3 Simple Ways to
Share What You Make

With Instructables you can share what you make with the world — and tap into an ever-growing community of creative experts.

PhotosPhotos

Share one or more photos of a project, recipe, or whatever you've made, quickly and easily.

Get Started

Learn more & Get Tips

Step by StepStep-By-Step

Share your step-by-step photos with text instructions of what you made so others can do it too!

Get Started

Learn more & Get Tips

VideoVideo

Share your how-to video. You'll need your embed code from a video site such as YouTube.

Get Started

Learn more & Get Tips

Print PDF

Favorite

Animated LED Sign in Photoshop

In this instructable you will learn how to make an animated LED sign in Photoshop. Dont worry ill give you the a PSD of the template in multiple colors. Oh Yeah I made this one for my girlfriend.

Remove these ads by Signing Up

Step 1What you need. (Don't Skip this step.)

You will need the following:

-Mac/PC
-Photoshop
-The template pack below (red, blue, and green)
-Patience... lots of it.

ledsign.zip205 KB

« Previous Step

Download PDFView All Steps

Next Step »

50 comments

1-40 of 50

Jun 29, 2010. 7:06 PMrobot+more says:

great 'ible i used gimp and unfreeze to make mine

Jul 6, 2009. 1:32 PMamjadur says:

>>>Ac1D<<<

Jul 6, 2009. 1:31 PMamjadur says:

>>>Ac1D<<<

Oct 20, 2008. 1:36 PMander says:

This is like drawing a screensaver frame-by-frame. It'd be immensely more practical just to write a program that lets you type in whatever text you want, then converts it to an animated GIF for you in any format you want. Are there no programmers on this topic? Only graphic artists? Just curious.

Sep 12, 2008. 5:55 AMDrCoolSanta says:

I aggree with the people that say that MS GIF animator, or any other for that matter will work just as good. After all you aren't using any special effects for the frames. And of course that will be much more easier, I mean it is quite easier to work with such stuff in ms paint and put them up in a freeware animator.

I'll show you something:
http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d71/RockingGroudon/blink001.gif

It has been some time since I made this animation, and of course I made this in ms paint. nothing fancy, but to make this in photoshop will be so difficult. I mean, yes photoshop is so powerful, but for effects that are so simple, there is no use using a complicated software compared to a normal software.
Yes I could have done that in PS, but then the effect would have been totally different. Much more close to reality.

Jun 22, 2007. 6:53 PMsardines454 says:

anyone know how to do the animation part w/gimp?

Sep 12, 2008. 5:46 AMDrCoolSanta says:

Do the same thing. And I mean the same thing. Make the frames in layers and export it to gif.

Jun 22, 2007. 6:40 PM

zachninme says:

Why can't this done using Photoshop in Wine in Linux? It works! Or in GIMP....

Jun 16, 2008. 2:17 PMtheburn7 says:

It works in gimp, try it out!

Jun 17, 2008. 2:43 AM

zachninme says:

I don't think you understood what I meant ;-)

Jun 18, 2008. 4:03 PMtheburn7 says:

oh i did, i am just saying gimp will work, spread the word, yo

Jun 22, 2007. 6:45 PMlookatmygrlyfont (author) says:

not sure if it works in GIMP cause i dont use it. I also dont use linux w/ wine so idk. If it works let me know though...

Nov 30, 2007. 9:29 PMdaftpunkelectroma says:

how do u put in the template in GIMP?

May 11, 2008. 7:20 AMderfman24 says:

you select open with gimp

Dec 21, 2007. 5:41 PMjdisco says:

Probably change the extension to .xcf

Mar 28, 2008. 6:00 PMegreen767 says:

So awesome! I made one in photoshop elements.... took me like an hour

Mar 28, 2008. 6:01 PMegreen767 says:

You have to click on it and make it larger for it to work apparently...

Apr 14, 2008. 8:25 PMtwitching_fingers says:

very nice :)

Dec 29, 2007. 3:20 AMkillas says:

whats drop down arrow? im using photo shop 7.0

Nov 5, 2007. 2:17 PMled235 says:

IT'S NOT FREE. you can BUY it for $29.95 or more.

Oct 15, 2007. 2:32 AMmunchman says:

You can do this with this free software

Jun 22, 2007. 9:00 PM

ac1D says:

photoshop work with wine. if you want to do this, dont use photoshop. use microsoft with a free .gif images animator. lol!

Jun 22, 2007. 9:27 PMlookatmygrlyfont (author) says:

hmm you barley speak english. um no photoshop is 100 times better than anything youll get from M$.

Sep 22, 2007. 8:41 AMpeter marshall says:

Barley, noun: a cereal grass

Feb 23, 2012. 10:11 AM

ac1D says:

i agree with you, i totally agree. But, i dont want to be rude, but look.. your led are just little circle, no effect, nothing. This Really look like you used ms.paint. everyone could reproduce it in paint!

Jun 23, 2007. 2:59 PMlookatmygrlyfont (author) says:

LEDs are circle. Well most of them. when you do better please tell me. Yes sure it needs work. I guess i should just delete this damn thing since everyone is hating on it.

Jun 23, 2007. 4:40 PM

ac1D says:

i know they are circle. take a led and a battery. look at the led when its lighten, look directly at it. its not a flat blue color.

Jun 23, 2007. 5:27 PMlookatmygrlyfont (author) says:

hmm i could add an effect to it to make it look glowing true true..

May 1, 2008. 4:37 PMamywho says:

just duplicate each layer. gausian blur. then blend the layers. ac1d... i'm assuming you did something similar?

Jun 22, 2007. 6:55 PMsardines454 says:

what photoshop ru using?

Jun 22, 2007. 7:20 PMlookatmygrlyfont (author) says:

CS3 for Mac.

Jun 23, 2007. 7:12 AMsardines454 says:

how much did u pay for cs3? isn't it like 600 dollars?

Jun 23, 2007. 4:41 PM

ac1D says:

for this led sign , u can use paint, but if your new to graphic, dont get photoshop, try yourself with the g!mp and if it look serious, get photoshop. its what I did, and its what I guess monstly everyone do.

Jun 23, 2007. 4:51 PMsardines454 says:

i am not new to graphic design i just dont feel like paying $600 when i can gimp for free and it does almost everything the same!

Almost =(

Jun 23, 2007. 4:53 PMlookatmygrlyfont (author) says:

Photoshop is better than GIMP. I dont think you can do Animations with the GIMP

Jun 23, 2007. 10:37 PMFenwick says:

You can definitely do animations with the GIMP. You just have to do each frame as a layer and save as an animated GIF. Photoshop is definitely better than the GIMP, but the GIMP is free. You can do most of the same effects, it just takes more time. I'd support a download of the GIMP over pirating CS3.

Jun 23, 2007. 11:00 PMlookatmygrlyfont (author) says:

my cs3 is not pirated.

Jun 24, 2007. 12:25 AMFenwick says:

I'm not saying that you pirated it, I'm just saying that there are a lot of people who are new to graphic design pirate CS3, where it would be a better moral choice to get the GIMP.

I wasn't trying to be critical, I was trying to convince others that piracy isn't necessary.

Jun 24, 2007. 7:31 AMlookatmygrlyfont (author) says:

very true though. you do have a point.