One of the coolest new features in GIF Animator is the
combination of image editing functions and onion-skin mode.
Derived from traditional animation techniques, the onion-skin
mode, new to version 4.0, gives you unprecedented opportunity
to create animations from scratch, directly within GIF Animator.
As far as we know, no other GIF animation tool offers this
much versatility.
Working in onion-skin
mode:
1
Open GIF Animator with a blank
animation.
2
Click the File: Preferences
menu command. The preferences dialog box opens. On the
Advanced tab, define the number
of image layers to be visible through each current
layer that you are working on. You can also set the
transparency of the layers that show through.
Click to view
larger image
3
Select the Global Information
layer, then on the Attribute toolbar manually set the
dimensions of your animation (deselect the Automatic
option and then enter
in the width and height dimensions in the appropriate
entry boxes).
4
Click the Layer: Add Blank Image
menu command to add an empty image layer.
5
Select the new image layer and
then click the Transparent option on the Attribute toolbar.
This makes the background color transparent (in order
for onion skin to work, all layers must be transparent).
NOTE: If you plan on drawing in
black, then the background should be white and set transparent
rather than black; otherwise, when you turn the transparency
off your image will not be visible.
6
Click the Edit tab to
switch modes. The program window updates itself, displaying
the Edit toolbar on the right-hand side.Once you've
switched modes, select the Pencil tool and begin drawing
the first frame of your animation.
Click to view
larger image
7
After you've finished drawing the
first frame in your animation, repeat steps 3-6. To
view the layers below the one you are working on, click
the onion skin button on the Edit toolbar.
8
While drawing, use the pictures from
the other layers as a reference point for adding motion
to the image in the current layer.
