What is the order of steps for a first GIF?

Add at least two frames from JPG, PNG, WebP, MP4, WebM, or QuickTime. Choose playback, then crop, then delay. Quality starts at 10 and loop starts on. Generate and watch the file. The frames are composed on white, and the size target starts at 8 MB. Change a single control and generate again if the first loop is close but the timing is off.

Which playback and crop options are there?

Playback runs forward, in reverse, as a boomerang, or as ping-pong. Crop stays on the original shape, or you can switch to 1:1 or 16:9. Pick playback before you worry about the crop, so you know the motion is right. Both choices are in the browser, and you can generate a version of each from the same frames. Loop still starts on unless you turn it off.

How do delay and quality start?

Delay starts at 120 milliseconds. The number field accepts 10 to 5000, so you can type a specific hold. Quality is a slider from 1 to 30, starting at 10, and a lower number keeps a finer sample. Leave both at the start for a first generate, then move one of them. The size target starts at 8 MB. Watch the download before you stack several changes.

What are the frame limits?

Generate needs at least two frames. The studio keeps up to 30, and the long edge is 1200 pixels. Inputs are JPG, PNG, WebP, MP4, WebM, and QuickTime. Loop starts on. The size target starts at 8 MB. The work stays in the browser. If you have more stills than the cap, choose the frames that carry the motion and leave the rest in the original set.

Why generate once before tuning?

The defaults are a complete GIF: delay at 120 milliseconds, quality at 10, loop on, playback forward if you leave it, and the 8 MB target. A first download shows you the sequence itself. After that, change playback, crop, or delay and generate again from the source frames. Tuning five controls before you have seen a single file makes it hard to tell which change helped.

What color is behind the frames?

The frames are composed on white while the GIF is built. Plan the stills with that field in mind, especially if the photos have light edges. Playback, crop, delay, and quality all apply on top of that compose. Loop starts on. Generate after the sequence looks right in the preview, and keep the original stills or clip for another pass.

GIF Maker Guide

How to Make a GIF: stills or a clip into a loop

Start with at least two frames, choose how they play, and generate a GIF that loops. This page is the order to follow the first time.

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Follow the controls in order and you will leave with a GIF. Gif Studio runs in the browser. Start by adding frames from JPG, PNG, or WebP stills, or from an MP4, WebM, or QuickTime clip. Generate needs at least two frames, so a single photo waits until you add a second. Next, decide how the frames play. Playback can run forward, in reverse, as a boomerang, or as ping-pong. Crop can stay on the original shape, or move to 1:1 or 16:9. Delay starts at 120 milliseconds, and the number field accepts a value from 10 to 5000 if you want a specific hold. Quality starts at 10 on a slider from 1 to 30, and a lower number keeps a finer sample. Loop is on by default, which repeats the GIF. The frames are composed on white while the GIF is built. Watch the preview after each change, then generate. The size target starts at 8 MB. If you are making this for the first time, resist changing every slider at once. Add the frames, leave delay and quality at their starting points, generate, and only then adjust one control. The download is a new file. Your stills or clip stay available for a second pass. Watch that GIF the way a viewer will, from the first frame through one full loop, before you share it.

One control at a time, then generate

Add the frames before you touch the sliders

A first GIF goes better when the sequence exists before the styling. Drop at least two JPG, PNG, or WebP stills in the order they should appear, or add an MP4, WebM, or QuickTime clip and let the studio sample it. Generate stays off until two frames are present, so the button itself tells you the sequence is ready. Look at the first frame. It is what people see before the motion starts, and a confusing opener makes the rest of the loop harder to follow. You can rebuild from these same sources later, which is why the stills or the clip should stay on your device.

Playback, crop, delay, then quality

Set playback to forward for a straight sequence. Reverse runs the frames backward. Boomerang and ping-pong travel out and back, which suits a short action you want to repeat smoothly. Crop original keeps the shape you brought. 1:1 squares it, and 16:9 makes it wide. Delay starts at 120 milliseconds. Type a number from 10 to 5000 when you know the hold you want. Quality starts at 10, on a range of 1 to 30, and lower is a finer sample. Change one of these, watch the preview, and leave the others until the GIF is telling the story you meant.

Loop, the white compose, and the size target

Loop starts on, so the GIF repeats, which is the behavior most people expect from the format. Turn it off only if this sequence should play through and stop. The frames are composed on white as the GIF is painted, so the field behind your stills is white in the export. The size target starts at 8 MB. Generate when at least two frames are ready, watch the download, and return to a single control if the timing or the crop feels off. A second generate from the original frames is cleaner than trying to edit the GIF you just saved.

How it works

1
Add at least two frames
Use JPG, PNG, or WebP stills, or an MP4, WebM, or QuickTime clip. The generate control waits until two frames exist. Put stills in viewing order.
2
Choose playback, crop, and delay
Forward, reverse, boomerang, or ping-pong. Crop original, 1:1, or 16:9. Delay starts at 120 milliseconds, and you can type a value from 10 to 5000.
3
Set quality and generate
Quality starts at 10 on a slider from 1 to 30, and lower is finer. Loop starts on. The size target starts at 8 MB. Frames are composed on white. Generate and watch the GIF.

Use cases

A first GIF from two photos

Add the pair, leave playback on forward, keep delay at 120 milliseconds and quality at 10, and generate. Adjust one control only after you have seen that download.

A clip that should bounce

Add the MP4, WebM, or QuickTime file, set playback to boomerang or ping-pong, and crop to 1:1 or 16:9 if the frame should change. Then generate.

A slower sequence people must read

Type a longer delay, up to the 5000 millisecond end of the number field, leave loop on, and generate again from the same frames.

Problems we solve

The generate button stays disabled

Fewer than two frames are in the studio. Add another still, or use a clip that can yield a second frame, and the control wakes up.

The motion feels wrong

Change one thing. Playback, or the delay that starts at 120 milliseconds, or the crop. Generate again from the original frames and compare.

Related guides

Related image tools

Pair the GIF Maker with crop, compress, enlarge, or format converters before or after you encode.

Trust & technology

The walkthrough stays in the browser

Frames, playback, crop, delay, quality, and the encode all run locally. Your stills or clip remain available after the GIF downloads.

Defaults are a safe first generate

Delay 120 milliseconds, quality 10, loop on, and an 8 MB target. Generate once at those settings before you start tuning.

Frequently asked questions

GIF Maker