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In order to begin creating an animation in Photoshop CS3, create a new blank image the size you would like your animation to be, and then open the animation panel. The animation panel can be accessed by selecting "Window" from the top menu bar, and then selecting "Animation." The animation panel will appear at the bottom of your Photoshop CS3 workspace and will display a single thumbnail, or frame, of the animation.
Make sure that the layers pallet is also visible on your workspace. In a blank image file a single layer will appear. Next to each layer in the layer pallet in Photoshop CS3 you will see an icon shaped like an eye. Clicking this icon will make the layer either visible or invisible. Layers are essential to creating animations in Photoshop CS3, so it's a good idea to become familiar with how they operate. Take some time to add new layers by clicking on the "Create New Layers" icon located at the bottom of the layers pallet. Practicing with text can help you become more familiar with the way layers work. - Creating an animation in Photoshop CS3 is a matter of manipulating multiple layers to become either visible or invisible and creating new animation frames to signify these changes in layer visibility. As you change the visibility of the layers in your image, add new frames to the animation by clicking on the menu located at the upper right hand corner of the animation panel. Select the "New Frame" option to add frames to your animation. Once you have added multiple animation frames, click through them individually and adjust the visibility of the layers on each frame to reflect the way you would like your animation to appear.
- Once each frame of the animation has been established, tweak the time delay for each frame by using the pull-down arrow located at the bottom of each of the frames of the animation. To test the time delay of your animation, click on the play arrow located in the animation panel. Another tweak to perform on your animation is tweening. Tweening in animation is a control which lets the program automatically insert frames that transition primary frames of the animation. To add tweens between frames of your animation, click on the icon depicted as tiny circles next to the forward arrow in the animation panel. A tweening options box will appear to let you determine which frame you want the tween to occur with, which layers you want to be affected and how many frames you want the tween to include. Playing with the tweening options will give various results to the end animation.
- Practice the basic tools to create animations in Photoshop CS3 with text or shape layers in order to gain more familiarity with the animation process. By using text and shape layers, and adjusting time delays and tween options, animations will become easier with each new project.
