How to Make an Animated GIF

using Microsoft GIF Animator

When you're surfing the web and you see a neat little animated GIF, you probably think you could never do it.  But it's a lot easier than you might think to create those "moving" creations. 

There are many easy types of Animation Software on the market, but our personal favorite for ease of learning is an older FREE version from Microsoft called GIF Animator.

CLICK HERE to Download your FREE version of Microsoft GIF Animator.zip (657.19 KB0)

We've tried to explain the basics of creating an animation in the following steps.

These are the first icons you'll need to become familiar with in GIF Animator:

Step 1:

Create at least two images of equal size that you'd like to try.  To start, let's just make one small variation in image #2. 

Image #1 is a closed mailbox and Image #2 is open.  Fill the background with a contrasting color that's not found in either image.

You should have something like this:

Step #2:

Select and copy your first image.  Open a "New File" in GIF Animator and paste a copy of Image #1 into the first frame by clicking on the "Paste" icon. 

Step #3:

Select and copy your second image.  Paste Image #2 into the next frame by clicking on the "Paste" icon.

Step #4:

Click on the "Animation" tab at the upper right of the screen.  Click the "Looping" and "Repeat Forever" boxes.

Step #5:

Click on the "Image" tab to the right of the "Animation" tab.  Set "duration" to 20 just to get an idea of what your animation will look like.

Step #6:

Open the drop-down box beneath "Undraw Method" and select "restore background".  Click on the "transparency" box and make sure the color randomly selected matches your background.  If it doesn't, double-click the color block and manually choose the color.

Perform Step #5 and #6 for each frame.

Step #7:

Click on the "Preview"  icon to see your animation.

Work with your animation to determine the most flattering speed.  When you're satisfied, click on the "Save As" icon to save your file.

When you're ready to move up to a more advanced software, we recommend these economical choices:

Congratulations!  You've just finished your first animated GIF.

Wasn't that easy?  Now have some fun making lots more.  You'll get better at it the more you use it.