Glitch GIF maker online — glitch a photo

Gifsy's glitch GIF maker adds a digital glitch to one photo — split colour channels and torn horizontal slices — on a loop that repeats exactly. Add a photo, set the speed and download a 480 × 480 GIF. Free, no sign-up, no watermark, and nothing is uploaded.

Want the photo to move in real 3D, not a flat zoom? Try the 3D photo maker

↑ Add a photo to begin.

What the Glitch effect does

Every frame offsets a copy of the photo by 3 to 9 pixels on each side and screens it over the original, which splits the colour channels, then shifts up to four random horizontal slices sideways. The randomness is seeded from the frame number, so the same photo always gives the same GIF.

Made with this tool from one image: Glitch, 20 fps, boomerang off. Download the GIF (0.9 MB)

  • Colour split

    3–9 px

    Grows and shrinks over the loop.

  • Torn slices

    Up to 4 per frame

    Seeded, so the loop repeats exactly.

  • Loop

    30 frames

    About 1.5 s at 20 fps. Boomerang doubles it.

  • Output

    480 × 480 GIF

    Centre crop, one shared palette.

How to make a glitch GIF

  1. 1

    Add a photo

    JPG, PNG or WebP. Keep the subject near the middle — the GIF is a square centre crop.

  2. 2

    Glitch is already picked

    Set the speed (8–30 fps). Boomerang is off; turn it on to play the loop forward, then back.

  3. 3

    Make GIF, then download

    Frames render in your browser in seconds and save as animation.gif.

Photos that suit Glitch

  • Works best
  • High-contrast, saturated images
  • Posters, album art and cyberpunk looks
  • 'Error' and 'system failure' jokes
  • Faster speeds (24–30 fps) for a nervous flicker
  • Works worst
  • Soft pastel photos — the split barely shows
  • Large smooth gradients, which band in 256 colours
  • Small text you need people to read
  • Anything that should look calm or clean

Questions

Sending it to Slack, Discord or GitHub? Check the GIF size limits. More on effects, speed and file size in how to animate a photo into a GIF.

Is the glitch random each time?

It looks random, but it's seeded from the frame number. The same photo at the same speed gives the same GIF, and the loop repeats exactly.

What does the glitch actually do?

Two things per frame: a colour-channel split of 3 to 9 pixels, and up to four horizontal slices shifted sideways by as much as 6% of the width.

Why do some glitch GIFs look grainy?

A GIF holds 256 colours. The glitch adds colour fringes that use up some of them, so photos with big smooth gradients can band. High-contrast images hold up best.

Can I control how strong the glitch is?

Not yet — the strength is fixed. The speed slider changes how fast it flickers.

Is it free, and is there a watermark?

Free, with no sign-up, no watermark and no limit on how many GIFs you make. The only paid thing on Gifsy is credits for the separate 3D model tool.

Is my photo uploaded?

No. The frames are drawn and the GIF is encoded by JavaScript in your browser tab; this tool has no upload endpoint. You can check in your browser's Network tab, or turn Wi-Fi off after your first GIF (which loads the encoder) and make another.

More GIF makers

Every effect is on the main GIF maker too — these pages just start with one set up. Starting from a clip instead? Try the MP4 and video to GIF maker.

Make it move in real 3D

A GIF effect moves the whole picture. A 3D photo separates the subject from the background and lets a visitor tilt it on your page — real parallax from one photo, with an embed code for any website.