Shape_to_Symbol_Gif_

Reflection_:



         I think that the most frustrating part of creating a gif with photoshop is working with each individual frame/layer. This is most frustrating to me because some slight movements will throw one frame out of order, and when there are 50 different frames to work with it is extremely difficult to find the incorrect frame and even more difficult to place it back in line. Even my gif above is not perfect; I am sure that there are some frames that aren't in order, but, hey, once you stare at a screen for 50 minutes straight, you just gotta give up at some point.
         Having finished this project, I think that I am most confident in using the magic wand tool. At first, this tool frustrated me because I could not get it to select a certain gradient of a very faint color. However, after playing around with it and pestering my Graphic Design Teacher for a while, I was able find out how this particular tool functions. It turns out it was pretty simple, since all I needed to do was adjust the tolerance value. Now I feel kinda stupid.
         I really wish I was better with the timeline. It turns out that messing with layer visibility will mess you up as well. On some level, it will mess you up emotionally. The frame will only capture the topmost visible layer, but I didn't know that. I ended up making many frames repeat or skip a layer, which resulted in some choppy animation. I really wish that I knew how the timeline worked so my animation could probably have been a lot smoother, but hey, I'm no Time Lord.
        Now that I have been opened up to the wonders and potential of Photoshop, I think that I'd like to make some more simple frame by frame animations.