Managing the background layer
There's one thing you need to know when getting started: how to manage the background layer. If you create an image with a background color, Adobe Photoshop will create a default background layer. You will need to turn this layer into an ordinary layer.

Photoshop's help system will tell you a dozen different ways to do this. The easiest: right click on the background layer in the Layers palette and select Layer from Background. Photoshop will use "Layer 0" as the default name. Feel free to change it or any of the other defaults to better suit your project.

Each layer will become a new object to manipulate within your animation. With that in mind, if you are dealing with lots of layers the naming feature becomes invaluable.

Go ahead and add another layer just like you would in a traditional Photoshop image.

Learning about the animation palette
Now that you have two layers, let's take a closer look at the animation palette. Each layer will appear on the animation palette as its own line, as shown in Figure B.

FIGURE B


The animation palette looks much more interesting once a layer has been created. Roll over picture for a larger image.

Along the top of the animation palette is the time and the project timeline. You can click and drag the ends of the timeline to increase or decrease the length of the project. The same is true of each layer. You can set when each layer appears and for how long.

Remember: you might have overlapping layers in the Layers palette. The Layers palette shows you the layers in space while the animation palette shows those layers in time.

Remember how I said Photoshop offers lots of options? Well here's a great option to make a basic animation like this really easy. Select the Convert to frame animation button at the bottom right of the animation palette as seen in Figure C.

FIGURE C


The Convert to frame animation button is in the lower right corner of the animation palette. Roll over picture for a larger image.

In Figure D you can see how the animation palette has changed. Each frame in this window represents a change in the total image. What you see in the frame is what you will see for that time in the final animation.

FIGURE D


Each frame can be manipulated independently of all the other frames. Roll over picture for a larger image.

Instead of dragging the timeline, you can select the time of each frame on its fly-out menu as seen in Figure E.

FIGURE E


The time delay menu allows you to pick one of the popular delays in seconds. You can also select Other to be your own Time Lord. Roll over picture for a larger image.

Photoshop refers to this as the time delay. You can select one of the listing time lengths or choose Other and type in your own.

The banner I'm making for this example will advertising three of the Muckrakers albums. I want to show two pictures of the band, so I've decided to have six frames in the sequence.

Select the duplicate frame button on the Animation Window to do this. As you can see in Figure F, the duplicate frame button looks like the Create New Layer button in the layer palette.

FIGURE F


The Duplicates selected frames button is located at the bottom of the animation palette near the middle. Roll over picture for a larger image.