Recolor a moving GIF by using the coloring and layering tools of a 2-D
image-manipulation program. Some programs, such as Ulead GIF Animator,
are dedicated just to editing animated GIFs. If you don't need to color
or perform other edits on other graphic files, such as JPEGs or BMPs,
use such a program. It will have features that optimize your GIF for the
Web, which means it will minimize GIF file sizes. This enables the
pages hosting your GIFs to load quickly into Web browsers.
Instructions
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1
Click the "File" menu of your
image-editing software, and then click the "Open" item. Navigate to and
double-click the animated GIF file you want to recolor. Your program
will load the file for you to edit.
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2
Click the GIF frame or layer you
want to recolor. This frame is in the "Layers" panel if you're using
GIMP or Photoshop. If you're using Ulead GIF Animator, click the frame
you want from the panel at the bottom of the screen, then click the same
frame from the panel at the right of the screen.
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3
Click your program's button for
opening the color-selection window. On most imaging programs, this
bottom looks like a colored square or swatch. In GIMP, Ulead GIF
Animator and Photoshop, you'll find this square at the bottom of the
"Tools" panel.
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4
Click the color from the color
palette that you want to use to color a shape in the animated GIF you
loaded. For example, if you loaded an animated GIF showing a red apple
and want to color the apple green, click a green color from the
color-selection window. This instruction applies to GIMP, Ulead GIF
Animator, Photoshop and similar painting or image-manipulation programs.
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5
Click your program's tool for
painting. For GIMP, Ulead GIF Animator, Photoshop and other apps, this
tool's icon is a paintbrush, which is located on the "Tools" panel. Drag
your mouse cursor over the shape you want to recolor to apply the new
color you chose. If you need to erase some imagery, click your "Tools"
panel's "Eraser" icon to enter erasing mode, then drag over a region to
erase it.
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6
Use the paintbrush tool to
recolor the other shapes in the GIF, then select the next frame in the
GIF and recolor its shapes. Save your recolored GIF by clicking the
"File" menu's "Save" command, if you're using Ulead GIF Animator or
GIMP. If you're using Photoshop, click the "File" menu's "Save for Web
and Devices" command.
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7
Click the "File" menu's "Open"
command in your Web browser, then navigate to and double-click the
animated GIF you saved. Your browser will play the animation with the
new colors.
