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Quick Start Guide

ThioJoe edited this page May 21, 2024 · 2 revisions

Prerequisites:

  • Get the animator from this project's Releases Page

    • Look in 'Assets' section for the latest release version and click to download GmicAnimator.exe
  • Download / Install FFMPEG

    • You can download FFMPEG directly from this releases page -- Just get the one ending with -essentials_build.zip
    • Extract it and open the bin folder, then copy the exe files (ffmpeg.exe, ffprobe.exe, and ffplay.exe) into the same folder as GmicAnimator.exe
    • ffmpeg.exe is required for combining the individual frames into the animated GIF. ffprobe.exe is just needed if you want to add the 'crossfade' effect from the GIF Tools window
  • Download G'MIC CLI and GUI.

    1. Go to the G'MIC download page here
    2. Scroll down to G'MIC for Windows - Other interfaces
    3. Download the Zip Archive for the Command-line interface (CLI) version
    4. Also download the G'MIC-Qt stand-alone interface right above the CLI link
    5. Extract the G'MIC zip folders. The GUI and CLI version can go in separate folders
    6. Place GmicAnimator.exe into the folder with the CLI version (not the GUI version).

G'MIC Download Screenshot:

Download Screenshots

Steps:

1. Open the G'MIC Standalone GUI (gmic_qt.exe)

image

2. Look through the filters on the left and pick one to try first (I recommend "Continuous Droste")

3. Get the image effect looking how you want at the start of the animation, then click the 'Copy to Clipboard` button at the top

image

4. Paste the copied string into notepad or something.

  • It will contain the actual GMIC command for the filter, as well as all the parameter settings you selected in the GUI, in a comma-separate format
  • Different filters will have a different number of parameters
image

5. Use the GUI again, this time getting the image how you want to look at the ending point of the animation

  • The animator will automatically interpolate all the values in between the starting and ending parameter settings
  • Again copy the command from the GUI.

6. Select the appropriate filter in the list (If applicable)

  • You can skip this step if you're using the Continuous Droste effect, because that is selected by default
  • You can search for a filter by either typing in the 'friendly name' or its command.
  • Double click to activate a filter
  • You can also search by simply pasting in the whole string copied from the GUI for a filter (like the one from steps 4 or 5 that has the command and all the parameters), and it will automatically find it based on that
image

7. Select an image to use, then paste the starting and ending parameter strings from the GUI into the two boxes at the top

  • You'll notice it automatically chops off the command part of the string which is not needed here
image

8. Select the 'master parameter' (If applicable)

  • You don't need to worry about this unless you get more advanced, but just make sure you set it to a parameter that changes between the start and end settings
  • It really only matters for certain configurations or modes. In the default linear mode, all the parameters will still interpolate from their start to end values in the box, not just the master parameter
  • The master parameter is just the one that the program will use behind the scenes to determine when it's done

8. Optional: Adjust some basic settings

  • You can choose the number of frames to generate. If you have 'Create GIF' enabled, it will create the animation at 25fps. But you can use the 'GIF Tools' window to create different framerates later.
  • I recommend you have FFMPEG set up to be able to automatically have it create the GIF
  • If you have issues with crashing or the files not being created, try running in 'Single Thread Mode'. For some reason GMIC doesn't work well in the default multithreaded mode on my computer, but it seems this is rare. Still the option is there.

9. Click 'Start'

  • The images will be created in a root directory called 'Output', and then within that another folder based on the name of the image.
  • If you have 'Create GIF' enabled, after it's done look for a GIF file whose name starts with animated_. Like animated_whatever.gif.