Button-Making
Meh, this section is for all you prats that wanted to know how to make those animated buttons (or just regular ones). I mean, I had to learn how to do them myself, I don't see how I should let you guys get off learning the hard way... just kidding! I actually will let you all off easy and *teach* you how to make these things.
First off, you start with unmoving affie buttons. This means not animated. Of course, this is the basis of all the stuff coming after. The most important thing in making an affiliate or button or whatever is to have a program that allows you to make such things, like Microsoft Paint, or Adobe Photoshop, or whatever else is out there. It also should let you save files as type .jpg or type .gif. I use Microsoft Paint, it's relatively easy and basic, and it also gives you pixel sizes, which can come in handy. Microsoft Paint can be found on... um... Microsoft computers... (well, duh!) and I'm sure it comes with it.
So how to make a unmoving button? There are two ways, but first off, you need your thing to be the right size. You can resize the stuff on Microsoft Paint by clicking on the little blue squares at the corners and the middle of the sides of the big white expanse. The preferable size for affiliates is 88x31, though there is a smaller size, and they can actually be whatever size you want them. 88x31 just happens to be the most common. THIS MEANS 88 PIXELS ACROSS, AND 31 PIXELS IN HEIGHT!!! Don't make one that's 33x81.
Now that you have the right size, pick a background color. Black is rather common, but you can certainly do any color you want. Just click on one of the colors at the bottom, then click on the Paint Bucket, then click in the white space.. yeah, there you go!
After picking a background color, pick what you want on the affiliate. Text, of course, and maybe a picture (for Pokemon, that would be a sprite). Just Paste the picture in, and click on the "A" to make text. You can screw around with whatever font you want. Then save your affiliate/button/whatever. ^_^
Here's an example of the Vaporeon still affie.
Another way of making these is cropping images. Sometimes there are big images, and you want a part of it to be the background of your button. That's easy. Open the file in Paint, then use the little square tool to pick out a 88x31 patch of whatever (or multiples of 88x31, though you'll have to shrink it then) and make that your button. It's easy, unless you pick too big a picture.
Now you know how to make stills. The animating part is harder (much harder). You have to make all the "slides" of the animation, then put them all together with an animating program.
First think of how you want to animate your button. Easy animations are flashing text, or changing colors. The harder ones involve all the slides to look dramatically different, like the Charizard affie I made.
Here's my Vaporeon slide. See how each still is different, but not much, from the last?
Now to animate them. I use Adobe Photoshop Elements, and use layers, but most people seem to use GifAnimator. Since I have no idea how that works, go and figure it out yourself, then come and tell me. You can download a free trial here. Thanks!
