If you lot're on social media in 2019, you demand to know how to make a GIF. GIFs are helpful for creating eye-communicable ads, or connecting with your followers through moments from pop civilisation.

Think of GIFs as the midpoint betwixt images and videos. The master reward of using GIFs is that you can tell a story or emphasize a point in a flash. Plus, they're small files to load, and that makes them perfect for mobile.

GIFs have exploded in popularity in recent years. GIPHY, ane of the web's more than popular GIF databases, claims to have over 300 one thousand thousand daily agile users. In 2018, Google bought Tenor, a keyboard app and GIF archive designed to help users find the GIFs they want. Tenor processes over 400 one thousand thousand GIF searches per 24-hour interval.

This commodity will show you how to make a GIF using 4 dissimilar methods. Add them to your social media posts to delight and appoint your followers.

Let's get started.

Table of contents

How to make a GIF with Photoshop

How to make a GIF from a YouTube video

How to brand a GIF on mobile

How to create screen-recording GIFs

Bonus: Get the ever-upward-to-date social media prototype size cheat sheet.  The free resource includes recommended photo dimensions for every type of image on every major network.

How to make a GIF with Photoshop

Note: all screenshots used in this article are from Adobe Photoshop CC 2018 (19.1.two release).

You lot tin use Photoshop to string images together into a GIF. To make the following GIF, Fergus Baird used 20 photos taken in Photo Booth.

You can also use a short video file to make GIFs in Photoshop. The process is almost the same; merely the outset footstep will change.

Choose your own take a chance:

If you're starting with a photograph serial, begin at Pace 1A.

If yous're converting a video into a GIF using Photoshop, offset at Stride 1B.

1A. Starting with photos: Load your deck of photos into Photoshop

In Photoshop, go to File > Stack > Load Files into Stack. Click Browse, and so choose the photos ("layers") y'all want to use by Shift-clicking on the full list. Each of these photos volition be one frame in your GIF.

Tip: If you lot want to salvage yourself some time subsequently, number your files (i.e., 001, 002, 003) to brand certain they appear in society.

how to make a gif with photoshop

how to create a gif with photoshop

The "Load Layers" screen should await similar this one below. Click OK and head to step ii!


how to create a gif with photoshop

1B. Starting with video: Load your video file into Photoshop

To turn a short video into a GIF using Photoshop, you'll need to make layers out of the existing video frames. First, click File > Import > Video Frames to Layers…

how to create a gif with photoshop

A new window volition pop up asking which portion of the video y'all'd like to import. You tin select the range using the slider below the video.

Next, tell Photoshop how many frames it should import. Information technology isn't necessary to import every unmarried frame to brand a GIF. In this example, we imported one out of every three frames, and merely half of the video footage. When you lot're satisfied, click OK.

how to create a gif

Once you've imported your video file into layers, skip to Step 4.

2. Create a Timeline for your GIF

Under the "Window" menu, scroll down and click Timeline.

how to make a gif with photoshop

A modest box will appear under the first paradigm in your list: Create Video Timeline. Click this and change it to Create Frame Animation.

how to create a gif with photoshop

3. Convert your photo layers into a set of looping animation frames

In the top right of the "Timeline" console you'll see a trivial hamburger carte (outlined in yellow).

how to make a gif with photoshop

Click on the hamburger menu, scroll down, and click on Make Frames From Layers.

how to make your own gif

The "Timeline" panel will at present prove your animation frames in sequence. Y'all can drag these around to reorder them.

Press the triangular Play icon (outlined in ruby below) to get an idea of how your GIF will wait. Also, make sure Forever is selected in the drop down carte du jour to the left (outlined in yellow), otherwise your GIF will only loop a set up number of times.

make your own gif

4. Export your GIF

Click File > Export > Salvage for Web (Legacy)…

make your own gif

You'll come to this menu below. It looks a little overwhelming, but don't worry. Under the "Preset" menu, select GIF 128 Dithered.

make your own gif

Next, change your Colors setting to 256 (the max number for a GIF).

how to make your own gif

Now yous're ready to export your GIF.

