[GUIDE] How to make GIFs in Photoshop

[Tron117]

Hey, hello!

Today, I'll be showing off how to make GIFs for RP screens. Here's a few examples of what you can make using Photoshop:





To make GIFs is a fairly simple process, especially if you're familiar with Photoshop already, and I'll be using GIFs and pictures for better visualization of the workflow. Let's get to it.

Step 1: You'll have to record whatever you're trying to GIF. You can use any recording software for this, I personally use Medal.

Step 2: Once you got a clip, open Photoshop, and do File > Import > Video frames to layers.



Step 3: A window will open up which will have you determine how much of the video you wanna use for the GIF. The length can max out, so aim for something around 5-8 seconds.
(Note: You can make longer GIFs by stitching them together, but that won't be covered in this tutorial)



Step 4: Use the crop tool to shape your GIF how you'd like. (Maybe optional depending on the look you want)



Step 5: After you've cropped the GIF or you skipped that part, do File > Export > Save for web (Legacy).



Step 6: A window will pop up previewing the GIF, which will also let you be able to set the resolution. Set whatever dimensions you want.
(Note: If you set one value, the other one automatically scales to fit the aspect ratio. If you want to prevent this, click on the chain link next to the values)



Step 7: If everything looks good, hit save!

These steps are simply making a GIF, but if you want to add text as well, here's what you do.

Step 8: Have your RP lines ready as a layer to paste. Not much to explain here assuming you know how to make screens already.

[IMPORTANT] Step 9: Do File > Open, and open up the file of the completed GIF you just made, don't continue from the original project. This is necessary as if you add text to the original project and then resize the GIF, the text may come out looking weird.
(Note: When you're looking for the GIF, it may not show up in the folder you saved it in at first. Make sure the folder is showing all formats.)



Step 10: Copy the RP lines, and then select the topmost layer of the GIF. Paste your lines, and position them accordingly.



Step 11: Repeat steps 5 and 7 and you're done!




Problems You May Encounter:
My GIF looks very pixelated and/or the colors are washed out - I'm unsure of what causes this necessarily, it's seemingly random although it doesn't happen often. Closing the GIF and starting the process over from step 2 seems to do the trick. It may be a little bit time consuming depending on your PC, as the longest part about making any GIFs is waiting for things to load up or save.

The text on my GIF disappears and/or shifts randomly throughout the GIF - This usually happens if you edit or position the text on the GIF before it's moved to the topmost layer, or if you preview the GIF in the big main window before you save it. The fix for this is just deleting the text and copy/paste it again on the top layer.

I can't save my GIF, I'm getting an error - This usually happens if you're editing and creating a bunch of GIFs in one go. Photoshop uses a good amount of your storage when making a batch of GIFs at a time, so you must close it off an re-open it to free up the memory. If you're making the base GIF, you'll have to start over from step 2, but you can get lucky and have this problem occur when you're making the text version, in which case you'll just be starting from step 8.

That concludes the tutorial. One last thing that I find important to add, is to make sure to ALWAYS SAVE YOUR PSDs!!! You may notice something that's messed up when reviewing the GIF, and it's a pain to remake everything from scratch. GIF PSDs can take up a good amount of space if you let them pile up and you're not careful, so only delete them when you're sure everything's perfect. If you've made a correction, save it via steps 5 and 7.

Good luck!

Edited February 21 by Tron117

[ssyn]

my guy tron

[Cladavian]

We love Tron. 

[Godmask]

woah @Tron117! Thing looks amazing. I'll defo give this a quick go.

[ilikegothbitches]

tron giving back to the community

[Elvin]

Amazing

[OneWayJae]

preesh

[Robert_Certazutti]

When I try this it usually lags for me, do you know any source to fix this?

[Tron117]

1 hour ago, Robert_Certazutti said:

When I try this it usually lags for me, do you know any source to fix this?

Lags how, as in Photoshop is slow or the GIF lags?

[greenwatr]

molest jace jiang

anyway, 

Quote

The text on my GIF disappears and/or shifts randomly throughout the GIF - This usually happens if you edit or position the text on the GIF before it's moved to the topmost layer, or if you preview the GIF in the big main window before you save it. The fix for this is just deleting the text and copy/paste it again on the top layer.

i tried the fix but it didnt help, and my texts cant be stroked, pause.