Zanthal's Avatars

Log in

SmokingPipes.com Updates

Watch for Updates Twice a Week

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

Status
Not open for further replies.

baronsamedi

Lifer
May 4, 2011
5,688
5
Dallas
I, like many of us an always impressed at Zanthal's animated avatars. I've used animated gifs before but have no idea how to go about it myself or what programs to use. Perhaps Zanthal could post a tutorial on how he does the gif animation? I could see it becoming quitr popular on the forum.
God knows what hobie1dog would do with it! :rofl:

 

mluyckx

Lifer
Dec 5, 2011
1,958
3
Texas
gifninja.com does a decent job
But yeah, I'd love for Zanthal to jump in on this... pretty soon we'll all have moving avatars ;-)

 

bigmike

Part of the Furniture Now
Apr 24, 2012
518
4
They certainly are unique and I would love to learn how he does it..........Not just for this forum but others as well.
Zan the Man

 

grafikchaos

Starting to Get Obsessed
Feb 12, 2012
166
0
Chapin, SC
Has anyone ever heard of The Gimp?
This is a free, open-source image editor. Very similar to Photoshop, just not quite as powerful. It has some really cool animation presets built in, and you can also build animations from scratch using just Gimp. There are also some really good tutorials on the net and on their website.

 

grafikchaos

Starting to Get Obsessed
Feb 12, 2012
166
0
Chapin, SC
Hmm, that's odd. I've been using Gimp for about 8 years, I update it when they do, and I've never had an issue. One can always scan it after they download it, just to be sure.

 

johnnyrebel

Starting to Get Obsessed
Dec 3, 2010
192
0
Its funny that you made a thread about his Avatar, becuase last night i was going to make one myself!! I think they're awesome. I thought the last one was excellent. Way to go! :puffy:

 

zanthal

Lifer
Dec 3, 2011
1,835
1
Pleasanton, CA
Ah geez guys, you spoil me. :oops: 8)
I can give you the recipe:
The software I use makes it easier. ULead GIF Animator 5, it costs money, and now costs even more because it's been absorbed by Corel.
There are free GIF animation softwares out there too, but I've only dabbled with them so you'd need to Google "GIF Animator" ... there are several others, most cost, some don't.
So first, you take your video file, however you acquired it.
I use AVS4YOU (which is free), using their Video Editor, I trim down the video to the portion I want in the animated GIF. Produce a new video in AVS and name it.
Import the new, smaller video into ULead, which breaks down the video into individual frames.
Then, go through the frames, keeping only the best ones, so when it loops, it looks cleaner. Crop it, resize it, and Save As GIF.
That's the short version, anyhow. This forum is very unusual in that they allow such a large file for your avatar (it can be 2MB) ... which is part of the reason why I have one.
since we're talking media software, The GIMP is a very capable program and small on system resources, but it's not what I'd call user friendly. I use PAINT.NET (which is free) for photo editing.
I suppose now it's going to be my fault if everyone next week has a goofy new avatar ... :lol:
Ahhhh it's Friday, weekend time. Hope you all are kicking it happy. :puffy:

 

photoman13

Lifer
Mar 30, 2012
2,825
2
Seems like too much work, but you always make my day with those avatar pics. There is something humorous about them.

 

mluyckx

Lifer
Dec 5, 2011
1,958
3
Texas
Thanks for the lesson Zanthal ! I'll have to look into that software.
Being bored and taking a little time from yard work, with the iPhone and gifninja.com here's what you can do relatively quick. Not as good quality and such, so one has to play with it a bit ;-)
Or we can all send a video to Zanthal !
Avatartest.gif


 

mluyckx

Lifer
Dec 5, 2011
1,958
3
Texas
Thanks.. I did crop the length of the video on my Mac to get the frame right (iMovie), then export. Gotta work on the quality of the video though. Taken with my iPhone it was obviously not as good.

Outta here.. father's day lunch with my daughters ;-)

 
Status
Not open for further replies.