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Creating your work
Open JIT5 and select 'animate'.
Begin by selecting a template or inserting your own picture as a background. By selecting 'picture' you are given the choice of adding an image from MyFiles, searching google for an image or taking a photo.
Once the selected picture is clicked, it will be added to the background.
Choosing a character
The easiest way to animate is to use a character image (as opposed to drawing your own character) JiT animate comes with a number of preloaded picture libraries, containing 100's of characters for you to use in your animations. The characters can be found to the left of the animation frame:
JiT animate will load with a character ready to use. To access other picture libraries click on the library name (under the character). Here you can access the preloaded libraries, pictures in MyFiles, shared files and web search:
Simply find an image you would like to use as a character and click it to select. Use the resize buttons to adjust the size if necessary.
Animation - the basics
The JiT animate tool has numerous buttons:
Background: The background is the picture behind the characters. The background does not move
Character : The character can be an image or hand drawn, and can move within the frame
Frames: Animation involves creating multiple pictures, called "frames" with slight differences
FPS : When the animation is played, the frames are played rapidly in succession, to create the illusion of movement, at a rate of "frames per second" (FPS). The more FPS, the quicker the animation will play. The FPS can be adjusted using the FPS scroller at the bottom of the animation screen
Onion skinning :To make the best animation the characters must be moved only slightly beyond the last frame. JiT animate uses an animation technique called "onion skinning". This shows the user where the character was placed in the previous 2 frames, and serves as a good reference when choosing where to place your character in the next frame:
Creating your animation
To create your animation select a background and character/s. Add you character to the first frame by hovering over the location you would like your character to start in, and click. This will stamp your character onto the background. Next, add a new frame by clicking the green "add frame" button:
The animation will move automatically to the next frame. Now you will be able to see the "onion skinning", showing where the character was placed in the previous frame. Place the character in a slightly different position and click to add to the page. Add another frame, and repeat this process multiple times. You can review your animation by pressing the play button. If you make a mistake, simply press the red "x" button to delete the frame.
Pro tip - The smaller the movement between frames, the better your animation will look!
Saving your animation
Your animation can be saved in two ways:
1. Save as a working file. By clicking on the save button, the file will save as a JiT animate file. This means the file can be edited at a later date. Great for ongoing, multiple lesson projects! Simply click the save icon (top left) :
2. Export as GIF. This will stitch the animation frames together to create a finished animation. Simply click the "export as GIF" button (top right) Please note : if you have added audio to your animation, saving as a GIF will save with this audio attached:
Both saving formats will save a copy into your MyFiles
Animation examples
Examples of JiT animation can be found here: