The formula behind every prompt
Make a looping GIF of [subject] [doing one clear motion], [background]. [Optional: N frames at X ms per frame, aspect ratio.]
- One motion reads better than three. A wave, a blink, a bounce.
- Simple backgrounds keep frames consistent and files small.
- Short loops (1–2 seconds) are what ChatGPT makes best.
- Fewer frames = sharper frames. Slow the motion down with a longer delay per frame instead of adding frames.
Copy any prompt below, replace the words in [brackets], and paste it into ChatGPT.
Reactions and memes
Make a looping GIF of a cartoon cat slowly raising one eyebrow, then lowering it, plain pastel background. 10 frames at 120 ms, square.Make a looping GIF of a small robot giving an enthusiastic thumbs-up and a little hop, white background, flat illustration style.Make a looping GIF of a coffee cup with a sleepy face whose eyes slowly close and snap open again, warm beige background.Make a looping GIF of a cartoon dog doing a happy wiggle with its tail wagging fast, simple green background. 12 frames at 80 ms.Make a looping GIF of the words "[YOUR TEXT]" in bold rounded letters bouncing one letter at a time, dark background, bright yellow letters.
Emoji and stickers (small, square, readable)
Make a looping GIF emoji of a round yellow face laughing so hard it shakes, transparent-looking plain white background, square, 8 frames at 100 ms.Make a looping GIF sticker of a red heart that beats twice and pauses, thick white outline, plain background, square.Make a looping GIF emoji of a party popper bursting confetti, simple flat style, square, 9 frames.Make a looping GIF sticker of a tiny frog waving hello, chibi style, white outline, plain light background, square.
Emoji need to be tiny files: after downloading, resize to 128×128 and compress under 256 KB for Discord (about 128 KB for Slack).
Photos brought to life (attach a photo first)
Make this photo a looping GIF: only the steam from the cup rises and drifts, everything else stays perfectly still.Make this photo a looping GIF: the person blinks once and smiles slightly. Keep the face, background and lighting unchanged.Make this photo a looping GIF: the leaves of the tree sway gently in the wind. Nothing else moves.Make this photo a looping GIF: the water in the background ripples softly and the clouds drift slowly to the right.Turn this sketch into a looping GIF where the character waves with its right hand. Keep the drawing style and line color.
Saying what must not move is the key to photo GIFs; otherwise ChatGPT may redraw the whole scene.
Products, UI and explainers
Make a looping GIF of a smartphone screen where a big "Download" button is tapped and turns into a green checkmark, clean minimal style, vertical 9:16.Make a looping GIF of a product box slowly rotating 360 degrees on a white turntable, soft studio shadow, square.Make a looping GIF of a simple bar chart whose bars grow from zero to full height one by one, flat blue bars, white background, 16:9.Make a looping GIF of a loading spinner made of five dots that pulse in sequence, brand color [#HEX], transparent-looking white background, square.
Seasonal and fun
Make a looping GIF of a jack-o'-lantern whose candle flickers and whose grin glows brighter, dark night background.Make a looping GIF of snow falling gently on a tiny cabin with a smoking chimney, cozy illustrated style, 12 frames at 150 ms.
After you generate: make it fit
- Too big for an emoji or sticker: compress to a target size.
- Wrong shape: crop it (square for emoji, 9:16 for stories).
- Too fast or slow: change the speed without regenerating.
- Want it to bounce back and forth: make a boomerang.
New to the feature? Read how to make a GIF in ChatGPT. Getting a still image instead of a GIF? See ChatGPT GIF not working.