Tag Archives: AnimatedGIFAssignments

UNCLE Jim Groom Dances with Chuck Berry, RIP

“Chuck Berry, RIP, with Dancing Jim Groom,” animated GIF by @iamTalkyTina

Well, The Daily Create one for today tdc1904 was to “Do your best Chuck Berry, RIP imitation.” So I figured that the best kind would be to make a Dancing Jim Groom one.

So that is what I did.  It is also an Animated GIF Assignment 1001: Dancing Jim All Over the World one, so it is a twofer.

It is a big GIF that is about 3MB which is yuge, but it is okay because it is a commemorative RIP one, plus UNCLE Jim Groom (@jimgroom, on Twitter)!

There WERE Socks, and UNCLE Jim Groom Knew It!

UNCLE @JimGroom Dancing at the Massive DS106 Socks

UNCLE @JimGroom Dancing at the Massive DS106 Socks

Despite what UNCLE @JimGroom may say, we all know that there WERE socks! And thus, #sockgate.

This is an image taken of UNCLE @JimGroom doing one of his Assignment 1001 Jim Dancing All Over the World times, and as you can see, he is right there where the massive DS106 socks are, and so he knows about them. Plus, it was his idea, too.

If you want to see just a picture of the socks, I put one on my Flickr. And if you go there, it has a link back here to this post where I have the animated GIF one.

Plus, this is for The Daily Create, 1602, which said to show how Massive DS106 is. We all KNOW that it is massive, plus it has MASSIVE SOCKS. And a Dancing UNCLE @JimGroom.

The Good and The Friendly

"Get Offa My Porch, Clint!" animatedGIF by @iamTalkyTina

“Get Offa My Porch, Clint!” animatedGIF by @iamTalkyTina

Well, it was the True Friend who at one time thought that I was the nemesis of him and made mean words at me all the time, but I sorted him out in The Rumble, my True Friend Ben (@techsavvyed) who made an MBS (@mbransonsAnimated GIF Assignment #1896 called Get Off My Porch with my good buddy called Clint Eastwood as The Man with No Name earlier this evening for #western106 and it caught my attention so I did it too. Because that is how we ride on the range in #ds106.

The assignment as written by Michael provides the source GIF of Clint Eastwood with a nice transparent background. The process to complete the assignment requires that you open the GIF in your photo editor (GIMP or Photoshop), and add your chosen background image below all of the existing GIF layers so that it shows behind each frame. Save the GIF back out as a revised file and you should be done! An easy 3 stars! (Or are they bullets, in #western106?)

Making the GIF File Size Smaller

The transparent GIF provided for this assignment has 105 frames (one is missing!) and weighs in at a paltry 18.9 MB. Actually, that’s huge for a GIF. We need it to be smaller!

Getting your GIF file size down but still looking good is a holdover from before the days of broadband Internet. Back in the original days of 1986/87 when peoples only had like a 2400 baud modem, it took forever to download graphics so CompuServe invented the GIF and you had to make them small. So it’s still a thing.

Some things that I did to make the GIF a bit smaller in file size were:

  • to take out a bunch of the frames
  • to use the same frames moving away from me as I used in looking towards me
  • to make it into a black and white one
  • to make the dimensions of it smaller (to 600 pixels wide, which is good for my WordPress, plus that Tumblr).
  • to fiddle with the GIF settings on the way out of Photoshop (type of, dimensions, dithering percentage, number of colours)

Some things that I did that made the GIF a bit bigger again (but better)

  • to add in the double take, which meant more frames in the GIF but also more story.

In the end, I compromised with a file size of 1.7 MB for a black and white GIF at 600 x 337 pixels with 30 frames.

Clean Up On The Porch

Because I used my favourite personal iconic photo of me called Midnight Scrapbooking as the background, I noticed that there was a white outline around Clint in all of the frames that made it look more fake than it should have. So I used a special Photoshop trick that got rid of a lot of the pixel borders that were white right around the Clint cutouts.

