32.3. Tools You don't need to search very far to find a GIF animation toolthere seem to be scores of them available. Regardless of the tool you choose, the interface is basically the same. Tools tend to differ somewhat in the degree to which they are able to optimize (shrink the file size of) the resulting graphic. The following sections provide an overview of the most popular and/or recommended tools. 32.3.1. Applications That Include GIF Animation Tools GIF animation tools are built in or bundled with many popular graphics applications, eliminating the need to jump between different software packages.
Adobe ImageReady (Mac and Windows) Adobe ImageReady is a tool (bundled with Photoshop 5.5 and higher) especially for preparing and optimizing web graphics. It includes a GIF animation tool that converts layers into frames and allows easy layer editing. ImageReady offers advanced optimization methods for making the smallest possible animations. For more information, see Adobe's site at www.adobe.com.
Macromedia Fireworks (Mac and Windows) Macromedia Fireworks was designed specifically for the creation of web graphics. It supports multiple layers that can be converted to multiple animation frames. Among other features are automatic super-palette optimization and the ability to perform LZW optimization. For more information, see Macromedia's site at www.macromedia.com/software/fireworks/. As of this writing, Fireworks' fate is unknown, as Macromedia has been acquired by Adobe.
Animation Shop (Windows only) Animation Shop is a tool that complements Paint Shop Pro, an inexpensive and powerful graphics creation application from Corel (it was originally developed by JASC Software, Inc.). For more information, see Corel's web site at www.corel.com. 32.3.2. GIF Animation Utilities The following are just a few dedicated tools for creating animated GIF files. For a complete list, see the article "Optimizing Animated GIFs" by Andrew King, www.webreference.com/dev/gifanim/index.html.
GIFmation (Mac and Windows) This is commercial software from BoxTop Software that comes highly recommended by web developers. It features sophisticated palette-handling options and a bandwidth simulator. It also uses the efficient "frame differencing" method (discussed later in this chapter) for optimizing animations significantly better than its competition. GIFmation costs $49.95 and is available at www.boxtopsoft.com.
Ulead GIF Animator 5.0 (Windows only) Ulead's GIF Animator features wizards for quickly and easily constructing animations, 200 levels of undo, pixel-level optimization, built-in transition and animation effects, a plug-in architecture for adding new animation modules, and support for AVI and QuickTime videos and layered Photoshop files. GIF Animator is $44.95. You can download a preview copy from www.ulead.com. |
