How to Make GIFs

How to Make GIFs

how to make your own gifs

What is a GIF?

GIF stands for Graphics Interchange Format, but all you really need to know is that GIFs are short animations that are endlessly looped and shared on the internet. They can be original creations by a user (like the GIF we made at the top of this page), or they can be pulled from existing content like TV shows, movies, and viral video clips.

Why use GIFs?

In their simplest form, GIFs catch your attention in the same way a video would. They’re silent, shareable nuggets that communicate one key message. Think of them as a happy medium between an image and a video, in the sense that they are more eye-catching than a static image, but easier to create and share than a video.

GIFs can be used in many different ways, and you can get creative with how they’ll fit with your brand. Whether it’s injecting a bit of humor into your social media posts, or animating a quote from your blog post, GIFs are versatile and easy to make.

Make a GIF with original content

First, find an images-to-GIF maker. There are plenty of options online to do this – we chose GIFMaker because it doesn’t have a watermark or maximum size limit. This is the quickest way to create a GIF out of a series of images.

We made 4 different text slides in Canva and downloaded them as PNGs. It’s important to think about the dimensions of your images when first creating them in Canva because you can’t make them larger without losing resolution in GIFMaker.
make your own gif 1
Upload the images to GIFCreator, adjust the size & animation speed if you’d like, and click “Create Animation.” You can then download the GIF and upload it to your website.

Make a GIF with existing content

The process is similar for existing content (e.g., TV shows & movies). Giphy is a major name in the world of GIFs – it’s a great resource for finding existing GIFs that others have made, as well as using their GIF Maker tool to make your own. Simply copy and paste the URL of the video content you want to turn into a post. You can then add text, stickers, and other effects to your GIF. Giphy URLs are also integrated with Facebook, so all you have to do is copy the GIF link and share it on your timeline or in a comment.

Republishing Policy

This content may not be republished in print or digital form without express written permission from Berkeley Advanced Media Institute. Please see our Content Redistribution Policy.

Upcoming Workshops: