324 Chapter 18 – Animated GIFsCreating Animated GIFs
Web Design in a Nutshell, eMatter EditionGifGifGif (Mac and Windows)
Although not full-featured like other GIF animation utilities, this tool offers the
unique ability to automatically capture screen activity for use as an animated
GIF. This is useful for illustrating software demos. GifGifGif is from Peda-
goguery Software (http://www.peda.com/).Applications that Include GIF Animation Tools
GIF animation tools are now being built-in or bundled with many popular
graphics applications, eliminating the need to jump between different software
packages.
Macromedia Fireworks (Mac and Windows)
Macromedia Fireworks was designed specifically for the creation of web
graphics. It supports multiple layers that can be converted to multiple anima-
tion frames. Among other features are automatic super-palette optimization
and the ability to perform LZW optimization. In animated GIF optimization
tests run by WebReference.com, Fireworks created the smallest animation files
(seehttp://www.webreference.com/dev/gifanim/results.html). For more infor-
mation, see Macromedia’s site at http://www.macromedia.com/software/
fireworks/.
Adobe ImageReady (Mac and Windows)
Adobe ImageReady is a tool for preparing and optimizing graphics for the
Web. It includes a GIF animation tool that converts layers into frames, and
allows easy layer editing. For more information see Adobe’s site athttp://
http://www.adobe.com/.
Animation Shop & Paint Shop Pro 5.0 (Windows only)
Animation Shop is a tool that comes bundled with the latest version of Paint
Shop Pro, an inexpensive and powerful graphics creation application from
JASC Software Inc. For more information, see JASC’s web site athttp://www.
jasc.com/.Creating Animated GIFs
Regardless of the tool you choose, the process of creating an animated GIF is
about the same and involves making decisions about a standard set of features and
options. Some of the following descriptions use some of GIFBuilder’s termi-
nology, but the concepts and settings are consistent across tools.Frame Delay
Also called “interframe delay,” this setting sets the amount of time between frames.
Frame delays are measured in 1/100ths of a second. You can apply a different
delay time to each frame in the animation to create pauses and other timing
effects. This differs from digital video formats, in which the delay between all
frames is consistent.