Snow Animation

Easy Animation

Level of Difficulty: Intermediate

If you have followed the instructions on my how to make snow tutorial GA 5, then this tutorial will show you how to animate the snow you have created.

Make your image that you would like to have your snow on in PI or you could use the quick image I made using trees and snowmen from the Component Designer Christmas banner section.

Just right click on the image and save as to your drive.

NOTE: When you make  your own graphic image in PhotoImpact, don't forget to make it smaller than your snow.

 I made the sample image 298 x 335, the 500x500 snow made in the previous tut will fit over it perfectly.

Information: Don't re-size the snow you made in GA. GA has the unpleasant feature of giving each painted dot a ring of colour that will be the same as the background colour that you used to see the snow when you painted it.

OK lets get started!

Open the sample image in your Gif Animator.

Click on the add image icon and navigate to were you have saved your snow.

Click on your snow, then on OK.

Now  touch your snow and drag it up until the bottom of the snow is at the bottom of your image.

Click on your Transform tool (resize) 

This show exactly were your snow ends at the bottom and also the sides.  It is important to have some hanging over the sides as we will be making the snow swirl a little.

Note: Because GA is such a fantastic program, it is possible to only use the 1 layer of snow.

This is How it Works

When you duplicate the frame on the storyboard, without having to duplicate the snow, you can move the snow, down, up, sideways etc without it affecting any of the other frames.......................neat ah!!
 

 Are you are happy with were your snow is positioned, if so then we are ready for the next step, so lets get animating!

Click on the Duplicate Frame icon

Click on your Pick Tool

If the keypad on your keyboard does not work with the first method, then please use the Alternate Method.

Keypad Method

Now lightly touch your snow in Frame 2, then using the arrow key pad on your keyboard, tap the down arrow 15 times and the left arrow 2 times.

Click on the Duplicate Frame icon again

Lightly touch your snow on Frame 3, then using the arrow key pad on your keyboard again, tap your down arrow 15 times and the right arrow 2 times.

Click on the Duplicate Frame icon 

Lightly touch your snow on Frame4, then using the arrow key pad on your keyboard again, tap your down arrow 15 times and the left arrow 2 times.

Alternate Method to Move your Snow

Frame 1

Frame 2

Frame 3

Frame 4

You should now have 4 frames on your storyboard.

Hold Down your Shift key and select the 4 frames in the storyboard.

Right-click/Frame Properties and depending on how fast or slow you would like the snow to move this is were you speed it up or slow it down.

I gave my frames a 16 in the Delay box.

Smart should be selected in the Removal method list.

Click OK.

Click on your text tool and type a Merry Christmas message perhaps!

Click on the preview tab and if you are happy with your snow animation, goto File/Save As/GIF file.

Now Save your animation File/Save As/UGA File.
 

One Extra Step

Delete your background and save the 4 snow frames as an UGA file.

We will be using the snow UGA file in another animation but without the background.

Thank you for doing my tutorial and I hope you had fun making your snow and animating it.

Please feel free to  print this tutorial out for your own personal use, but do not copy it in any way  to put on-line, pass out, or re-write and claim as your own.

Any resemblance to any other tutorial like this, is not intentional and is purely coincidental.

This tutorial was written on the 3rd December 2009 and is therefore

© to Edna Munn

Website and web set Design

Also created

by

Edna Munn