This is a very unoptimized GIF. Did you know GIFs are limited to at most 256 colors (or 255+transparency) but the palette can be redefined (good export software automatically optimizes it at least according to the first frame)? As such, GIFs that are largely grayscale or sepia can do without dithering and still have smooth colors. (In this one, I would assign 248 colors for the black to white gradient plus 4 shades of red and blue. Or almost halve the file size by limiting the palette to the roughly 16 actually used colors.)
I have been nerdier on Reddit before, and I’m happy to bring that over here. (You won’t see my Reddit nerdposts though, they have been overwritten by PowerDeleteSuite.)
This one has higher resolution and no unhelpful dithering. Also the color palette, while reducible to 64 or fewer colors instead of 256, is actually somewhat optimized (there is no green or yellow).
Don’t worry about optimizing your GIFs, that is a rant about a problem that needs to be solved by someone else. Just accept the higher compatibility but worse quality/bitrate ratio and move on.
I tried posting a short looping soundless animation on Reddit over two years ago and GIF was the only format (I also tried WebP, APNG and mp4) that played automatically on loop. I made sure to optimize the palette, though. Also, my preferred animated bitmap editor (LogoMotion, 2002 abandonware) only exports GIF.
This is a very unoptimized GIF. Did you know GIFs are limited to at most 256 colors (or 255+transparency) but the palette can be redefined (good export software automatically optimizes it at least according to the first frame)? As such, GIFs that are largely grayscale or sepia can do without dithering and still have smooth colors. (In this one, I would assign 248 colors for the black to white gradient plus 4 shades of red and blue. Or almost halve the file size by limiting the palette to the roughly 16 actually used colors.)
Color palette export
At least the frame delta data is limited to the actually changing rectangle, as it should be.
I would advocate for APNG, WebP or even MP4 but not all browsers play them on a loop by default.
This is the nerdiest comment I’ve ever read, I love it
I have been nerdier on Reddit before, and I’m happy to bring that over here. (You won’t see my Reddit nerdposts though, they have been overwritten by PowerDeleteSuite.)
I agree with you. I changed it with a higher quality one.
This one has higher resolution and no unhelpful dithering. Also the color palette, while reducible to 64 or fewer colors instead of 256, is actually somewhat optimized (there is no green or yellow).
Color palette export
Don’t worry about optimizing your GIFs, that is a rant about a problem that needs to be solved by someone else. Just accept the higher compatibility but worse quality/bitrate ratio and move on.
Glad you said this, because honestly there’re diminishing reasons to use gif in 2023, compatibility with the long tail is pretty much it
I tried posting a short looping soundless animation on Reddit over two years ago and GIF was the only format (I also tried WebP, APNG and mp4) that played automatically on loop. I made sure to optimize the palette, though. Also, my preferred animated bitmap editor (LogoMotion, 2002 abandonware) only exports GIF.