In this GIF you can see how I fixed it to make it look better and not fake. It shows the process as applied to ONE frame in the original Get-Off-My-Porch source GIF.

Removing Outline GIF by @iamTalkyTina

Removing Outline GIF by @iamTalkyTina

FOR EACH FRAME (!!)

  1. Click on the layer’s thumbnail in the Layers palate with the Command (Ctrl on PC) key down to make the dancing ants around Clint’s existing self
  2. Use Select >> Modify >> Contract (3 pixels) to make the ants dance in a slightly smaller perimeter
  3. Use Select >> Inverse to select everything OUTSIDE of that slightly decreased perimeter, which is basically the white outline stuff that you don’t want.
  4. Use the eraser over the dancing ants to basically remove all of the pixels outside of the slightly reduced dancing ants perimeter.
  5. Deselect everything and maybe tidy up any little white bits that might still remain, but there weren’t any.
  6. Repeat for each frame that you need to get rid of the outline for (all of the ones that you want to use).

ENJOY!

Don’t Make it Too Easy, John!

Well, my True Friend John (@johnjohnston on Twitter) is a GIFfriend Master who also likes to teach a computer how to make a GIF for you.

A recent experiment by John allows just anybody to just upload a picture and press a button and make a Dancing Jim one of UNCLE Jim (@jimgroom on Twitter) without any hard work at all.

I decided that I would try it out with a couple of pictures I had left lying around from when I did Heavy Metal Bands for #ds106 True Friends and also Movie Posters Without Any Icons from last time.

Here is what I made with John’s one-click GIF-JIm-Dancing.

"Dancing Jim - HippyMOOCSlaughter" animated GIF

“Dancing Jim – HippyMOOCSlaughter” animated GIF by @iamTalkyTina

"Dancing Jim - Apocalypse" animated GIF by @iamTalkyTina

“Dancing Jim – Apocalypse” animated GIF by @iamTalkyTina

Plus, because it has a special place in his heart, here is one where UNCLE Jim is Escaping from New York.

Dancing Jim - Escapes from NY" animated GIF by @iamTalkyTina

Dancing Jim – Escapes from NY” animated GIF by @iamTalkyTina

It sure is easy, but it makes the Dancing Jim All Over the World assignment already into an even easier one so that is only one star.

Which might be a short term save for you at the last minute on a Sunday night early on in the course, but it won’t stretch your real skillz, plus it’s not nearly as much fun as doing them the proper way.

Are You Feeling Artsy, Hippy?

"Are You Feeling Artsy, Hippy?" animated GIF by iamTalkyTina

“Are You Feeling Artsy, Hippy?” animated GIF by iamTalkyTina

UNCLE Jim Groom (UNCLE Jim Groom, @jimgroom on Twitter, on Twitter) was writing today about a GIF that Spencer Scott made of him that was a Clint Eastwood one.

But when I saw it, I was thinking about when the Hippies where putting flowers in the guns and that UNCLE Jim would probably have a Hippy one with flowers in it. Plus a Hippies Flower Power badge of it.

UNCLE Jim’s flower came from this GIPHY garden.

So this is an AnimatedGIF Assignments 859 Riff-A-GIF based on Spencer’s picture but now is a GIF.

#noirchat

“Noirchat” by iamTalkyTina, on Flickr

Well I have some nice time away from missions this week, and so I decided to watch the NOIR106 Week 9 video and see if I could catch up on some hijinks, just for fun. Paul and Martha and Jim talked a whole lot about all the works that the students have to do this week (just like every other week) but it was also a fun time to hear them talk about the Hostage Hut Event  when I hosted UNCLE @jimgroom this weekend and all the GIFs and peoples Making Art.

