GIF Guides

Tutorials and tools: how the GIF format works, how to convert video, shrink files and share loops legally.

What Is a GIF, Really? Inside the Format That Refuses to Die

GIF89a, LZW, 256 colors and the patent war that spawned PNG: what actually sits inside a .gif file and why it still works everywhere.…

How the 1987 LZW algorithm still powers GIFs: palette quantization, frame differencing and tricks for smaller files.…

The same 4-second clip at 3.5 MB, 380 KB and 210 KB: where each format wins and how to choose.…

Resize, frame rate, palette, lossy LZW: the four levers in the right order, with measured savings.…

Derivative works, the four fair use factors, and what platform licenses do and do not cover.…

Mirrored faces, loops as states of mind, and shared references as social glue.…

Ezgif, ScreenToGif, Gifski and the two-pass FFmpeg recipe: from clip to loop under 2 MB.…

How reaction GIFs evolved from early forums to 2026 meme culture: shifts in style, platforms and psychology.…