Everyone, young and old, should make an original Valentine’s Day GIF for our latest extra credit challenge: My GIFy Valentine. But making a GIF for the first time can be daunting. Kurt Andersen decided to make a GIF that’s a play on a family joke — which of his daughters is the favorite— so he asked Giphy’s Tyler Menzel to stop by for a quick GIF primer. (And if you want to see that Lady Gaga GIF Kurt mentions, we put it herejust for you.)
Kurt’s Valentine GIF:
How to Make a GIF:
Step 1: Pick your media
This can be an existing photo or video or something new for the occasion.
Step 2: Download a GIF-friendly app
Kurt and Tyler used the Giphy Cam app, but we’ve listed a bunch of other good options here.
Step 3: Get creative
Add filters, animation and text to customize your GIF. You might have to run your image through the app a few times to get all of these in the same GIF.
Step 4: Save your creation
Once you’ve found the perfect combination of elements, you just need to save your GIF — it’s that simple. The animation will be saved as a .gif file, so you can copy, paste, and text your GIF to your valentine.
Step 5:Send us your GIF here
The story you just read is available to read for free because thousands of listeners and readers like you generously support our nonprofit newsroom. Every day, the reporters and producers at The World are hard at work bringing you human-centered news from across the globe. But we can’t do it without you: We need your support to ensure we can continue this work for another year.
When you make a gift of $10 or more a month, we’ll invite you to a virtual behind-the-scenes tour of our newsroom to thank you for being with The World.