How to Make a GIF: A Complete Guide

Method 1: Make a GIF from multiple image files

This is the most straightforward approach and gives you the most control over each frame of the animation. You provide a set of image files (PNG, JPG, GIF, WebP, or BMP), and they are combined into a single animated GIF.

You can prepare the images in many ways:

• Draw and edit them frame by frame in any image editor
• Draw them by hand and scan or photograph each frame
• Take a series of photos
• Export frames from 3D software or video editor
• Use animation software to create frame-by-frame animations
• Use AI image generation tools to create frames

How to do it:

1. Go to the GIF Maker.
2. Upload all the images you want to use as frames. You can select or drag and drop multiple files at once or put them in a zip file.
3. Arrange the frames in the desired order by dragging and dropping them. By default, the frames are ordered alphabetically by filename.
4. Set the delay time (in centiseconds - 1/100 of a second) to control how long each frame is displayed. For example, a delay of 10 equals 100 ms (0.1 seconds) per frame, giving you approximately 10 frames per second. You can also set a custom delay for each frame.
5. Optionally, resize the images if they are not of equal size. The GIF Maker will alert you if the images have different dimensions and offer a one-click resize.
6. Click "Make a GIF!" to generate your animation.

Tips:

• For the smoothest results, all source images should have the same dimensions and aspect ratio.
• Use PNG files with transparency if you want a transparent GIF. JPG files do not support transparency.
• The crossfade frames option can be used to create smooth transitions between frames, which is great for photo slideshows.
• If you need to edit individual frames (add text, crop, adjust colors), prepare them in an image editor before uploading, or use our editing tools after creating the GIF.

This method is ideal for frame-by-frame animations, stop-motion projects, slideshows, or any situation where you want precise control over what each frame looks like.

Method 2: Make a GIF from a Video

Converting a video clip to GIF is one of the most popular ways to create animated GIFs. This works great for capturing funny moments, creating reaction GIFs, or turning short clips into shareable animations. You can use video files in MP4, AVI, WebM, MOV, FLV, and many other formats.

How to do it:

1. Go to the Video to GIF converter.
2. Upload your video file (up to 200 MB) or paste a video URL.
3. Use the start time and end time fields to select the portion of the video you want to convert. You can also use the built-in video player to select the range.
4. Set the desired size (width) and frame rate (FPS). Lower values result in smaller file sizes.
5. Choose a conversion method. The default method works well in most cases.
6. Click "Convert to GIF!"

Tips:

• Keep the clip short. GIF files can become very large with longer durations since every frame is stored as a full image. GIFs compress poorly compared to video formats like MP4 or WebM, so file sizes grow quickly.
• Reduce the frame rate to 10-15 FPS and/or the width to 480 pixels or less to keep file sizes manageable.
• After conversion, you can use the GIF Optimizer to further reduce the file size. See our guide on optimizing GIFs for more details.
• If you need higher quality than what GIF can provide (GIF is limited to 256 colors per frame), consider converting your video to APNG, WebP, or AVIF instead. Learn more about alternative animated image formats.

Method 3: Make a GIF from a Screen Recording

Screen recording GIFs are commonly used for software tutorials, bug reports, UI demonstrations, and showing off application features. The process is similar to making a GIF from a video — you first capture your screen, then convert the recording to GIF.

How to do it:

1. Record your screen using any screen recording tool. Most operating systems have one built in:
   • Windows: Use the Snipping Tool (Win + Shift + S), Xbox Game Bar (Win + G), or a third-party tool like OBS or ShareX.
   • macOS: Use the built-in screen recording (Cmd + Shift + 5) or QuickTime Player.
   • Linux: Use OBS, SimpleScreenRecorder, or a GNOME/KDE built-in recorder.
2. Save the recording as a video file (MP4 or WebM is recommended).
3. Upload the video to our Video to GIF converter.
4. Trim the clip to the relevant section, set the desired size and frame rate, and convert.
5. Optionally, use the crop tool to remove any unwanted parts of the screen, and the resize tool to adjust dimensions.

Tips:

• Screen recordings often have large dimensions (1920×1080 or higher), which results in huge GIF files. Always resize to a reasonable width, such as 640 or 800 pixels.
• Screen recordings typically have many areas that don't change between frames (e.g., toolbars, backgrounds), which makes them ideal candidates for optimization. The "Optimize Transparency" method in our GIF Optimizer can significantly reduce file size for this type of content.
• 10 FPS is usually sufficient for screen recordings that show UI interactions. This produces a smaller file while still being easy to follow.

