While there are plenty of places to find GIFs, there aren’t many good places to create and edit your own GIFs online. In this article, I’m going to show you how to make your own GIFs from videos using Kapwing!

GIFs are handy files that make embedding looped video clips online a breeze. They're commonly used to express what text cannot while sparking long and engaging conversations between friends, family, and colleagues. While the internet is growing with places to find GIFs like GIPHY, Tenor GIFs, and GIFBin, finding a place to make your own animated GIFs can be challenging.

In this article, I’m going to show you how to make and edit your GIFs using video files. I recommend using a free online video editor called Kapwing, for several reasons: • It's free to use nearly all of its products • It's easy to learn • It doesn't require you to download any apps • It works on computers, phones, and tablets • You can upload videos from any source

To make GIFs from videos using Kapwing, you’ll need to know four steps:

To get started, find the video you want to convert into a GIF. You can use a video from your file browser or a video from an online source such as YouTube. If you're using an original or downloaded video, make sure to give it a memorable name or keep the file browser window open for easy access in the next steps. I'm going to be using this meme-able Cory Booker expression as an example:

If you want to make a GIF from a video you found online like the above example, copy the URL. You can use videos from Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Twitter, and nearly any major video-sharing platform on the internet! To copy the link, right-click on the URL at the top of the page, or right-click on the video while it’s playing and select “Copy Link.” Now you’re ready to upload your video.

Uploading your video to Kapwing is just as easy! First, head over to Kapwing in your browser and click “Get Started.” This will take you to the Kapwing Studio, where you can create GIFs and make additional edits with Kapwing's intuitive tools.

To upload a video from your computer, phone, or tablet, click or tap the button that says “Click to upload” and locate the video in your file browser. You can also find the video in your file browser or Photos app, then drag and drop it into the Studio window.

If you want to make a GIF from a video you found online, click on the field that says “Paste an image or video URL.” Right click (or tap one more time if you're editing on your phone or tablet) on the field and select “Paste”. Kapwing will work its magic and upload your video to the Studio.

GIFs work best when they’re fairly short (usually under 10 seconds long), so you might want to trim your video to be shorter than the original length.

To trim your video in the Studio, drag the ends of the layer in the timeline then move the final clip to the beginning of the timeline.

While you’re in the Kapwing Studio, you can use all of Kapwing’s tools to make any other edits that your video needs:

• Add & edit text• Add pictures, GIFs, videos, overlays, & audio• Add shapes• Add text animations• Crop & filter

Once you've edited your GIF to perfection, click the small arrow next to the green Export Video button in the top right corner of the Studio window. Set your output file to GIF.

Now, click Export Gif in the upper right-hand corner. Kapwing will automatically work its magic and your new gif will be ready to download in no time.

When your video is finished processing, click “Download” from the right side of the screen. Here, you can also log in to remove the Kapwing watermark for free, if you haven't done so already.

Remember to tag us @KapwingApp whenever you share your content on social media– we love to see what our creators are passionate about! And be sure to subscribe to the Kapwing Resources page – we’re constantly writing new tutorial and features to help you make the most out of Kapwing.

Related Articles: • How to Combine GIFs Online• How to Add Text to GIFs• GIF to Video• How to Make Videos Smaller Online