How to Create Free Emoticons
Chatting online is convenient but somewhat hard at the same time. Unless you can see you friend through a webcam, you won't really know how they are feeling when they tell you something. Emoticons are used to solve these problems. A single emoticon can express feelings that might take several words to describe. Learning how to create free emoticons has another advantage. It allows you to express your own personality as well as impress your friends.
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Instructions
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Click "File," then "New" on the Photoshop CS5 menu. A dialog box will be displayed. Set the resolution to 50 by 50 pixels.
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Press F7 to display the Layers panel. You can create new layers by clicking the "Create New Layer" icon. Think of each layer as the status of your emoticon over time. This means you need to draw on each layer, keeping in mind how the emoticon will look each second.
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On the menu, click on "Window" then "Animation." Photoshop will display the Animation panel containing one frame. Create one frame for each layer you made. Do this by clicking the "Duplicate Frame" icon on the Animation Panel. Select one frame, and set the Layers panel to make visible only the image you will use. Select another frame and do the same. Do this for all the succeeding frames.
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There is an indicator under each frame that tells how many seconds the frame will be displayed. Adjust these settings to achieve the desired animation speed.
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Select all the frames. Then, on the File menu, click "Save for Web & Devices." Choose GIF.
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In MSN Live Messenger, click on the "Featured Emoticons" icon. Then click on "Select All." Then click the "Create" button. Click "Find Image." Choose the animated GIF you created. Then type the word that the emoticon will represent. As an example, type the word "Wow."
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Tips & Warnings
You can use Photoshop CS3 or CS4 and the steps involved should be basically the same.
References
- MSN Help: MSN Messenger FAQ
- "The Adobe Photoshop CS5 Book for Digital Photographers (Voices That Matter)"; Scott Kelby; 2010
- Adobe Support: Creating Frame Animations