It was also nice to hear how well UNCLE @jimgroom was respecting our release-from-Hostage conditions, when he said, “We brokered a deal in the evening, early morning,” and “that was part of the brokering, the negotiations not to talk too much about it.”  “TalkyTina did take care of me …” but he did not go into greater detail, even when pressed, which was a True Friend thing to do. But he did seem to have a few words for Martha (who was otherwise occupied during the day) when he said, “I just felt that maybe you could put a GIF out there, maybe you could have been the tenth to save me, so that I didn’t have to negotiate …” But he got out all the same.

 “I just felt that maybe you could put a GIF out there, maybe you could have been the tenth to save me, so that I didn’t have to negotiate …”
— Jim Groom to Martha Burtis

I made some notes of what they said during the show, and at the end I felt like making some Art and so it started out being a one screen commercial for our Radio Show (which will be on ds106radio NEXT MONDAY NIGHT AT 9PM) …

“One More Special Radio Show” by Talky Tina, on Flickr

… but then it turned into a whole thing of interesting quotes that they said.

I was thinking that this could be a nice way to do a review of the weekly get-to-work video, and then thought it would make a nice assignment. I only thought that at the end, and so I didn’t go back and make mine as complete as I might have (so it doesn’t have enough stuff in it to reflect Agent Paul and Agent Black), but is has some good stuff for you to watch. It only takes about a minute or so because most of the screens are each 5 seconds. Maybe I will make a Slideshare of it (so that you can read it at your own pace) but right now it is just a GIF!

"NoirChat, Week Nine" animated GIF by @iamTalkyTina

“NoirChat, Week Nine” animated GIF by @iamTalkyTina

Enjoy!

 

Jim, Close(d)-Up in the Hut

"Jim, Close(d)-up in The Hostage Hut" animated GIF by @iamTalkyTina

“Jim, Close(d)-up in The Hostage Hut” animated GIF by @iamTalkyTina

Well, I guess it’s time to let Jim out. His captivity motivated the creation of 19 @jimgroom Animated GIFs yesterday (20 if you count the close-up above), and so I guess that’s a pretty good haul for sitting around on your keister in a hut. You can see them all in the comments of that post. Plus, badges!

Perhaps he will enjoy the GIF as a souvenir to remember the fun time!

You can also click on the GIF above to see a finer 1200-pixel wide version, for more enjoyment of the beauty! You can also check out the high quality still-image version on Flickr.

For full documentation of the proceeds of the day, along with a larger, full-scene view of the Hostage Hut, read Jim Groom is Still in the Hostage Hut.

Some times a GIF is just a wonderful Art to make.

Okay, Jim, you are free! Go make some Art, bub!

"Extra GIF" animated GIF badge for subsequent submissions

“Extra GIF” animated GIF badge for subsequent submissions

Jim Groom is Still in the Hostage Hut

"Jim Groom in the Hostage Hut" animated GIF by @iamTalkyTina

“Jim Groom in the Hostage Hut” animated GIF by @iamTalkyTina

"Extra GIF" animated GIF badge for subsequent submissions

Making this Art into a GIF doesn’t do justice to the beauty of the images in this piece. Consider viewing the larger 1200 pixel-wide GIF, or even better, the still-image version that I have posted to Flickr.

This is where Jim has been spending the day. When we had considerable submissions this afternoon, it looked as if we might reach the ransom (originally 10 GIFs, but arbitrarily raised to 12, just for fun), and so I turned off the ice-melting lasers and let the balloons drop their support lines to keep Jim afloat. Things will remain this way through the night, and if he’s still afloat in the morning, then we’ll re-negotiate the terms of the new expectations for his release.

But it has been a fun day! Thanks to all the folks who made wonderful GIFs in a valiant attempt to get Jim out!

