How to make an animated gif party invitation

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#Do It Yourself#Entertaining#event planning#party

I love animated gifs! They’re like the magical photos in the Potterverse, making people and places and illustrations come alive.

Here’s a reason you can make one this week: PARTY TIME. Whether you’re planning a Super Bowl party, a Valentine’s Day cocktail hour, or just a mid-winter soiree, you can make an animated gif invitation in a few quick steps.

You’ll need:

  • PARTY PLANS!
  • A scanner or an image editor
  • A gif maker. Make a Gif is the most flexible free option I’ve found.

1. Plan your invite. What do you want to change from frame to frame? Simple choices are things like motion lines, moving text, or LIGHTENING BOLTS COMING OUT OF EYES! Or a crown.

It can be a drawing, frames from a movie, or a picture of a friend. OR EVEN JUST TEXT. Dancing clipart! The possibilities are endless.

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2. Make each frame. The groundhog day invite I mocked up only has four different pictures layered together. The “party with Dani” gif has…like 50. Each movement/additional line is its own picture (you will need your own software to do something this large, for sure.)

3. Upload each of your frames. Play with Make a Gif’s settings, and when you’re happy, save your magical moving image.

4.When you’re ready to invite your friends, pop the image in an email. If you’re using Gmail, use the “Insert Image” button to allow the image to show directly in the message.

5. Debate with yourself about the pronunciation of”gif”.

Hit send and put your party pants on, people!

About the Author: Cat Rocketship

I was the Managing Editor of Offbeat Home for a year and a half. I have a rich Internet life and also a pretty good real life. Hobbies include D&D, Twitter, and working on making our household more self-reliant. I also draw things.

Comments on How to make an animated gif party invitation

      • TWINSIES FOREVAH. XD

        I’m now wondering if the pronunciation of gif is like pop vs soda vs coke vs tonic. Regional? Based on the time that you joined the internet? Relative to your pronunciation of “put”? Clearly, this must be settled in the next readers’ poll. Forget how people use your site, THIS is a hot-button issue.

  2. It is obviously “gif”, like “gift” without a t, because it is a tiny animated gift to provide you with a soupçon of amusement and joy in the midst of a tiring day.

  5. …ahem, hem hem. (Sung in the style of Cookie Monster).
    “G” is for giffy, its movement made by me,
    Gif is like Jiffy, it’s plain enough to see
    G is like Jiffy, it’s good enough for me OHHHH Giffy Giffy Giffy Starts with “Gee!”

    aaaaand scene.

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