How to Design an Animated Logo

Although animation may seem difficult, it really is just a matter of having the right tools and learning to follow directions. Your first animated logo will be very simple. Once you understand the mechanics of creating one, you can then work to improve it.

Instructions

1. 1. Create a new file and design the background elements of your logo. This will be the background layer.
   
   
   2. In a new layer, design the first frame of your animation. Create a new layer for each frame, and save the file in Photoshop format with all the layers intact.
   
   3. Next, in ImageReady, go to File>Edit. This will open the file where you will create the animation.
   
   4. In ImageReady, make sure the Animation and Window layer is visible. If they're not, go to Window>Layers (or Animation) until they are.
   
   5. The Animation window shows you frame by frame how your animation looks. Click on the spot that says 0 sec. and change it to 1. This means that the frame will be visible for 1 second before moving on to the next.
   
   6. Look for the duplicate layer button, which is usually in the far right corner, and click it until you have enough frames to complete your animation. Make sure that none of the layers which contain the animation are selected.
   
   7. On each frame, turn the layers on (or off) that are needed for that particular animation.
   
   8. Click the play button located in the middle of the Animation window to preview your animation. Play with the settings and layers until you get what you want.
   
   9. Save the image. Then go to File>Save>Optimized As and save your file in gif format in order for the animation to work. Enjoy!