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How to Make an Animated GIF in Your Browser

You don't need expensive software to animate. PaintLasso is a free, browser-based animation maker — draw frame by frame, line your motion up with onion skin, then export an animated GIF in a couple of clicks. No download, works on any device.

Two ways to animate, both free

PaintLasso has two studios that animate, depending on the look you're after:

• Animation Studio — hand-drawn, painterly frames with full brushes, layers, and GPU effects.
• Pixel Studio — crisp pixel-art animation on a true pixel grid, perfect for game sprites and retro loops.

Animate frame by frame

In the Animation Studio each layer becomes a frame, so building motion feels like flipping through a sketchbook. Add frames along the timeline, then draw the next pose. In Pixel Studio you add frames the same way and draw pixel by pixel.

1. Add a frame for each step of the motion — a bounce, a blink, a walk cycle.
2. Turn on onion skin to see the previous frame (tinted red) and the next frame (tinted blue) faintly behind your current one, so each pose lines up with the last.
3. Set your FPS — 8–12 frames per second is a sweet spot for snappy, readable motion.
4. Press play to preview the loop, and keep tweaking until it feels right.

Tips for smooth motion

• Fewer, stronger poses read better than many in-between frames — start with the key poses.
• Hold key frames a beat longer to give the eye time to land.
• Loop it cleanly by making your last frame lead naturally back into the first.

Export an animated GIF

When the loop looks good, export it to share anywhere:

• Animated GIF — one file, ready to post or drop into a chat.
• PNG sequence — every frame as a numbered PNG to assemble in a video editor.
• Sprite sheet (Pixel Studio) — all frames in one image, ready for a game engine.

Related: Make pixel art sprites online · Draw digital art in your browser · Best free drawing apps