Add Animation to a Background Image

To do this tutorial you will also need Photoshop CS or CS2.  You may download a free trial at Adobe.

Remember to save as a .psd file often!

1.  You will need to open a background image and an already-animated image in Image Ready.  You can check my Tutorial index for some animated tuts. 

The animation needs to be smaller than the background image.  If it is not.  Take the background image and Image > Canvas Size and increase the canvas size.

2.  Click on the animation image to make it active.  Select > All Layers.

3.  See that all the layers are highlighted in the Layer Palette,  Now left-click and hold the left button down (on top of those layers)  and drag them on top of your background image.  In mine, I dragged them on top of the dog tube.

4.  If you are not happy with the placement of the animation and need to move it:  In the animation frames, hold the CTRL key down and click on EVERY frame to highlight all of them.  Then choose the mover tool and move the animation box that is on top of the tube to where you want it.

5.  In the animation box, click on the menu arrow and choose Make Frames From Layers.

6.  Now in the Layers Palette, click on the bottom most layer and choose Duplicate.  If there are any other layer BELOW the ANIMATION Layers, you must duplicate them too.

7. In the animation box, hold the CTRL key and click on each frame BEFORE the animation frames begin.  Then click on the menu arrow and choose DELETE Frames.

8.  Click on the time arrow underneath each frame (see circled -- by word sec)  and set time delay.  I set mine to 0.2

9.  File > Save Optimized As.  Save as a GIF.