Web banners in Photoshop

[MikeT]

Hi, thanks for looking,

I was hoping someone could give me some info on using Photoshop. I've worked out how to create static web banners, also animated ones. However I'd like to be able to create banners that fade in/out or have many frames - eg a ball bouncing.

I'm currently using Elements and there doesn't seem to be a way to do this, without manually creating lots of layers anyway. Would Photoshop CS have this functionality, or would I need some additional animation software anyway? Is there any other software apart from Photoshop that would suit me better?

Thanks

[iamthwee]

You need flash.

Such is the power of flash, you can fade the banner programatically - so you wouldn't even have to create a multitude of layers.

[roryt]

Like iamthwee said you need flash and even photoshop cs2 doesn't have a proper feature to do anything like this you have to create it as a gif. You could also try a program called swift which is supposed to be easier.

[MikeT]

Thanks for your replies. I was hoping not to have to use Flash. How far could I go in Photoshop if I went up to CS, would it be just fading text say? Any examples of what I'd be able to do in Photoshop would be much apprecated!

Thanks

[roryt]

I can't give you an example but basically all you can do is create a gif. So you would have to edit it frame by frame and there are NO features to do it any other way. Infact there are probably very few extra animation features if any in CS as against elements.

In elements see if you can click "windows>Animation...." This should bring up a pallet of a list of frames but obviously there will only be one there in the first place. There are plenty of tutorials online just search for "creating animated gif in Photoshop" in google.

hope this helps.

[MikeT]

Hi,

I've had a good look around the web already, couldn't find anything that helped me much. I was just hoping that upgrading from Elements to CS might do the trick but I guess not.

Keep hearing about Image-ready, do you think it's worth upgrading to CS to get that, it's a pretty simple process to do animated GIFS in Elements, Image-ready sounds more complicated but what advantages does it have?

Thanks

[MikeT]

There wasn't an animation palette in Elements by the way

[iamthwee]

Try googling javascript + slideshow.

[MaxMumford]

Image ready is pretty much photoshop, just with a few extra gajets. One of these is the animation pallete, which gives you the option to make the frames for the anim using the different layers in your picture. I personally would'nt spend too much upgrading to have image ready, when you could maybe get a flash or even image ready trial and use that for a few days. Using image ready would still mean creating the movement layer by layer though...

[roryt]

What about trying a flash trial and then an image ready trial and seeing which you prefer and then buying it. For most people elements is enough and if you buy flash the world is your oyster, as they say.

[iamthwee]

He must already have flash cos some of his work in the gallery uses it.

[side note]
My God he's got high hopes for his work, http://www.grafax.co.uk/buy/Buy_pics/Surface.htm
Yeah I know it's on canvas but even so those prices are pretty steep. :cheesy:
[/side note]

Love the music tho!

Oops, I got the wrong person ha ha.

[MikeT]

What about trying a flash trial and then an image ready trial and seeing which you prefer and then buying it. For most people elements is enough and if you buy flash the world is your oyster, as they say.

Sounds like the best idea, thanks

[roryt]

glad I could help, let us know how you get on.