GIF 101

Everyone, young and old, should make an original Valentine’s Day GIF for our latest extra credit challenge: My GIFy Valentine. But making a GIF for the first time can be daunting. Kurt Andersen decided to make a GIF that’s a play on a family joke — which of his daughters is the favorite— so he asked Giphy’s Tyler Menzel to stop by for a quick GIF primer. (And if you want to see that Lady Gaga GIF Kurt mentions, we put it herejust for you.)

Kurt’s Valentine GIF:

How to Make a GIF:

Step 1: Pick your media
This can be an existing photo or video or something new for the occasion.

Step 2: Download a GIF-friendly app
Kurt and Tyler used the Giphy Cam app, but we’ve listed a bunch of other good options here.

Step 3: Get creative
Add filters, animation and text to customize your GIF. You might have to run your image through the app a few times to get all of these in the same GIF.

Step 4: Save your creation
Once you’ve found the perfect combination of elements, you just need to save your GIF — it’s that simple. The animation will be saved as a .gif file, so you can copy, paste, and text your GIF to your valentine.

Step 5:Send us your GIF here