Avatars...

[BJ_M]

convert mpeg to frames or at least avi ... frames are better to work with i think


yes - in AS hit shift +z just before ready to save as ..

[skip2mylou]

ok so using the animation shop i have created frames from my mpg. now i import all of them into paintshop pro, then...
how do i compress the files to output a.... ooooohhh i get it. am i supposed to compress the PICTURE files and import them into anime shop, then create the gif?

please correct me if im wrong. thanks.

[BJ_M]

yes - or just compress totally in AS 3

either or both .. but you have to do the final compress in AS 3

anyway ....

[skip2mylou]

when you say final compression, you mean the SHIFT+Z thing right?

[skip2mylou]

o wait, i forgot to ask, how do i compress the file sizes of the PICTURE frames i created with AS? the ones which i will later use to create the final animation in AS.

[BJ_M]

just use shift +z before final save as

and use the slider untill the size is right (it will tell you size in next window and you can go back and adjust)

[skip2mylou]

o my goodness, i like took out all the frames except the bare minimum, cropped like crazy, shrunk the pixelage, but the size will just not go down...arg. i know there is not much else to do, but it just frustrates me.

[BJ_M]

well there is a point where you can not compress anymore .. did you reduce the number of colors also ?

[skip2mylou]

you mean the slider? yeah i reduced as much as i could so as to keep the avatar reasonably decent. i want to let you know that i really appreciate everyone's help through all of this, i really appreciate how BJ_M has guided me through every step. thanks.

[Garibaldi]

I know the gimp works good for this too, www.gimp.org

[skip2mylou]

@ Garibaldi
is it another GIF animator. BTW i am having some trouble downloading, can u please assist me, thanks.

@ BJ_M
im gonna keep trying different ways to shrink the file size. please let me know if there is a way, thanks.

[BJ_M]

less colors -- make background trans.. lots of pure black



less frames and movement ..

of course comes a point where you can not compress more

[skip2mylou]

o ok, i didnt try the pure colors thingy. thanks.

[Garibaldi]

@ Garibaldi
is it another GIF animator. BTW i am having some trouble downloading, can u please assist me, thanks.

@ BJ_M
im gonna keep trying different ways to shrink the file size. please let me know if there is a way, thanks.

Sure no problem! The thing about using GIMP in windows is it also requires the GTK runtime environment to work. To install:

Windows:
download the GTK Runtime from here, install and reboot:
http://prdownloads.sourceforge.net/gimp-win/gtk%2B-2.6.2-setup.zip?download
Now download and install The GIMP:
http://prdownloads.sourceforge.net/gimp-win/gimp-2.2.4-setup.zip?download

Mac (must be 10.3 or higher)
download x11 from here:
http://www.apple.com/macosx/features/x11/download/
download GIMP.app from here:
http://prdownloads.sourceforge.net/gimp-app/Gimp-2.2.3.dmg?download

I hope this helps!

[skip2mylou]

@BJ_M

i tried the pure colors thing. it may be possible that my project may simply be unachievable, too much motion maybe. compared to your avatar, the one i want to make has about roughly 3 times the number of frames (guessing yours was about 6 or 7), so for now im gonna think of another avatar to create, hopefully less motion and less frames.

@Girabaldi

i was able to get GIMP, however i have no idea how to create avatars and such. do u have any basic steps u can offer me, or could u please provide a link to guides, perhaps, thanks. much appreciated.

[Garibaldi]

@BJ_M

i tried the pure colors thing. it may be possible that my project may simply be unachievable, too much motion maybe. compared to your avatar, the one i want to make has about roughly 3 times the number of frames (guessing yours was about 6 or 7), so for now im gonna think of another avatar to create, hopefully less motion and less frames.

@Girabaldi

i was able to get GIMP, however i have no idea how to create avatars and such. do u have any basic steps u can offer me, or could u please provide a link to guides, perhaps, thanks. much appreciated.

Sure I can help. Creating a basic avatar (which is just a gif animation) in GIMP is pretty simple. Think of a flip book where as you flip the pages the stuff on the pages moves a little giving the illusion of video. In GIMP create a new image, probably 79x79, the size of your avatar. Then create a new layer and create the design you want on there to start. Then copy that layer and take the copied layer and modify it to represent your 2nd frame, continue to do this process until you get everything you wanted on there. Also you can specify the amount of time (in milliseconds) that each frame is displayed by including the time in the title of the layer, for example "layer 1 (1000ms)" would have layer 1 be displayed for 1 second. If you want to see an example of this just go to my website, www.wiscollectorcar.com and download the gif animation at the top (the title) and open it in GIMP.

[skip2mylou]

o ok, but what if i have a piece of video that i have reduced down in pixel size, and i just want to cut out frames, standardize that colors, etc, and then output a gif?

[Garibaldi]

o ok, but what if i have a piece of video that i have reduced down in pixel size, and i just want to cut out frames, standardize that colors, etc, and then output a gif?

You'll need to take snapshots of the video, save those as jpgs and then import those into GIMP.

[skip2mylou]

o ok gotcha, thanks, im gonna be working on that.

[Garibaldi]

o ok gotcha, thanks, im gonna be working on that.

No problem!

[reboot]

Easier to download Animation shop, load the video, manipulate as needed, save as .gif, done.
This took me less than 2 minutes:

[BJ_M]

something i whipped up in animation shop3 (might take a bit to load for slow connections)

[reboot]

That would be a cool avatar!

[skip2mylou]

wow thats BLOODY cool

[skip2mylou]

hey i got an idea, is there a way to add an avatar to your signature, like BJ_M's spider, which i might add is quite SPOOKY. because then i dont have to got through the painstaking process of shrinkin my nice avatar to a blot of black paint.

[reboot]

Make a test post, with your gif in it.
Find the url of the posted gif.
Include that link in your sig (from the Profile).

[skip2mylou]

ok i know how to make a test post, do i just upload my GIF, after that, how do i find the URL?

[northcat_8]

Test forum

https://www.videohelp.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=12

[reboot]

More fun with animation effects in PSP.

[skip2mylou]

Make a test post, with your gif in it.
Find the url of the posted gif.
Include that link in your sig (from the Profile).

ok im stupid, can any body please tell me step by step what to do about this, thanks.

im trying to upload this gif: