Animation tutorial: Turn images into animated GIFs and videos using this brilliant free tool

As seen at the Grammys, the free Plotagraph app lets you add eye-catching animation to photos and artwork. Here's how.

By Tigz Rice | on March 07, 2018

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Adding animation to artwork and photos is a guaranteed way to make them pop on apps and sites from Instagram to billboards. Plotagraph lets you create them as animated GIFs or web-ready videos from static images and photos – so there's no need to film video or produce complex animations – using simple tools that don't require any background in animation or VFX to achieve.

Here photographer Tigz Rice shows you how she created this animation of a photo she shot for the Oxford Conference of Corsetry, though you can use any photo or artwork. Images that work best for this effect have defined areas of texture – especially those that shimmer to sparkle.

Plotagraph is available as a free app for Mac and Windows and iOS – with in-app purchases add more fine-tuning controls. Here Tigz starts by showing what you can do with the free version before moving onto the paid version.