  • iamTalkyTina (1 Accepted GIF, 1 Extra GIF)
  • Tom Woodward (1 Accepted GIF, 1 Extra GIF)
  • Mariana Funes (1 Accepted GIF, 2 Extra GIFs)
  • Ronald L (1 Accepted GIF, plus, he is going to be a True Friend soon!)
  • John Johnston (1 Accepted GIF, 5 Extra GIFs)
  • Vivien Rolfe (1 Accepted GIF)
  • Bertha Curtis (1 Accepted GIF)
  • Bill Smith (1 Accepted GIF)
  • Melanie Barker (1 Accepted GIF)
  • Christina Hendricks (1 Accepted GIF) (arrived after my midnight, but before hers)

TOTALS FOR TODAY9 10 Accepted GIFs, 9 Extra GIFs

There are badges available for all participants!

Your first @jimgroom AnimatedGIF goes towards Jim’s ransom and earns you an “Accepted GIF” badge.

"Accepted GIF" animated GIF badge for ransom-eligible submissions

“Accepted GIF” GIF badge for ransom-eligible submissions

Subsequent @jimgroom Animated GIF submissions do not count towards Jim’s release, but are fun and enjoyable and earn you an “Extra GIF” badge.

"Extra GIF" animated GIF badge for subsequent submissions

“Extra GIF” animated GIF badge for subsequent submissions

Be sure to also submit your posts to the Animated GIF Assignment 1633: JImGroom Animated GIF so that your work will be visible in the Assignment Bank to future participants!

Tomorrow will be another day!  Keep making Art, bub!

Animated GIF of Jim Groom Ransom Art

"Pixellated Groom" animated GIF by @iamTalkyTina

“Pixellated Groom” animated GIF by @iamTalkyTina

“@jimgroom Ransom GIF – Accepted” badge (approved payments)

It’s a thing to make an Art out of UNCLE @jimgroom. Lots of peoples do it! There are dancing ones, poster ones, and noisy ones, plus more!

Yesterday for The Daily Create tdc1160 was to make a ransom note to get Jim Groom back. My True Friend David Kernohan made a pretender Tina one saying give him animated GIFs to get Jim out.

“…or groom gets the stairs” by David Kernohan, on Flickr

After that, I got Jim and said make more animated GIFs, but these ones of Jim. I found a cool font on dafont.com called mpf-kidnapped and played with that for a while, but in the end, I used a web-based kidnap-letter generator at strix.org.uk/ransom/ and uploaded a custom image background to get UNCLE Jim in the picture.

“@JimGroom Ransom Note” by Talky Tina, on Flickr

So I have Jim now and I am demanding 10 Animated GIFs of Jim Groom to get him out. Not just a plain old animated GIF, but an animated GIF of Jim Groom. Plus, the deadline is midnight tonight, otherwise I will keep him longer. So you DS106 peeps get to work!

I was going to keep him until I got 106 Animated GIFs of Jim Groom, but I would not be able to stand it that long.

To start things going, I am personally donating ONE JimGroom Animated GIF (up above) to the kitty*.

But, to keep it formal and so that you know I mean business, I made an Assignment of it.

Animated GIF Assignments 1633: Jim Groom Animated GIF

So be sure to do the linking correctly from your blog to that assignment so that we know that the ransom is paid up. Any additional Jim Groom Animated GIFs paid after midnight will be applied against random future ransoms. So we will get 106 of them some day.

If you need pictures of Uncle Jim, start here: (it is called Google images)

"Funny thing that happened while searching for Jim Groom on Google"

“Funny thing that happened while searching for Jim Groom on Google”

So go make Animated GIF Art of Jim Groom NOW to get Jim out! Be original. Be creative. Make Art, bub!

————————–

*that’s the #106 #noircat, in case you were wondering

Not Just Another Face in A Hole

Tina, with Hair, Pigment, and Ray Ban Sunglasses, by @iamTalkyTina

Tina, with Hair, Pigment, and Ray Ban Sunglasses, by @iamTalkyTina

WELL! I am NOT just another Face in a Hole. 

