Simple Text Effects
You can create simple scrolling text in Gif Construction Set in less than a minute, and you don’t need to be an artist, either!
Simply select Edit/Banner from the menu bar in Gif Construction Set. You’ll be able to then select a Text Color, Background Color, and Shadow Color for your scrolling text. The type of color palette you will see when you click on the color swatch next to the Text, Background or Shadow Color options depends on the settings you have selected in File/Setup (located on the main Gif Construction Set screen). The types of color palettes available in Gif Construction Set include:
* 2 Colors
* 16 Colors
* 32 Colors
* 64 Colors
* 128 Colors
* 216 Netscape Colors
* 256 Colors
* 256 Colors with Gray
This animation:
Was created by selecting Edit/Banner. The 256 color palette with grays had been preselected in the File/Setup dialog. The Colors were:
* Text Color – 2
* Foreground Color -255
* Shadow Color -136
This animation has 10 cells, with a delay of 10 /100 of a second set for each cell, and a shadow offset of 2. The effect type is Drop Shadow, and the typeface is ITC Anna. This second animation:
This animation has 10 cells, with a delay of 10 /100 of a second set for each cell, and a shadow offset of 2. The effect type is Embossed, and the typeface is ITC Anna. The Colors were:
* Text Color – 131
* Foreground Color -112
You’ll notice that this effect doesn’t anti-alias (or smooth) the edges of the type.
Scrolling Animation with Anti-aliased Text
You can achieve a smoother looking animation by first creating the type in a paint program like Photoshop, PaintShop Pro, or Corel PhotoPaint, and then using the Edit/Transition command from the Gif Construction Set. By selecting Wipe in from Right, you’ll be able to get scrolling text with anti-aliasing. This does result in a larger file size, so you might want to consider using fewer cells (frames) in the animation.
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