No-one can resist a good animated GIF. Yes, they're thoroughly outdated and no-one can agree how to pronounce their name (seriously though, only dangerous maniacs say 'jif'), but because they're still absolutely brilliant for animation, they're easy to use and they just work without any special plugins or libraries, they'll still be filling the internet when Flash is a long-forgotten memory.
Matthew Broerman of Cincinnati-based Ink+Craft (opens in new tab) is a big fan, and he's showing his love for the GIF with some sets of amazing vector art (opens in new tab) animated icons: Animaticons (opens in new tab).
His latest set consists of design-related icons that showcase various design processes in adorable animated form, perfect for touting your skills or promoting features in your latest project.
There are 30 in the collection, 15 in full colour and 15 in black and white, they're suitable both for personal and commercial use, with no limits on usage, and you can modify them all you want; Broerman provides instructions for basic adjustments. He's also written this handy tutorial on how to customise animated GIFs in Photoshop.
Broerman's designer Animaticons are 512x512 pixels on a transparent background, and you can buy the set for just $5. If you like his style, he also has two other sets available: a 20-piece Essential set that you can download for free, and a 30-piece Essential Plus set that'll cost you $5.
Words: Jim McCauley (opens in new tab)
Jim McCauley is a writer, editor and occasional podcaster, and is available for space parties.
Liked this? Read these!
- Free graphic design software available to you right now!
- Illustrator tutorials (opens in new tab): amazing ideas to try today!
- The 7 best GIF artists around