best way to shrink file size of a .gif?

[arcsbite]

I'm adding a moving image banner to a website, well 4 images to be exact.
it's just an image 211x163 pixels. it's black and white, and it blends into another image...then another...then back to the first image.

I saved it in imageready under 64 dithered and it's giving it to me at 412kb (which is beeter then the un-optimized 720kb I was getting)

is 412kb high?
is there anyway of making the file size smaller with minimum quality loss?

I tried it at 32 dithered and no dither but it ruins the image.

thanks.

[emorydunn]

I'd say that 412kb could be high or low. What are the rest of the image file sizes on your web page? if they are all about the same I'd say its not too bad, but if the rest are like 20kb... then 412 it huge. check how long it takes to load the image on dial-up, if it takes 5 minutes, then it needs to be smaller. but if it is a fast load, place it in the page and then see if the page takes too long to load. And if you are can't reduce the size and still want to image try loading the header last.

[HiRez]

412 KB is gigantic for a 211x163 image of any kind. You should be able to do far, far better than that. No way that image should be over about 50 KB max., whether using GIF, JPEG, or even losslessly-compressed PNG-24, and it should be much smaller than that. Something is screwy with you export there. One thing you might look at is to (in PS) go to Image Size... and check to make sure the resolution is at 72 dpi and not something higher, and resample it to 72 if it's not.

ps. "KB" = kiloBYTES, "kb" or "Kb" = kiloBITS. 400 kb = 50 KB. I think you meant KB but I'm not sure.

[PlaceofDis]

Originally Posted by HiRez

412 KB is gigantic for a 211x163 image of any kind. You should be able to do far, far better than that. No way that image should be over about 50 KB max., whether using GIF, JPEG, or even losslessly-compressed PNG-24, and it should be much smaller than that. Something is screwy with you export there. One thing you might look at is to (in PS) go to Image Size... and check to make sure the resolution is at 72 dpi and not something higher, and resample it to 72 if it's not.

ps. "KB" = kiloBYTES, "kb" or "Kb" = kiloBITS. 400 kb = 50 KB. I think you meant KB but I'm not sure.

well it depends on the animation too. the more frames and longer the animation the bigger the file size will be. if it was a static image yeah, its huge

[CanadaRAM]

Can you make part of the banner static and not animate the whole thing?
Can you substitute a solid background for patterns or gradients?
Can you reduce the number of tween frames in the transitions?

[~Kat~]

Can you make part of the banner static and not animate the whole thing?

You can easily place an animation on a static background.

An example.



Create your animation and crop/resize as desired.

Make a static image and duplicate the frames to the same number your animation has.

Click on the first frame of animation.

Select All Frames.

Copy Frames.

Go to your static image which should have many duplicate frames.

Click first frame.

Select All Frames.

Paste Frames. [This will paste the animation frames on the static ones]

Use your move tool to place the animation where you want it. The rest of the frames will fall in line.

Change the frame rate and voila!

Can you substitute a solid background for patterns or gradients?

If you mean after you've created the animation on a static image then yes but it would seem easier just to start over with the static image assuming I understand you correctly.

Can you reduce the number of tween frames in the transitions?

Yes, just be careful or else the animation won't look fluid.