Unless Adobe has totally modified the PSD specs., you cannot add animation to them.
Now, if you have PS-Extended, you might be able to use an existing PSD as a Background, and then add an animated GIF and perhaps Save_As one of the AV file formats.
Exactly what do you hope to accomplish by adding an animated image to a static one? Might be another way to skin that cat.
Once you open your GIF animation in Photoshop, go to the Animation panel, select the frames you want to copy and then select Copy Frames from it's panel menu. Go to the destination PSD file and select Paste Frames from the Animation panel menu.
All this first process of Selecting all frames on animation panel can be done but when you go to the destination PSD file or image file to paste there is no option of Paste Frames on animation panel menu. And am using PS CC 2017
Yes the current document needs to first have a Frame animation created with the Create Frame animation button. That will create one frame. You could have all layers visible in it if your document is layered. Then in your other document with the frame animation you want to past into your layered document. In that document frame animation panel fly-out menu you can select all frames and then in the same menu Copy Frames. Switch back to your layered document with the single frame frame animation you use its animation panel's fly-out menu and select Paste Frames. In the dialog that opens select after selection and make sure to check link frame so you will be able to position the animation relative to the one you are pasting the frames into. When you do that the layers and frames from the copied from document will be basted into the layered document you are working on.
Photoshop has no problem doing the basic job. I'm sure After effect has many advanced video effects features one can use. But AE is an additional cost for a Photoshop user the may not process video. IMO AE is a tool for video editing and I sure it worth every penny if you edit video along with premier pro.
While I do get a Creative cloud subscription I only know Photoshop well and I'm 77 years old, I have no desire to learn the rest of the Adobe Application in the Creative Cloud Suite.I would rather relax and drink some wine.
I have a problem with my short time memory. The older I get and the more wine I dink the shorter my memory becomes. It at a point where now I forget things before I even learn them. My mind use to be an empty sponge that soak up everything it learned and could recall all with ease. It still can recall things from my teen years. However its now its a soggy sponge and can only seem to absorb more wine and can not remember doing so. More wine please.
the small dog is actually animated as well. I'd like to show the animation
If that is what you want to do then open both Gif in Photoshop you will have two layered documents opened in Photoshop with animation frames in the animation palette for the active document. In one Document target all the layers in the layers Palette. Click on the top layer in the layer's palette hold down the shift key and click on the bottom layer in the Layers Palette. Now all the layers should be targeted. Left click and drag the highlighted layers in layers palette and drop them onto the second open document. For best results the documents should have the same size canvas size but it will still work if the sizes are different. Once you have all the layers in a single document you will have to add the layers draged in into the Animation Palette and set their times. You will have one animation containing both animations.
Menu File>Place seems to work its added as a smart object. Double clicking on that smart object layer in the layers palette open all its layers layers in photoshop. where you can edit the animation and save it for the web when you close it I would think it would the smart object would be the updated version. I
File->Place won't work because the animation cannot be run from the master document, all that you'll get is the first frame of the animation.
Perhaps you better explain what you mean. When I place a animated gif into a document and save it as a psd file. Later when I open my that master PSD file and double click on the animated gif smart object layer Photoshop opens the smart object in Photoshop where I can play it. I can even modify it and save a new animation. However the updated animation is not in the master PSD file I seem to had to delete the old smart object and place in the new one.
The problem is that you cannot run the animation from the Smart Object while in the master document which means that if you want to save the master document as a .GIF for instance, the animation from the Smart Object won't play. Also, as you've already noticed, you cannot modify the animation from the Smart Object because Photoshop needs layers to make the animation work but the GIF file format doesn't support layers so you cannot save the document back into the Smart Object.
So yes, you can import a GIF file into a PSD using File->Place but you cannot use it to import the animation from that GIF file and that's what the OP wants.
22
Replies
AdChoices