To run into how information technology turned out, click Preview… in the lesser left corner. It'll open your default web browser and play a looping preview of your GIF.

how to create your own gif

Next, click Relieve… to proper noun your GIF file, and download the GIF to your reckoner.

And that'due south it! Congratulations! You know how to make a GIF in Photoshop.

How to make a GIF from a YouTube video

If you lot don't have access to an Adobe Creative Suite subscription, don't despair: there's more than than one way to GIF a cat.

one. Become to GIPHY.com and click Create

giphy homepage

two. Add the web address of the video you'd like to make into a GIF

how to make a gif

iii. Discover the office of the video you'd like to capture, and choose the length

Choosing a longer duration in the peak slider will add more than fourth dimension afterwards the "starting time time" you select in the lesser slider.

how to make a gif

4. Optional step: decorate your GIF

At that place are a diverseness of options in here. Y'all can add together text, or jazz up the GIF with stickers, filters, or fifty-fifty hand-drawn annotations. I didn't add anything because the baby getting trunk-slammed past a cat really speaks for itself.

how to make a gif

5. Optional pace: add hashtags to your GIF

Add hashtags if yous want people to discover your GIF and share it widely. Include your brand name and some common related terms in your list so information technology's hands searchable. Remember of what you would search for if you were trying to find this GIF in a hurry.

how to make a gif

six. Upload your GIF to GIPHY

how to make a gif

And with that, you're washed! To include the GIF in your social media posts, simply insert the Giphy link or download the Giphy file and attach it.

You lot can follow these aforementioned steps to upload a GIF you've made yourself. Just add a link to the GIF URL in identify of the YouTube video link at the start. Y'all tin too use these steps to create a GIF from your own video — just start by uploading it to YouTube.

How to make a GIF on mobile

Mobile apps like GIPHY Cam let y'all to make GIFs on your phone. These are extremely easy to use: if you've ever used Snapchat, you can handle GIPHY Cam. If you lot take non used Snapchat… y'all tin can nevertheless handle GIPHY Cam.

i. Launch the app and record your GIF

Tap the photo button to have a short burst of photos, or hold it for a longer GIF.

2. Optional pace: choose a filter, or add stickers/text

how to create a gif

iii. Relieve your GIF and share information technology with the world


How to brand a screen-recording GIF

Apps similar GIPHY Capture, ScreenToGif, LICECap and GifCam allow y'all to make GIFs of your on-screen activity. This is a great option if you're writing a short instructional article (like something for an online help center) and want to show steps visually.

1. Launch the screen-recording GIF software

When you lot launch the software, you'll see a recording overlay like the blood-red-outlined section in the screenshot below.

how to make a screen-recording gif

two. Pull the mask over the area you want to record

With GIPHY Capture, you can record annihilation inside the recording overlay (again, outlined in ruby-red). To overstate this area, click and drag the bottom-right corner (outlined in yellow).

how to make a screen-recording gif

Bonus: Get the ever-up-to-date social media image size cheat canvass.  The gratis resources includes recommended photo dimensions for every blazon of image on every major network.

Become the free cheat sheet now!

iii. Tape your on-screen activity

Press the circular red push button in the center to record, and then press it again to stop recording. Yous should see a thumbnail preview of your GIF pop up in the bar below the recording overlay.

how to create a screen-recording gif

4. Customize your GIF settings

Minimize the recording area and take a expect at the GIF options card. Here, you can customize your GIF, including the loop type (normal, contrary, or ping-pong) pixel size, and frame rate. Drag the tabs in from the left or correct to trim your GIF. You can also add together captions from this menu. Only click captions side by side to options.

how to make a screen-recording gif

When you're prepare, you can click the blue Calculate size text to go an idea of how big your GIF file will be. Under iii MB is platonic for fast loading.

five. Save your GIF

Yous tin can choose to salvage your GIF to your figurer, or, in the case of GIPHY Capture, upload it straight to GIPHY'south online archive.

However yous cull to use GIFs in your marketing strategy—social or otherwise—make sure your approach is carefully considered and stays true to your make values. And don't forget to have fun with it!

You tin can add your newly created, hilarious GIFs to social media posts with Hootsuite. Easily manage your social channels and engage followers across networks from a unmarried dashboard. Try it free today.

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