How to Rotate Hoops Around a Person in Animation

Use the animation and painting tools of image manipulation programs like GIMP, Paint.NET or Photoshop to create an animation of a rotating hoop around a person. This project relies on the layering functions of your program. Layers can hold images that form part of a larger, composite image, or a timed sequence of images, which is what animation is. To make your animation more realistic, take a look at footage of a person exercising with an actual hoop. Also, for smoother animations, make more frames.

Instructions

GIMP

1. Click the "File" menu's "Open" command, then navigate to and double-click a photo of a person around whom you want to animate hoops.

2. Right-click the highlighted layer in the "Layers" panel, which holds the loaded photo. Click "Duplicate" to duplicate the layer, then make at least 10 more duplicates.

3. Click the tool palette icon shaped like a paintbrush to enter painting mode, then drag on the canvas to draw a hoop around the person.

4. Click the layer in the "Layers" panel that's one below the highlighted layer to select the next layer down.

5. Use Step 3's instructions to draw another hoop around the person. Make this hoop slightly different from the first.

6. Draw hoops around the person in the remaining layers, then click the "File" menu's "Save as" command. Type a filename ending in ".gif" to specify a GIF format, which can hold animations. Click the "Animate" option, then click "Export" to save the file to disk.

7. Open your Web browser and click its "File" menu's "Open" command. Navigate to and double-click the GIF file you just saved to play the animation of the loops around the person.

Paint.NET

1. Click the "Open" command of the "File" menu and navigate to a photo of a person. Double-click the photo to load it.

2. Click the "Layers" menu and click the "Duplicate" item. Repeat this step at least 10 times to make enough frames for the animation.

3. Click the paintbrush icon from the tool palette, then drag on the canvas to draw a hoop around the person. Click the item in the "Layers" window that's one below the highlighted layer, then draw another hoop.

4. Repeat the foregoing step for the remaining layers in the "Layers" panel, then click the tool palette icon shaped like a dashed rectangle to run the "Selection" tool. Drag around the image to select it, then click the "Edit" menu's "Paste as new image" command.

5. Click the "File" menu's "Save" command, then type a filename and click "Save."

6. Use the instructions from Steps 4 and 5 to save the remaining layers as individual files, then open a GIF animation service -- such as GIF Ninja, Make a GIF or Picasion -- in your browser.

7. Follow the site's prompts to create an animated GIF from the images you made.

Photoshop

1. Press "Ctrl" and "O" simultaneously, then navigate to and double-click a photo of a person.

2. Click the "Layer" menu's "Duplicate" command. Repeat this instruction at least 10 more times.

3. Click the paintbrush icon from the tool palette, then drag on the canvas to draw a hoop around the person.

4. Click the "Layers" item below the highlighted item to select the next layer for editing, then draw another hoop slightly different from the previous one. Repeat this step to add hoops to the remaining layers.

5. Click the button in the upper right corner of the Animation panel to display a list of animation commands. Click the "Make frames" command, then click the panel's ">" button to play the hoop animation.

References

• GIMP User Manual; GIMP Documentation Team; 2009
• Washington State School of Engineering: Paint.NET Layers menu
• Photoshop CS5 Bible; Lisa Dayley; 2010

Resources

• Picasion: Make an Animated GIF
• Make a GIF: Make an Animated GIF
• GIF Ninja: Make an Animated GIF