How to Create .gif Animations

Develop and sequence your images. This is simply making the images for the animation so that they can create the illusion of motion (think flip-book). Save them in .gif format, or some other bitmap format as long as it's consistent.

Move your images, sequentially, into the tool of your choice.

Compile the images into a single file that animates the lot. This should result in a .gif animation that you can use. If not, reevaluate the tool.

Learn a programming language, such as javascript, that allows you to manipulate .gifs.

Set the image names equal to a numerical value in order of when they should appear.

Create a loop that increments the image by one for every period. Periods can be as long as you like. Traditional American animation happens at a frame rate of 1/23 seconds. Anime uses 1/19 seconds per frame.