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Animation tutorial
This tutorial will show you how to animate a Christmas wreath. I use PSP 11 but it can be done in any paint program that support layers. I also use Animation shop for the animation, I don't know any other animation program. But I'm sure it can be easily done in other programs too! |
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| Step 1: You need a Christmas wreath (if you don't have one, follow this tut first. You will also need a decoration, I use a star, but it could be little candles, lights, christmas balls ect. | Step 2: Create a new layer, and paste some decoration on it. It's really important to put them on a different layer then the wreath. Create a copy of this image, merge the layer and save it on your desktop, I'm calling mine animation1. You can ether save it as a psp or a .gif format. Animation shop works with both. Just be careful if you use psp 8 to 11, you have to save your psp file so it's compatible with psp 7 for them to work in animation shop. (click save as -> option button -> change the version to psp 7 compatible file). |
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| Step 3: Back to your original image with the wreath layer and the decoration layer, be sure to be on your decoration layer and click somewhere in the middle of the wreath with the wand tool. Do not click on the decorations. You should have your decorations and the outline of your image selected. | Step 4: Now inverse the selection. (Selections -> Invert). Now you should have only your decorations selected. |
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| Step 5: Now you have to expand the selection for about 2 pixels, to do that click Selections -> Modify -> Expand, see the picture above to check what you should have by now. | Step 6: Create a new layer under your decoration layer. Flood fill the selection with any color you would like them to glow. I use my lightest color on my stars. |
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| Step 7: Still on your new layer (the one with the glow), you will add a gaussian blur to that glow. Go to Adjust -> Blur -> Gaussian blur and set the radius to 3,00. | Step 8: Merge all your layers together and save that second image as animation2. Now open animation shop and click on the animation wizard. |
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| Step 9: A window will open, it's the animation wizard. Do not touch the first setting, just click next. (note that mine is in french!) | Step 10: Now you have to choose your background, it all depends on how you saved your two images. Mine are in psp format, the background is transparent, so I will choose transparent. You can now click on the next button. |
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| Step 11: Easiest step of this tutorial, just click next, don't bother about those settings! :p | Step 12: Choose ether you want your animation to play indefinitely or just a number of time (if so, choose the play it option and enter the number of time in the box). At the bottom you enter the time spent between the two images. For this tutorial I will enter 30 but you can play with this to make it faster or slower. After that, click the next button. |
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| Step 13: Click on the add image button. Go on your desktop and click on the two images you have saved previously. Then click open. | Step 14: Check that your images are in the good order, #1 should be at the top and #2 at the bottom. If they are not in the good order, select one and move up or down until the order is ok. Then you can click next and on the next window, finish. |
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| Step 15: On #1 is what you should have now. Then you can click on the view animation at the top right corner. You should now see your animation! Do you like it? Yes? Well check out step 16! | Step 16: It's now time to save! Click on the floppy disk icon and save your new animation and voilą! |
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If you wish to make an eye animation for your doll, you need 5 images:  I have circled in red the speed of each images. To change the speed of one frame at the time, do the animation wizard just like the wearth and before clicking the icon to view the animation, select one frame, then click Animation -> Frame properties, in the window you will see the settings to put a new speed. This is what happend when you change the speed like above:  And this is what happend if I put them all to the same value like 20:  base Well that's it guys! Hope you enjoyed! Play with settings and images and you can create some really nice animations! Try to be original though, do not reproduce this tutorial pixel by pixel, it as been made to help you and to show you my technique, adapt it to your own style! Any questions? Click here |
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