This article was published on June 6, 2014

Klear makes your animated GIFs go berserk


Klear makes your animated GIFs go berserk

Tired of the same old animated GIFs and looping videos circa 1995? Now you can put some punch into that action. Klear, an online app released today, lets you re-animate your animations with grungy, glitchy, eyeball-burning effects that make them more artistic and unique — or maybe more annoying.

Klear is the product of a collaboration between Los Angeles artist Vince McKelvierapper Yung Jake, and a bunch of their artist pals, according to The Creators Project blog. It’s based on the traditional color/chroma key concept that lets photographers and videographers separate objects and people in the foreground from the background, for various artistic purposes, including compositing.

key-3

The app — which is platform- and device-agnostic — was developed with the HTML5  Canvas tag, which uses JavaScript to draw graphics on the fly.

With Klear, you just upload GIFs via the Web interface, and then use the on-screen slider and eyedropper tool to control the key and effects. You can click to choose different blend modes ranging from modest to extreme. All changes preview in real time.

The explanation is more complex than the  process, which is strictly a point and slide operation, and the same GIF can be done in an infinite number of ways.

Klear 1

Let’s be … well, clear — the app does not make your GIFs for you. You still have to get a GIF animation from whatever factory you currently use. But once you have your animation, you can head over to the Klear Website and destroy it make it bolder and more eye-catching.

Too lazy to create your own GIF? No problem. You’ re free to use one of the examples on the Klear site because each creation is guaranteed to be unique. And if you’re looking for inspiration, there’s plenty to see on Klear’s Tumblr stream, where your reconstituted GIF will also land should you be bold enough to venture into Klear space.

➤ Klear

Get the TNW newsletter

Get the most important tech news in your inbox each week.