In this post, we’re going to learn how to take a video and turn it into an animated GIF. This is a great way to show off your videos or make them more interactive. You can also use this technique to create funny GIFs.
In this tutorial, I’ll be using Photoshop CC to create a realistic 3D model of a human. You can use other software for this same task, but I believe that Photoshop CC is the best option for this particular purpose.
Convert Video Before Importing
“The file you are trying to import is not a supported file type.”
The video was a MOV file, but the codec that Apple uses is not supported in Photoshop. In order to fix this type of problem, you need to download a program like HandBrake to convert the video.
It’s very easy to use HandBrake. Just click on File – Choose Source and pick your video file. At this point, all you really have to do is click the Start Encode button. By default, it will use the Fast 1080p30 preset that you see listed on the right. They have many presets, so choose the one that works for you. Note that you can reduce the resolution of the GIF in Photoshop later on, so you don’t have to do it in HandBrake.
To import an MP4 file into Photoshop, we first need to convert it to an H.264 video codec.
Import Video and Create GIF in Photoshop
Open Photoshop and click on File, then Import and then Video Frames to Layers. Choose the video you want to import from YouTube. Then, click on the layer thumbnail to open it in a new window.
The first option is to choose the size of the video. The second option is to choose the quality of the video.
If you want the entire video as an animated GIF, leave the radio button to From Beginning to End. If you only need a portion, choose Selected Range Only and then use the trim controls below the video to pick the range.
If you want to create a shorter, more compact GIF, you can limit the number of frames in the video. For example, if you check the box and leave it at 2 frames, that means Photoshop will remove every other frame from the video. ..
Make sure the Make Frame Animation box is checked in Photoshop. Click OK and your video should be imported as a bunch of frames in the program. If the program crashes, you may need to reduce the quality of the video even further before trying to import.
To export a GIF in Photoshop CC, you need to click on File – Export – Save for Web (legacy). Before saving it out as a GIF, you can edit and delete frames as desired. ..
In the preview area on the left, you can see a bunch of different options that you will have to play around with to get the best GIF quality. The right pane is where you will make most of the adjustments.
You can choose one of the presets or adjust the values yourself to reduce the quality of a GIF, but make sure that GIF is selected in the dropdown below Preset.
If you want to make a GIF that will be viewable on a wide range of devices, adjust the final resolution and animation settings in Image Size and Animation.
Save your GIF to a location and then use Photoshop to create an animated GIF.
