My GIF's are not coming out very well!

[bogfrog]

I am using a program called GIMP which I understand is good, but when I export the GIF the colours are all rubbish

I have tried changing the profile in photoshop (i previously created a JPG in Illustrator using save to web) but that makes not difference! I understand indesign has the ability to make animated GIF's will that be any better?

See here: Bogfrog Design & Print

Look at the woman sitting on the chair. Thats the worse.


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[Ian Bonner]

I could be wrong, one of the web guys on here will probably correct me, but I think it may be because you have them saved in indexed colour, not rgb.

[bogfrog]

Yes. I did try resaving it as rgb and I still had the same issues?

[Boss Hog]

Check your optimisation settings when exporting.

[djb]

The problem you have is that GIFs really aren’t made for that kind of thing. I forget the technical term but they really are only any good for solid colours. You could possibly get away with animating some small photographs using the highest possible quality of GIF, but your best bet would be to use JPGs and animate them using Javascript of some form. A jQuery slider type thing perhaps. They’re all the rage.

[bogfrog]

The problem you have is that GIFs really aren’t made for that kind of thing. I forget the technical term but they really are only any good for solid colours. You could possibly get away with animating some small photographs using the highest possible quality of GIF, but your best bet would be to use JPGs and animate them using Javascript of some form. A jQuery slider type thing perhaps. They’re all the rage.

Thanks. I have used it in dreamweaver but they come out allot smaller than I want and take ages to load.
This is why i though a gif would be the option but obviously not

See here (my DJ site):
http://www.yourdj.co.uk/

Check your optimisation settings when exporting.

In gimp or illustrator/photshop?

what shall I look out for. I have tried all sorts.
There are loads of animated GIF's around so why cant i do it?

[djb]

I had a quick play round, trying to get a GIF as good as a JPG and found that to get them as good as each other the GIF turned out at 41k, while the JPG was 16k. The settings for the GIF are below if it helps.

[djb]

Sorry, forgot to say those are Photoshop settings as I don’t have Gimp, try turning up the colours to 256 and adjusting the amount of dither... just be prepared for a big file at the end of it.

[JohnRoss]

what shall I look out for. I have tried all sorts.
There are loads of animated GIF's around so why cant i do it?

You need to start again at the beginning. You are making not one but two basic mistakes: as djb says, you are using GIFs to do something they aren't meant for, and you are using animated GIFs to do something they aren't meant for.

The difference between GIFs and JPGs is basic: number of colours. GIFs with 256 colours just aren't in the same ball game as JPGs, with 16 million. So the GIF for a photo needs an awful lot more information to compensate for the lack of colour variety, hence the larger file sizes. GIFs can work when shape is more important than colour, as in e.g., a logo, but you need to use JPEGs or PNGs for photos. You could almost think: if I would use Illustrator, maybe a GIF will do, but if Photoshop would be more suitable, I probably need to output a JPG.

The difference between an animated GIF and a slideshow is also basic. An animated GIF takes three or four similar, simple images and provides artificial transitions to create an illusion of movement, that's what they're for. If you want to alternate static images, you don't need that illusion of movement. If you want a slideshow, look for a suitable solution.

[rgregory]

Here's a great plugin that suits this job perfectly:

JQuery Cycle Plugin

Simply add the jquery library (jQuery: The Write Less, Do More, JavaScript Library) to your project along with the cycle plugin (above) and then some basic custom code like the example below. It's very lightweight, customisable and you can very quickly pick it up.

JQuery Cycle Plugin - Beginner Demos

Speaking from personal experience it's well worth in investment in time to learn it.

Rachel