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NWE Help: Graphics: Gimp: Animation

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Animated GIFs are one of the more ubiquitous graphics formats on the web today. Gimp makes making animated GIFs quite easy. If you have two images that you want to combine into an animated GIF, you may want to use gifsicle, which makes animated GIFs with a single command.

Making a simple animated GIF

flashing dot

  1. Open layers window
    Animated GIFs are created using separate "frames" that play in order. The image used as our sample here is a simple two-frame image. To begin with, you need to open a new image in Gimp and open the layers window.

  2. Make extra layers
    Each layer in the GIF will be a new frame in the image (the bottom-most layer will be the first layer, and so on up). For instance, this image consists of two frames, one with a purple background and yellow dot, the other with a white background and yellow dot.

    When you make new layers, be sure to choose a solid background, rather than a transparent one. Since animated GIFs display by piling the layers on top of one another, any transparent areas will show through to the layer underneath.

  3. Export your animation
    Once you've made your layers, it's time to save your animation as a GIF. Choose the file menu and click "Save." The Save dialog will come up. Be sure to add the ".gif" extension to the filename you choose.

    The Export window will open next. Be sure to select "Save as animation" as shown below.

    Gimp Export Window
    When you click "Export," another dialog window will open (below).
    Gimp Export Window
    This dialog includes options for how long each frame should render, and whether or not you want the animation to loop or stop at the end. The number indicating frame length is in milliseconds (so 500 is 1/2 second). Fill in this information and click "OK."

Complex animations

Complex animation Gimp also gives you the ability to make complex animations using many frames with variable frame lengths. To add more frames to your image, simply add more layers.

To change the length that each frame is rendered, you need to include the number of milliseconds in the name of the layer itself. To do so:

  1. Double click on the layer name. The layer attributes dialog will open.
  2. In the name space, include the number of milliseconds you want the frame to play. Make sure you include the number in parenthesis, followed by the letters "ms". See our example below.
    Number of milliseconds included in frame time
  3. Finally, export the image as discussed above.

To see how your animation looks before you export it, you can use the animation playback window. Open that window by clicking on the arrow menu in the upper left corner of your image, then choosing "Filters," "Animation," and finally "Animation playback." The Gimp Animation Playback Window will open.

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