couldb5150 wrote:
Please....... those of ya trying to do GIF's ....let me know what ya think of them (time consumption, extra labor etc involved) as opposed to a standard still image entry ....I'm quite curious to see what the general opinion is!!!!!.......Thanks in advance!!
~5150
I'm sure you know it depends on what you're trying to accomplish. Some things are straightforward and simple, like this one:
http://photoshopcontest.com/view-entry/129142/bad-hiding-place-gif.html--fairly easy and fun to assemble. It didn't require any fancy timing, nor did the underlying images require a lot of manipulation. Fritzing with the perspective on the "doors" was the hardest part. Came out okay, I think.
My Michelangelo thing was a lot more time consuming--especially when I made an obvious error midway through (Granulated picked up on it). It was fun until I went to fix it. I ended up with too many frames with too many changes, which meant it ended up somewhat choppy:
http://photoshopcontest.com/view-entry/129582/david--gif.html
A couple of my GIF's involved swinging objects. Working out the geometry on those can be challenging and a time-sucker, but those are fun, too.
One I spent an unGodly amount of time on--shot my own images, screwed around with a movement-through-tunnel effect for more than eight hours, massaged eight backgrounds out of the source image, and lost most of my hair. The result was not all that good.
I have one in an upcoming contest that involves moving shadows on a cylindrical surface. I know I didn't get it right. I don't think I
could get it right in less than thirty-two frames, but the size limit here ruled that out. I ended up with sixteen frames and a choppy result.
I guess I would say that at my skill level, GIF's are no different than static images. Some in both categories are a breeze to complete; others suck time and energy. I find that with GIF's and static pieces, I often put several hours work into an image and give it the heave-ho, either because the result clearly will be a pile of crap, or because the effort required to achieve the desired result is more than I'm willing to expend.