Create simple animated smiley

Result

Narration transcript

If you want to learn how to make simple animations in RealWorld Paint, you have found the right tutorial.

Start by clicking on the Create tab. Change the size of the created image to 64x64 pixels. Use the small arrow on the "Create" button and select the "Create as animated image" option.

Switch to the Ellipse drawing tool (in the Polygon/Rectangle group), switch it to circle mode and draw a circle leaving 3 pixels empty on each side.

Go to layer the style configuration and use the Fill effect, pick 2 yellows, but slightly different colors. Then add the Bevel effect, decrease the Amount parameter, but increase Blur. Change the light direction a bit.

That's fine, but let's also add an outline. Make it 1 pixel wide.

Add new a layer, switch the tool from circle mode back to ellipse mode and draw an eye. Go to the styles menu and click on "Open style". If you do not have these styles available, download them from the Online page. Select the symmetry-x style. And look, we have 2 eyes.

Draw another smaller, white ellipse, be sure to use the Paint over mode. Apply by pressing Enter or via a mouse gesture. Let's modify the style a bit more. Add a small Bevel effect. There it is.

Rename the layers if you wish. It is a good habit.

Add another layer. Switch to the Curve tool in the Line group and set its width to 1 pixel. Draw half of the mouth. Add points to the curve by dragging the green handles. Use the symmetry layer style again. Play with the handles until you are happy with the result.

Switch to the Pencil tool, make sure it is a single pixel pencil. Select white color and switch to "Paint under" mode. Fill the interior of the mouth (the left half of it).

Now we have a simple smiley. Let's make it animated...

Click on the "Duplicate frame" button. Create a new layer in the new frame. Lower the opacity of the mouth. I am not deleting it right away, because I want a reference point. Draw a smaller mouth in the new layer. Use the symmetry style again. Then delete the old mouth. Fill in the new mouth with the white color in the same way as on the previous frame.

Now, let's change the eyes. Move the eyes down by one pixel with the Move tool. Then delete the white spot. Don't forget to switch to "Paint over" mode. Finally, draw a smaller white spot with the Ellipse tool.

Duplicate the last frame one more time and do the same as before. Change the eyes, redraw the mouth. Let's fast forward a bit.

Now, we will change the animation speed. Click the last frame and type 1000 and press Enter. The last frame will now be visible for 1 second. Do the same with the first frame. The animation now looks a bit less chaotic.

Duplicate the last frame again and add a new layer. Use the text tool to put a black "Z" character into this layer. Use layer style to add a white shadow and make the letter visible.

Duplicate the frame few more times. Delete the letter from these new frames. And use the text tool again to put a bigger letter onto each frame and move it to the right.

Adjust the frame timing.

And we have a sleeping smiley.

Now is time to make the animation more consistent. Select the frames with the sleeping smileys and drag and drop them with your mouse. Make sure you hold the CTRL key down to activate the duplication function. You can also use the clipboard.

Make sure to make the waking up smoother by duplicating and moving the intermediate frame.

When you are ready, simply save your animation. Either as RealWorld image with layers or as GIF animation to use on your website.

Thanks for watching.