Creating Animated GIFs Using Photoshop & Imageready - Photoshop Tutorials | Photoshop Contests

Dookie · 12-08-2007, 07:48 AM

Creating an Animated Smiley/GIF/Avatar/Sig

This action packed & informative tutorial will demonstrate how I created the

(McRib) smiley for Photochopz, the world's favorite forum for chopping and satirizing any & everything.

The technique can be used in many other ways than to create an oozing McRib sandwich; such as dripping blood, growing hair, stretching anatomy, etc. Feel free to use any image you wish to follow the tutorial.

I use Photoshop CS2 and Imageready CS2 to create this, but you could use any version from 6.0 to CS3 for the first part. If you don't have Imageready, you could try something like Ulead GIF Animator or Advanced GIF Animator, both of which have free trials.

1. Open this image (or your own) with Photoshop:

2. I always create a layer from the background by right clicking the Background Layer in the Layers Palate, and choosing Layer from background. This allows you to create a Mask on the base layer by clicking the 3rd icon (it looks like a rectangle with a circle in the middle) on the Layers Palate. Make sure the Foreground/Background is Black/White (you can switch to these colors quickly by pressing the D key).

If you'd rather, you can duplicate the Background instead by pressing Ctrl+J, then hide the Background Layer by clicking the little eyeball button next to the layer thumbnail. Then create your Mask on the duplicate layer (see above).

3. Select the Brush Tool (B), on this image I set mine to Size:10 px Hardness:80%. Change the settings from either location shown below:

If you need to adjust the brush size while masking, you can quickly increase/decrease the brush size using the [/] (Bracket) keys.

I find it much easier to zoom in to about 400% while masking the background. I also use a graphic pen, so this process took me roughly 1 minute. If you don't have one or aren't very steady with a mouse, you may find it easier to create a path using the Pen Tool (P) or creating a selection using the Polygonal Lasso (L).

When your done, right click on the Mask thumbnail and click Apply Layer Mask. I do this instead of just erasing the background because it's much easier to correct mistakes or add/subtract from an area using a mask. If you take away too much, hit the X key (reverses the Foreground/Background colors) and correct it. Hit it again to switch back.

If you used the Pen Tool (P) or Lasso(L) method, create a selection from your path, invert it, then hit the Delete key. If you kept the background layer, you'll have to delete it or crop the image to size it.

4. With the background gone, trim the canvas size to fit the sandwich by going to Image/Trim. Make sure the settings appear as below:

This will leave room at the bottom for our dripping sauce.

5. Create a new layer by clicking the 6th icon on the bottom of the Layers Palate

or from the Layer Menu.

Now click the Foreground color box, selecting a point somewhere in the meat. Or you can do it the long way using the Eyedropper Tool.
*If using a different image, obviously you'd choose according to what you're animating.

Using the Brush tool (B) (mine was set to Size:8 Hardness:0%), paint some sauce along the top edge of the bottom bun in an irregular pattern.

6. Duplicate the sauce layer (Ctrl+J) and use the Smudge Tool (R) with the following settings to make your sauce drip farther down:

Repeat this step once more to make the sauce ooze even farther.
*If using a different image, more layers may be necessary, common sense and imagination are your friends.

Mine ended up like this:

7. Now select the bottom layer and Duplicate (Ctrl+J) it twice. Now drag one of them between the two top sauce layers, then drag the other between the middle and bottom sauce layers.

Select the top sauce layer, and merge it (Ctrl+E) with the sandwich layer below it. Do the same with the other two sauce layers.

8. This step is only necessary if you need to make the image a certain size; my McRib needed to be 55 pixels wide. Do this from Image/Image Size, setting the width to 55px with the Constrain Proportions box checked.

9. Go to File/Edit in Imageready. If using a GIF animator instead, you're on your own as far as putting the animation together goes. Having one that can read PSD's is helpful, otherwise, save each layer individually (with all others hidden) using the Save For Web option. This will help keep the file size down if that's a factor, which it will be if creating something like an Avatar or Signature.

When IR opens, go to Window in the menu and make sure Animation is checked. Now hide 2 of the layers, it doesn't really matter which as long as you choose a different one for every frame (see below).

10. See the red circle in the image above? Click that arrow and select New Frame. Now make the middle layer visible, and hide the bottom. You'll see the frame in the Animation Palate change to match the visible layer.

11. Create another New Frame, make the top layer visible and hide the middle.

12. Repeat step 10 (of course hiding the top layer instead). You'll end up with something like this:

13. Select all frames in the Animation Palate by clicking the last frame, hold Shift, click the first. See the tiny arrow I circled in the above image? Click it and select 0.2 seconds.

14. Now to the Optimize Palate. Set it thus:

If your using a different image than the McRib, you may need to adjust some of these settings, particularly the Matte color. I tried to pick a color somewhat close to the forum's background color.

Next, go to File/Save Optimized As. Save it and look in wonder at your fantastic, dripping McRib.