How to create an animation that moves smoothly similar to the GIF below?
Add a comment
|
2 Answers
The animation itself was likely created in After Effects or some other animation tool. The key to the smoothness is the GIF frame delay time.
Most computer displays run at 60fps (frames per second), so the best frame rates for smooth animation are 60fps and 30fps, or even 15fps if the motion is slow and you’re trying to create the smallest file possible.
GIF animation timing is measured in hundredths of a second, and exact values corresponding to the frame rates we’re after aren’t possible. However, most web browsers happily animate GIFs in sync with the display, using rounded down frame delays. The values we’re after are 2/100ths for 60fps (0.02s in Photoshop), 3/100ths for 30fps (0.03s in Photoshop), and 6/100ths for 15fps (0.06s in Photoshop).
Most of the smooth GIFs you’ve seen use a 0.02s or 0.03s frame delay, and those are the values I typically use for mine as well.
answered Mar 10, 2017 at 23:51
-
Once I apply the setting you provide, I'll show you how it looks :) thanks very much Mar 11, 2017 at 15:46
-
Thank you for the info Marc. If you were to create an animation at 60fps or at a 0.02 second frame delay in Photoshop, would you have to add more frames between point A an point B within the animation? Mar 13, 2017 at 15:35
-
@spacerGIF the GIF format stores frame delays in integer hundredths of milliseconds, so a “true 60fps” frame delay of 0.016 seconds isn't possible. The format only natively supports 100fps, 50fps, 33fps, 25fps, etc. Therefore, 2/100ths is the best you can do for a 60FPS gif Jul 11, 2020 at 20:36
I can't comment on spacer GIF's comment but as Marc Edwards says the GIF format specifies delay in 1/100s of a second as an integral value. Using 0.02s, 0.03s, or 0.06s for the delay is as close as it can be to standard frame rates of 60, 30, or 15 fps.
