want to do a few things: <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- Under Preset in the right-hand corner, choose the type of gif file you want to save it as. The number next to the gif file determines how large the gif colors will be compared to the original files. A higher dithering percentage translates to the appearance of more colors and detail but it will increase the file size.<\/a> Since this gif is a solid color and we want it to be high res, we’ve selected the Gif 128 no dither option. You’ll also want to make sure the image size at the bottom is what you want it to be!<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
![\"screenshot](\"https:\/\/wpengine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/gif11.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n- \n
- In the bottom right-hand corner, ensure the loop option you selected earlier is still the one you want. <\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Hit save.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
To export your gif, go up to File > Export > Export As. In the top right corner where it says \u201cFormat,\u201d select Gif and hit Export. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
- Open the Timeline window<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/wpengine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/piggy.gif\")
<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"