City of Heroes: Live Forum Archive

Guide to making animated heart avatars with GIMP

Mr_Right

By Mr_Right,
Posted on: 2006-02-09 19:00 in Player Guides

 

Posted

Step 1: install GIMP

First, download and install the GIMP.

http://gimp-win.sourceforge.net/stable.html

The first two "download" links on that page are what you need. Download each. Open the zip files and click the installers within till they launch. Follow directions.

You now have a free graphics program. It is easier to use than Photoshop for a beginner but it is still not what one would call easy. But not really difficult either.

If it keeps saying "no disk in drive" that's a bug. Just hit "continue" whenever it shows up. Annoying, but it's a free program and it's really meant to be run in Linux. If you already have Linux, you don't need my help to install GIMP


Step 2: make the heart jpgs

Use this site and save the jpg files to your hard drive.

http://www.acme.com/heartmaker/

right click on the heart graphic and choose save. Save each one with a different name that you will recognize.

Step three: make the graphic with layers

Open your GIMP program and you will see various windows open up. One of them says "The GIMP" at the top with menus under it (File, Xtns, Help). Choose the file menu and the Open command and open all the heart files you want to animate together.

Pick one of them to be your animated image. For each of the others in order, choose it, on its window go to the Select menu, choose Select All. Then from the Edit menu choose Copy. Then go to your animated image and choose Paste. Open the Layers window (from The GIMP, File, Dialogs, Layers). You will see the pasted image, probably at the top. Right click on it and choose "new layer" and it will become a separate layer.

Repeat above steps as needed.


Step four: make the animation

Go to the Script-Fu menu on your picture with all the layers in it. you will see ScriptFu as one of the menus, I promise. Under it choose Animators/blend.

Now go to the File menu ON the picture. Choose "save as" and type in a file name ending with .gif (be sure to delete the .jpg on the existing name). You will be given options: choose "save as animation" and "save as indexed" as your options. Then click the Export button.

You are done.

 

Posted

I really like Gimp

Cool program

Still working with it, seems to change the order I want my layers to be animated

But I am pretty sure its user related

 

Posted

Yeah, i'm still working with it myself, and me being the technologically innept person I am, it's kicking my [censored]!

Stupid program!

*throws a hissy fit and sits down in the corner*
*looks over her shoulder at the computer and walks back to it*
Fine... I'll play with it some more... It is really fun though. I'll have to tweak it and do some non-candy heart avatar sometime with this.

 

Posted

Ya its totally cool

and I hear ya I am working on a animated avitar for War Bird right now. I will not put it up till I am 100% happy with it though

It also seems to work best if you place your layers in a bottom up fashion

And it still decides not to use one of my hearts now and then.

my lastest attempt is almost what I want

oh well Bring out the GImp time to play

 

Posted

Oh man I love this program

My new promote my super group avatar is up

this program will come in very handy

lov'n it