Description:
Reading The GIF Animator's Guide can turn a Web and graphics novice to a GIF-animation expert in a surprisingly short amount of time. This full-color guide first teaches you the basics of creating and editing images, explaining file formats, transparencies, color selection, design principles, and other issues involved with creating an image that you want to animate. Then the author explains how to plan an animation (you focus, for example, on the first frame); choose the effects and techniques to produce the look you want; and insert your animation in an HTML document. Then she delves into using a variety of Windows and Macintosh programs for doing your work: Microsoft Image Composer, Microsoft GIF Animator, Paint Shop Pro, GIF Constriction Set, Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator, CorelDRAW, and GifBuilder. The author explains each product's interface, provides tips on achieving various effects, and offers shortcuts and potential pitfalls. Appendices on the history of animation, traditional animation techniques, and computer-based animation round out your knowledge of the field of animation. The hybrid CD that comes with the book includes demo or full versions of the discussed software programs, other GIF animation programs, and a gallery of GIF animations.
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