Question by GS: How do I put a .gif into a photo in Photoshop CS4?
I want to put a .gif animation onto a picture, with the animation still functioning.
But when I open the .gif in Photoshop CS4, I can’t edit it or put it onto the photo.
How can I put the .gif on to the photo with the animation still intact? (I did not make the .gif myself if that helps.)
Thanks in advance!
Answer:
Answer by Unca Alby
You have to understand, photos are NOT animations.
You can grab ONE FRAME of an animated gif and incorporated it into your photo, but that’s it.
What probably you want to do is incorporate the PHOTO into the ANIMATION. That’s an entirely different concept — consider, for example, that you have an animation of a bouncing ball, and you take a photograph of Piccadilly Square. When you add them together, what you have is an ANIMATION with, say, Piccadilly Square as the background, and a bouncing ball in the foreground.
It’s not a “picture”, it’s a “movie”.
Sadly, Photoshop can not do that by itself. You have to purchase additional plug-ins.
Alternatively, you can download Gimp (www.gimp.org) for free, and download animation tools for it for free.