The Book of GIMP

18.2 Tools for Building Multilayer Animations

In this section, we cover tools for building animations that will be stored as a single image, with each layer acting as a frame. Some of these tools were used in Chapter 6, where we demonstrated simple animation techniques.

Animating by Hand

Suppose you want to move an object on a fixed background, as cartoon animators did 50 years ago. For example, how might you animate an old biplane landing in a field? You might try the method shown in 6.1 Tutorial: Animated Text, placing the plane in its successive positions in separate layers. But you have a problem: Each plane you position is added to the image instead of replacing the previous one, so the final animation is full of planes. And if you choose the ...