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

Remember of GIFs every bit the midpoint between images and videos. The main advantage of using GIFs is that you can tell a story or emphasize a betoken in a wink. Plus, they're minor files to load, and that makes them perfect for mobile.

GIFs accept exploded in popularity in recent years. GIPHY, one of the web's more popular GIF databases, claims to have over 300 one thousand thousand daily active users. In 2018, Google bought Tenor, a keyboard app and GIF archive designed to assist users find the GIFs they desire. Tenor processes over 400 million GIF searches per day.

This commodity will prove you how to brand a GIF using four dissimilar methods. Add them to your social media posts to please and engage your followers.

Allow's get started.

Table of contents

How to make a GIF with Photoshop

How to make a GIF from a YouTube video

How to make a GIF on mobile

How to create screen-recording GIFs

Bonus: Get the always-upwardly-to-date social media epitome size cheat sail.  The free resource includes recommended photo dimensions for every type of image on every major network.

How to brand a GIF with Photoshop

Note: all screenshots used in this article are from Adobe Photoshop CC 2018 (19.1.2 release).

You can utilise Photoshop to string images together into a GIF. To brand the following GIF, Fergus Baird used 20 photos taken in Photo Booth.

You lot can besides apply a short video file to brand GIFs in Photoshop. The process is almost the same; only the first step volition change.

Cull your own adventure:

If yous're starting with a photo series, begin at Step 1A.

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

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

In Photoshop, become to File > Stack > Load Files into Stack. Click Scan, so cull the photos ("layers") you want to employ past Shift-clicking on the full listing. Each of these photos will exist one frame in your GIF.

Tip: If you lot want to relieve yourself some time later, number your files (i.east., 001, 002, 003) to make sure they appear in guild.

how to make a gif with photoshop

how to create a gif with photoshop

The "Load Layers" screen should look like this one below. Click OK and head to step 2!


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. Commencement, click File > Import > Video Frames to Layers…

how to create a gif with photoshop

A new window will pop up asking which portion of the video you'd like to import. You can select the range using the slider below the video.

Side by side, tell Photoshop how many frames it should import. Information technology isn't necessary to import every single frame to make a GIF. In this case, nosotros imported one out of every three frames, and only half of the video footage. When you're satisfied, click OK.

how to create a gif

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

ii. Create a Timeline for your GIF

Nether the "Window" carte du jour, scroll down and click Timeline.

how to make a gif with photoshop

A small box will announced under the first image in your list: Create Video Timeline. Click this and alter information technology to Create Frame Animation.

how to create a gif with photoshop

3. Convert your photograph layers into a gear up of looping animation frames

In the height correct of the "Timeline" panel y'all'll see a little hamburger menu (outlined in yellow).

how to make a gif with photoshop

Click on the hamburger carte du jour, scroll downward, and click on Make Frames From Layers.

how to make your own gif

The "Timeline" panel volition now bear witness your blitheness frames in sequence. You can elevate these around to reorder them.

Printing the triangular Play icon (outlined in red beneath) to become an idea of how your GIF will await. Also, brand sure Forever is selected in the driblet down menu to the left (outlined in yellow), otherwise your GIF will only loop a set number of times.

make your own gif

four. Export your GIF

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

make your own gif

Y'all'll come up to this menu below. Information technology 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 you're ready to export your GIF.

To see how it 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

Adjacent, click Salve… to proper name your GIF file, and download the GIF to your computer.

And that's information technology! Congratulations! Y'all know how to brand a GIF in Photoshop.

How to brand a GIF from a YouTube video

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

1. Become to GIPHY.com and click Create

giphy homepage

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

how to make a gif

three. Find the office of the video you'd like to capture, and choose the length

Choosing a longer elapsing in the summit slider will add more than time after the "first time" you lot select in the bottom slider.

how to make a gif

4. Optional step: decorate your GIF

There are a diverseness of options in here. You tin add together text, or jazz upward the GIF with stickers, filters, or fifty-fifty manus-drawn annotations. I didn't add annihilation because the infant getting body-slammed by a cat really speaks for itself.

how to make a gif

v. Optional step: add hashtags to your GIF

Add together hashtags if you desire people to detect your GIF and share information technology widely. Include your brand proper name and some common related terms in your list then it'southward easily searchable. Think of what you would search for if you were trying to observe this GIF in a hurry.

how to make a gif

6. Upload your GIF to GIPHY

how to make a gif

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

You can follow these same steps to upload a GIF you've made yourself. Just add together a link to the GIF URL in place of the YouTube video link at the start. You can as well utilise 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 permit yous to brand GIFs on your telephone. These are extremely easy to use: if you've ever used Snapchat, yous can handle GIPHY Cam. If you have not used Snapchat… y'all can yet handle GIPHY Cam.

i. Launch the app and record your GIF

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

ii. Optional step: choose a filter, or add stickers/text

how to create a gif

three. Salve your GIF and share it with the earth


How to make a screen-recording GIF

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

i. Launch the screen-recording GIF software

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

how to make a screen-recording gif

2. Pull the mask over the expanse you lot want to record

With GIPHY Capture, y'all tin record anything within the recording overlay (over again, outlined in cherry-red). To enlarge this surface area, click and drag the bottom-right corner (outlined in xanthous).

how to make a screen-recording gif

Bonus: Go the e'er-upwardly-to-appointment social media image size cheat sheet.  The costless resource includes recommended photo dimensions for every type of image on every major network.

Become the free cheat sheet now!

3. Record your on-screen activity

Press the circular red push in the center to record, so press it again to cease recording. You should see a thumbnail preview of your GIF pop up in the bar beneath the recording overlay.

how to create a screen-recording gif

iv. Customize your GIF settings

Minimize the recording area and take a expect at the GIF options menu. Here, yous can customize your GIF, including the loop type (normal, opposite, or ping-pong) pixel size, and frame rate. Drag the tabs in from the left or right to trim your GIF. You tin likewise add captions from this carte du jour. Just click captions next to options.

how to make a screen-recording gif

When yous're set, you tin click the blueish Calculate size text to go an thought of how large your GIF file volition exist. Under 3 MB is ideal for fast loading.

5. Save your GIF

You can choose to save your GIF to your computer, or, in the example of GIPHY Capture, upload it straight to GIPHY's online archive.

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

Y'all 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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