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Pixx Suite

Animate · GIF & loop animator · Intermediate

Pixxifo — Intermediate

More from the Pixxifo Editor: canvas fitting, timing and holds, direction and loop counts, seamless crossfades, transparency and picking GIF, APNG or WebP.

Open Pixxifo

#What you'll learn

  • Bring frames from several sources into the Editor and fit them to one canvas.
  • Time an animation precisely: per-frame delays, holds on the last frame, speed changes.
  • Set direction and loop count separately, and remove the jump at the loop point.
  • Pick the right format and keep files small without losing the look.

#Before you start

  • Read the Pixxifo beginner guide first: Sheet → GIF, the grid and a first download.
  • Have an animation to work with: a GIF, a set of PNG frames or a sprite sheet.

#How-tos

#How to import frames and fit them to the canvas

  1. Switch to Editor and click Import frames…, or drop GIFs, APNGs or images. Several files, GIFs and APNGs open in the Editor; a single still image that looks like a sheet asks whether to Slice it or Use as one frame.
  2. The first import sets the canvas size. Every frame shares that canvas, from 1 to 480 pixels per side.
  3. Open the Canvas settings to change the size and choose how frames fit: Contain, Cover, Stretch or 1:1 (crop / pad), plus an Anchor for where they sit. Click Apply size.

#How to edit the timing

  1. Select frames in the filmstrip (Shift-click for a range, Ctrl-click to add) and type a Delay (ms).
  2. In Timing, set a frame rate for every frame, or use 2× faster / 2× slower.
  3. Use Hold the last frame + to add a pause at the end without duplicating frames, so a loop "breathes" before it restarts.
  4. Keep every delay at 20 ms or more: browsers play shorter GIF delays slowly.

#How to set direction and loop count

  1. Under Direction & loop, choose Forward, Reverse (plays end → start, the frames are not changed) or Ping-pong (forward, then backward; the end frames are not doubled).
  2. Under Loop, choose Loop forever, Play once or Play N times.
  3. Direction is a play setting: your frames stay as they are, and the direction is only applied when you export.

#How to make a seamless loop

  1. Open the Loop tab and read the Seam meter: it measures the jump from the last frame back to the first.
  2. Turn on Seamless loop and choose how many frames to Crossfade last frames into the first.
  3. Play it to check, then compare the meter again. Use Recalculate after other edits.

#How to handle transparency

  1. In Optimize, keep Keep transparency on for sprites with a clear background.
  2. GIFs only have fully clear or fully solid pixels. Alpha cut decides which partly transparent pixels become solid.
  3. For soft glows in a GIF, pick a Matte colour that matches the page or game background: soft edges are blended onto it instead of being cut.
  4. Or keep the soft edges by exporting APNG or WebP instead.

#How to choose a format

FormatChoose it when
GIFIt must play everywhere (chats, forums, email). Up to 256 colours, hard transparency.
APNGYou need full colour and soft edges and it will be shown in a modern browser.
WebPYou want full colour, alpha and smaller files for modern browsers. Set WebP quality.
PNG frames (ZIP)Another tool or engine wants separate images; a timing file is included.
SheetA game or app wants one sprite sheet image.

#How to keep files small

  1. In Optimize, lower GIF colours and watch the Estimated size for every format.
  2. Tick GIF preview in the options bar to see the reduced colours and hard edges before you export.
  3. Lower the Size in Export (for example 1× instead of 4×), or delete repeated frames and use Hold the last frame + instead.

#Workflows

#From a sprite sheet to a polished loop

  1. In Sheet → GIF, fix the grid and pick frames, then click Edit frames.
  2. In the Editor, add a hold on the last frame, make the loop seamless and choose ping-pong if it suits.
  3. Export a GIF for sharing and a WebP for your website.

#Animation from another Pixx app

  1. In Pixxivi or Pixxani, Send to App → The animation (frames) to Pixxifo. Frames and sheets open straight in the Editor; a single image opens in the slicer.
  2. Finish timing and loop, then Send to App to Pixxula to pack it, or export.

#Fix a GIF in one step

Open Tools → Compress a GIF, Resize a GIF, Change GIF speed, GIF → sprite sheet or PNGs → GIF for single jobs without opening the Editor.

#Tips and shortcuts

  • Space play / pause, ← / → step, Ctrl+S export, Ctrl+D duplicate, Ctrl+A select all, Del delete, 0 fit.
  • Ctrl+Enter creates the file in Sheet → GIF.
  • Reverse reverses the selected frames (or all of them); unlike the Reverse direction, this changes the frames.
  • Recent keeps your last 12 results on this device for quick re-downloads.
  • Cloud saves the whole Editor project; Open from cloud… continues on another device.

#Troubleshooting

  • The GIF has a dark or white fringe. Set Matte to the background colour the GIF will sit on, or export APNG/WebP.
  • The loop still jumps. Crossfade more frames, or check that the first and last frames really belong together.
  • Ping-pong shows the end frame twice. It doesn't: ping-pong never doubles the ends. If you see a pause, check Hold the last frame +.
  • Frames are cropped after importing. Change the fit to Contain and click Apply size.
  • The estimate and the real size differ a little. Estimates encode a few frames and extrapolate; the export shows the exact size.