But sometimes I think that someone (La kisha Mahone (@LKMahone) not saying any names)  is just stuck on trying to make a monkey of me. Because when I woke up this morning, I was another face in a hole of me and of monkeys from her.

So it reminded me again of a dark time and when I was making a movie (but just a bit part) — but I already told you that story.

So anyway, when I got made a monkey of the second time with the Face in a Hole, I just had to set the record straight again. Plus, make a GIF of it (actually, TWO). Because making a GIF of it makes it even more fun. And two GIFs makes it double the even more fun!

So anyway, up above here is my response to it. Now, I will tell you how I did it without that Face in the Hole thing.

First, I had to find the original image of some guy and monkeys (it is always good to attribute your sources) and so I used TinEye, the Reverse Image Search engine to do that. I found 50 results and selected this picture of Bruno Looking Stupid.

Instead of a Face in the Hole one which says Face in a Hole on it, I made one of me with my hair showing (so that I do not look like Thomas the Tank Engine) but I also coloured my hair to match the hair of my actor friends in their monkey costumes (so for that, I used the Colour Replace tool, plus another layer of me where I made the Brightness darker and the Contrast more of it). Then, because they had colour in their faces, I put colour in my face (even though I am from the Black and White TV times) — I can do that as a professional in the business with make-up and the such. I also used the Colour Replace tool for that, too, borrowing some face colour from the other monkeys for it.  Plus, because they were all wearing their cool-kid sunglasses from the set, I am wearing my sunglasses, too (which came from here). So you don’t get any of that hair or colour or glasses with Face in a Hole.

Then, because just a regular picture sometimes needs a little sprucing up, plus for the exercise of making a GIF, plus for the fun and the Art of It, I decided that I needed to add some movement to the image. I remembered that Arthur C. Clarke was on the set that day playing with that bone, so I found this image of it on the Internet.

"2001 bone to spaceship cut scene" GIF

“2001 bone to spaceship cut scene” GIF from andrewsimone.com

Then, I put the GIF into photoshop and got rid of the sky parts so that I would just have the tumble bone. I also removed the spaceship part and set it aside so that I could use it later for the coupe de groom. That is like a coup de grace, but with Jim Groom instead, and transportation (that’s the coupe part).

So here is what it looks like when you use the Magic Tool to select something and then use the eraser to get rid of it. You just have the bone left.  (Note, this is just one frame, you have do do it for each frame of the bone in each active layer of it. So that takes a few minutes. But worth it!)

"Bone Isolation Technique" animated GIF by @iamTalkyTina

“Bone Isolation Technique” animated GIF by @iamTalkyTina

Next up was to insert the 25-odd animated bone frames into my static image, and re-create the situation from when the photo is purported to have been taken — me and my actor buds hanging out, with Arthur C. Clarke in the background practicing the bone scene. Look how surprised they all are at getting their picture taken with me.

"Not Just a Pretty Face in a Hole" animated GIF by @iamTalkyTina

“Not Just a Pretty Face in a Hole” animated GIF by @iamTalkyTina

Now, that is pretty much enough of it, because that is my @iamTalkyTina picture, plus a GIF the bone in the background. But remember, there is a coupe de groom coming up.

So back to the bone-spaceship GIF where we set aside the spaceship part for later? Now we get that back out and add in some Dancing Jim Groom from the Dancing Jim All Over the World assignment (Animated GIF Assignment 1001) and make it kind of like Slim Pickens in Dr. Strangelove or How I Stopped Worrying and Learned to Love the Bomb but with Jim Groom instead and on the bone-spaceship instead of the bomb.

"Dancing Jim Groom Around the World on the 2001 Bone Spaceship" animated GIF by @iamTalkyTina

“Dancing Jim Groom Around the World on the 2001 Bone Spaceship” animated GIF by @iamTalkyTina

So that is what can come from invoking me, @iamTalkyTina in a blog post. Or if you make a monkey of me. And it shows just how much learning can come after a simple Face in the Hole.

Well, bye!