Learn the how to create animated gifs using images and text. Also learn how to add a drop shadow to an image.

1. Animated Gifs and Drop Shadows
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2. Overview
Objective
Learn the how to create animated gifs using images and text.
Also learn how to add a drop shadow to an image.
Requirements
 Understanding of Image Basics
 Installed version of Imagick
Estimated Time
10 minutes
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3. Follow Along With A Code
Example
1. Download a copy of the example code at
www.prodigyview.com/source.
2. Install the system in an environment you feel comfortable testing in.
3. Proceed to examples/avi/ImageAnimationsandShadows.php
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4. Animated Gifs
Animated gifs are multiple images comprised in one gif
file. To begin this tutorial, we are going to create multiple
images of a circle at different degrees.
1. Create an array to store the gifs in 2.Create an ellipse with
different end angles
3. Add the return location of the ellipses to the images array
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5. Gif Images
If you were to take a second and look at the images
created, you should have 10 images in your file system
that look something like below.

6. Creating The Animation
Those 10 image locations are in the array we created. Now we
can pass that array into PVImage::animateImage and we will
get a gif of a completing circle.
1. The array of images
2. The newly created gif
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7. Text Gifs
We can create animated gifs not only with images, but
with text also. The process is very similar, create an array
with text at different index.
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8. GIF Options
This time we are going to customize the gif creation
process some by creating an array of options
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9. Animate The Text
The array of string and the options are passed into
PVImage::animateText() and we get an animated gif.
1. The array of text 2. Options
3. Location of the new gif

10. Drop Shadow
Creating a drop shadow is pretty easy. All we need is an image
to add the drop shadow too and then pass the location of that
image into PVImage::drawDropShadow.
1. The location of the image
3. Returns a path to the image 2. Pass the image in

11. Drop Shadow
It’s not much, but we’ve manage to add a small drop
shadow in the image.
A tiny drop shadow
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12. Drop Shadow Options
We can do a little better with that drop shadow. Let’s add
some options in to make the drop shadow a little more
apparent.
1. Set the options to change to position of the drop shadow
2. Pass the options to create the drop shadow

13. Better Drop Shadow
There, that’s more of a drop shadow now. A little tweaking
and the drop shadow position and color can be changed.
A better drop shadow
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14. Review
1. Create an animated gif with images using
PVImage::animateImage()
2. Create an animated gif with text using
PVImage::animateText()
3. Create a drop shadow on an image using
PVImage::drawDropShadow()
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15. API Reference
For a better understanding of the image manipulation, check
out the api at the two links below.
PVImage
More Tutorials
For more tutorials, please visit:
http://www.prodigyview.com/tutorials
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