Combining multiple GIFS onto one file

[danmanr98]

Hey, Daniel here.
Anyone know any program that enables the user to combine multiple seperate complete GIFs onto one GIF file? Similary to a sprite-sheet format, but wil fully animated GIFs.
Hopefully that made sense :p

Thanks in advance.

[0xDB]

ImageMagick can do that:  http://www.imagemagick.org/Usage/anim_basics/

[danmanr98]

Please tell me i'm not the only one completely confused by this program xD

Is there perhaps a simpler option?
I found no tutorial on how to do this process utilizing ImageMagick (Im so bad at this )

[Kasumi]

You are not the only one confused by Image Magick, but command line tools are usually the easiest way to do things like this.

You can try gifsicle: https://www.lcdf.org/gifsicle/

If you know how to use a command line program, you want this:

Code: [Select]

gifsicle "000.gif" "001.gif" > output.gif
That will merge 000.gif and 001.gif into output.gif. You can add more filenames in between to do more animations.

Code: [Select]

gifsicle "test.gif" "mario.gif" "animation 3.gif" > output.gifThis will merge test.gif mario.gif and animation 3.gif together. Note that without a full filename (something like "C:\Users\Test\Desktop\Pictures\mario.gif") it looks for mario.gif in the same folder as gifsicle.

If you're not sure how to use a command line app, a quick way to set this up is with a .bat file (on Windows. If you're not on Windows, let me know.) Create a txt file on your computer in the same folder as gifsicle.exe. Paste the text in the code tags into it and save it. (Change or add filenames as needed.) Rename it to combine.bat. Double click it.

I'm having trouble finding the drag and drop programs I used to know that did this. I may be able to find them, but I don't have so much time right now. I can also probably make a better post about how to actually use a command line app.

[danmanr98]

Thankyou :p
I figured it out in the end, but then proceeded to notice how it's not very managable with animations of different frame counts.
Thanks anyways xD

[Kasumi]

Figured it out in what way? The gifs I tested with gifsicle were different frame counts and it worked fine. Can you be specific about what you're working with, and why you want to do this? We might be able to better help you.

I was assuming you had some number of already animated images that you wanted to combine to make a demonstration gif to upload. (For instance, combine an idle animation gif with a running gif.) If you have a different reason for this, post that and we may be able to better help.

[0xDB]

I found no tutorial on how to do this process utilizing ImageMagick (Im so bad at this )

Seriously? It is all described on the page I linked to.

@Kasumi: Different frame counts are no problem if the goal is to put several gifs into a new in-sequence gif (still a single animation in the end) but the goal (I presumed) was to put several gifs on the same canvas (also technically a single animation in the end but the original gifs are all visible simultaneously, next to each other, and not just be sequentially visible one at a time).

That being said, different frame counts still should not be a big problem. It should be possible to still create a sheet of gifs animating side-by-side, looping gifs which fit as n*fc (where n is an integral number and fc is a common denominator of the framecounts of the individual gifs) and pausing gifs for a while which don't align with the framecounts of the others in any way.

It will only be problematic if the gifs use different frame-delays... synchronizing those would be more tricky and available tools probably can't do it so it would require assembling the gifs manually in any Pixel Art tool.

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Well the most straightforward "solution" (will not create a new gif but is easy enough to have all gifs display at once and all individuallay looping and timing correctly) is to put the gifs into a simple .html document and opening that locally.

[Kasumi]

I read it as he wanted all the files in a single animated gif, because he said "one GIF file. Similary to a sprite-sheet format, but" rather than just "a single gif in spritesheet format."

That said the free version of Aseprite can easily turn a gifsicle combined gif into a sprite sheet, it's probably possible to do it with a single Image Magick script too, but I guess I need clarification on the goal before I write up another set of steps.

[0xDB]

I read it as the goal was not to get a sprite-sheet but an animation sheet: several animations, same sheet. ( to quote the OP: "Similary to a sprite-sheet format, but wil fully animated GIFs." )

sprite sheet:
frame 0, frame 1 ...
frame n-1, frame n

animation/animated sheet:
animation 0 animation 1 ...
animation n-1, animation n
(the problem to solve is different timings and frame counts in each animation for this to work out)

Both are different from a single animation composed of several animations played on after another in a sequence.