Operation Manual

Creating Animations 251
Image
Within Stopframe animation, this option lets you create an animated GIF by
default, which we'll focus on here. For keyframe animation, you can export a
single keyframe as any type of image format.
The GIF format is ideal for web as it's universally supported by web browsers,
and, as it's a multi-part format, it's capable of encoding not just one image but
multiple images in the same file. A GIF animation player or web browser can
display these images in sequence, in accordance with certain settings (looping,
frame delay, etc.) included in the file. The result—it moves! As with single-frame
GIFs, if you opt to export your animation with the Transparency setting turned
on, any unfilled regions of the graphic will become transparent in the GIF. All
other regions will become opaque. For details on using transparency in GIFs, see
Using transparency effects on p. 170.
To export as an animated GIF:
1. Choose Export from the Frames tab.
2. The Animated GIF format is pre-selected on the Format drop-down
menu by default; if not, select it. If you choose another format, only
the current frame will be exported. For full details on GIF export
options, consult Exporting objects and drawings on p. 263.
3. Set a size for the GIF animation. Leave the dpi setting at 96 for
standard screen resolution.
4. On the Animation tab, which only appears in Stopframe Animation
Mode, you can preview single frames or run the animation sequence,
and make some final playback adjustments to the animation
properties.
5. Click the Export button (or Close to simply record the settings if you
plan to preview in a browser first).
6. Provide a file name and folder location, and click Save. Don't worry if
you have extra white space around your image. Any unused border
area will be cropped automatically, just as you saw in the Preview
window.