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

Think of GIFs every bit the midpoint between images and videos. The master reward of using GIFs is that yous tin can tell a story or emphasize a betoken in a flash. Plus, they're small files to load, and that makes them perfect for mobile.

GIFs have exploded in popularity in contempo years. GIPHY, i of the web'southward more popular GIF databases, claims to have over 300 meg daily agile users. In 2018, Google bought Tenor, a keyboard app and GIF archive designed to aid users find the GIFs they desire. Tenor processes over 400 one thousand thousand GIF searches per day.

This article volition show you how to make a GIF using four different methods. Add them to your social media posts to please and engage 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 always-up-to-date social media epitome size cheat sheet.  The free resource includes recommended photograph dimensions for every blazon of image on every major network.

How to make a GIF with Photoshop

Annotation: all screenshots used in this article are from Adobe Photoshop CC 2018 (nineteen.1.ii release).

You tin use Photoshop to cord images together into a GIF. To make the following GIF, Fergus Baird used twenty photos taken in Photo Berth.

You tin also use a brusque video file to brand GIFs in Photoshop. The procedure is about the same; only the first step will modify.

Choose your ain take a chance:

If you're starting with a photo serial, begin at Stride 1A.

If you'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, go to File > Stack > Load Files into Stack. Click Browse, then cull the photos ("layers") you want to utilise past Shift-clicking on the total listing. Each of these photos volition be one frame in your GIF.

Tip: If you desire to save yourself some time later, number your files (i.eastward., 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 1 beneath. 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, yous'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 will pop up request which portion of the video yous'd like to import. Yous can 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 single frame to make a GIF. In this case, we imported one out of every 3 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 Step iv.

2. Create a Timeline for your GIF

Nether the "Window" menu, ringlet down and click Timeline.

how to make a gif with photoshop

A small box will appear nether the get-go image in your list: Create Video Timeline. Click this and alter it to Create Frame Animation.

how to create a gif with photoshop

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

In the top right of the "Timeline" panel you'll encounter a little hamburger menu (outlined in xanthous).

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 show your blitheness frames in sequence. You tin drag these around to reorder them.

Press the triangular Play icon (outlined in red beneath) to go an idea of how your GIF will look. Also, make sure Forever is selected in the drop down menu to the left (outlined in yellow), otherwise your GIF will but loop a ready number of times.

make your own gif

iv. Export your GIF

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

make your own gif

You'll come up to this carte below. It looks a footling overwhelming, just 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 y'all're set to export your GIF.

To meet how it turned out, click Preview… in the lesser left corner. Information technology'll open your default spider web browser and play a looping preview of your GIF.

how to create your own gif

Side by side, click Save… to proper name your GIF file, and download the GIF to your reckoner.

And that'southward it! Congratulations! You know how to brand a GIF in Photoshop.

How to make a GIF from a YouTube video

If you don't have access to an Adobe Artistic Suite subscription, don't despair: there'southward more one way to GIF a cat.

1. Go to GIPHY.com and click Create

giphy homepage

ii. Add the web address of the video y'all'd similar to make into a GIF

how to make a gif

3. Find the part of the video you'd similar to capture, and choose the length

Choosing a longer elapsing in the top slider will add more than time after the "start time" y'all select in the bottom slider.

how to make a gif

4. Optional pace: decorate your GIF

There are a multifariousness of options in here. You tin add text, or jazz up the GIF with stickers, filters, or even hand-fatigued annotations. I didn't add annihilation because the baby getting body-slammed by a cat really speaks for itself.

how to make a gif

5. Optional step: add hashtags to your GIF

Add hashtags if you desire people to observe your GIF and share it widely. Include your brand proper noun and some common related terms in your listing so it's easily searchable. Think of what y'all would search for if you were trying to find this GIF in a hurry.

how to make a gif

half dozen. 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, only insert the Giphy link or download the Giphy file and attach information technology.

You can follow these aforementioned steps to upload a GIF you've made yourself. Just add a link to the GIF URL in place of the YouTube video link at the first. You tin can also use these steps to create a GIF from your own video — just start by uploading information technology to YouTube.

How to make a GIF on mobile

Mobile apps like GIPHY Cam let you to make GIFs on your telephone. These are extremely easy to use: if y'all've ever used Snapchat, you can handle GIPHY Cam. If you lot accept not used Snapchat… you can still handle GIPHY Cam.

one. Launch the app and record your GIF

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

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

how to create a gif

3. Save your GIF and share it with the world


How to brand a screen-recording GIF

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

i. Launch the screen-recording GIF software

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

how to make a screen-recording gif

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

With GIPHY Capture, you can tape anything within the recording overlay (once again, outlined in red). To enlarge this area, click and drag the lesser-right corner (outlined in xanthous).

how to make a screen-recording gif

Bonus: Get the always-up-to-engagement social media image size crook sheet.  The free resources includes recommended photo dimensions for every type of epitome on every major network.

Become the free cheat canvas now!

3. Tape your on-screen action

Press the circular cherry button in the center to record, and so press information technology again to finish recording. You should see a thumbnail preview of your GIF pop upward in the bar below the recording overlay.

how to create a screen-recording gif

4. Customize your GIF settings

Minimize the recording area and have a look at the GIF options menu. Here, y'all tin can customize your GIF, including the loop type (normal, reverse, or ping-pong) pixel size, and frame rate. Elevate the tabs in from the left or correct to trim your GIF. Yous can too add captions from this menu. Only click captions side by side to options.

how to make a screen-recording gif

When you're ready, you can click the blue Calculate size text to get an idea of how large your GIF file will be. Under three MB is platonic for fast loading.

5. Save your GIF

You can cull to save your GIF to your computer, or, in the case of GIPHY Capture, upload it direct to GIPHY's online archive.

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

You can add together your newly created, hilarious GIFs to social media posts with Hootsuite. Easily manage your social channels and appoint followers across networks from a single dashboard. Attempt it complimentary today.

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