Method 4: Make a GIF from a Still Image

You don't always need multiple images or a video to create a GIF. With the Static to GIF converter, you can upload a single still image and apply an animation effect to turn it into an animated GIF, APNG, WebP, or AVIF file. This is great for creating eye-catching social media posts, animated banners, or adding motion to product photos and artwork.

How to do it:

1. Go to the Static to GIF converter.
2. Upload your image (JPG, PNG, GIF, WebP, or any other supported format).
3. Select an animation effect from the available options:
   • Waving Flag — applies a wave distortion to simulate a flag waving in the wind. Customize the amplitude and wavelength.
   • Zoom — gradually zooms in or out on the image. Set the start and end scale percentages.
   • Horizontal Scroll — creates a seamless side-to-side scrolling loop.
   • Vertical Scroll — creates a seamless top-to-bottom scrolling loop.
   • Rotation — spins the image clockwise or counterclockwise, with adjustable degrees and frame count.
4. Adjust the animation settings (number of frames, speed, and effect-specific parameters).
5. Choose the output format (GIF, APNG, WebP, or AVIF) and set the delay between frames.
6. Click "Create Animation!" to generate your animated image.

Tips:

• The waving flag effect works best with images that have a roughly rectangular shape, such as flags, banners, or logos.
• For the zoom effect, try starting at 100% and zooming in to 120-130% for a subtle Ken Burns-style animation.
• Scroll effects work great for panoramic photos, wide illustrations, or images with repeating patterns.
• More frames produce smoother animations but result in larger files. For most effects, 10-20 frames is a good starting point.
• If you need the output as a GIF but want better quality, try creating it in APNG or WebP first to preview the animation, then switch to GIF for the final output.

Method 5: Make a GIF from a sprite sheet

A sprite sheet is a single image that contains multiple frames of an animation arranged in a grid or strip. Sprite sheets are commonly used in game development, pixel art, and web design. You can often find them in game assets, icon packs, and animation libraries. With our Sprite Sheet Cutter, you can split a sprite sheet into individual frames and then combine them into an animated GIF in just a few clicks.

How to do it:

1. Go to the Sprite Sheet Cutter.
2. Upload your sprite sheet image.
3. Enter the tile size (width and height of each frame in pixels) or specify the number of columns and rows to split the image into equal parts.
4. If your sprite sheet has gaps between tiles or doesn't start at the top-left corner, set the appropriate offset and spacing values.
5. Click "Cut!" to split the sprite sheet into individual frames.
6. Click the "Create GIF Animation" option below the output images, it will take you to the GIF maker with all the frames pre-loaded.
7. Review the extracted frames. You can deselect any unwanted tiles (e.g., empty or duplicate frames).
8. Adjust the delay and other GIF settings, then generate the final animation.

Tips:

• Sprite sheets commonly use a transparent background, so the resulting GIF will preserve that transparency.
• If you only need certain frames (e.g., a single animation cycle from a sheet with multiple actions), deselect the tiles you don't need before creating the GIF.
• You can also download the individual frames as a ZIP archive if you want to edit them before assembling the animation.
• The tool also supports creating animated APNG and WebP from the extracted sprites.

Method 6: Convert Other Animated Formats to GIF

If you already have an animation in another image format, you can easily convert it to GIF. This is useful when you need maximum compatibility, since GIF is supported virtually everywhere — on every browser, messaging app, social media platform, and image viewer.

Supported conversions:

• APNG to GIF — Convert animated PNG files to GIF.
• WebP to GIF — Convert animated WebP images to GIF.
• AVIF to GIF — Convert AVIF animations to GIF.
• MNG to GIF — Convert MNG files to GIF.

The conversion process is simple: upload the file, adjust any settings if needed, and click the convert button.

Things to keep in mind:

• GIF is limited to 256 colors per frame and supports only binary (on/off) transparency, not semi-transparency. Converting from formats like APNG, WebP, or AVIF (which support millions of colors and full alpha transparency) to GIF will result in some quality loss. This is an inherent limitation of the GIF format and is expected.
• The resulting GIF file may be larger than the original, especially when converting from efficiently compressed formats like AVIF or WebP.