My GIF owl button started life at 110k

To reduce the size of the .gif file, I first downsized the pixel dimensions to 70% in Photoshop.

My image was still too big for a button, but I wanted to use it as an operator logo - or maybe a screensaver - on my phone. The dimensions were therefore about right, but I needed a really tiny file to fit in my pea-brained phone.

To show you the picture here, I reduced the colours to 64 in PhotoShop Save for Web. The resulting GIF is 6.7k.

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Reducing the colours to ten reduced the file size further to 2.6k.

Not bad when the file had started out at 110k!

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To cut the file size of an image, first pre-edit your picture in Photoshop or Elements.

Then go to the Save for Web window.

2-Up and 4-Up Views allow you to compare the effects different choices have as you downsize .gif images. You can also mix in JPEGs here, to compare them with the results you get as a .gif.

(Note that these are steps to take in the full Photoshop. They're similar in Photoshop Elements, though Elements is more - well, elementary. For instance it shows only two views - your original and the version you're working on.

In the upper box, choose to save the graphic as a GIF. (A JPEG will probably be better for a photo, though you can't reduce a JPEG by eliminating colours. Experiment.) For a GIF, a little palette will appear and show you the actual colours your file contains.

Test the results you get with Perceptual, Adaptive, Selective and Web Safe colour schemes.

Hues not found in the palette are simulated by dithering (stippling to create extra shades). Play around with the amount of dithering, noting the effect on your picture and its file size.

HERE WE COME TO THE PHOTOSHOP RAINBOW SLIDE!

Now to cut the colours in your computer image. Do this first with the number box. Lock any hues you want to keep by clicking to select them in the palette, then clicking again on the little lock icon below. This will ensure they aren't discarded when you try a lower number.

Test smaller and smaller numbers in the box until your picture starts to degrade, then opt for the best result.(If you've lost an important colour, increase the number again to get it back. Lock it and then reduce again.)

You'll notice there are two very similar shades of purple left here. I could have binned one of them, leaving only seven - with no loss of quality.

When you're down to a few colors, you may be able to eliminate yet more by dragging them to the waste bin one by one. (Or selecting them then clicking on the bin.) Do this until taking any more away makes the picture patchy, muddy or dim.

You can select one colour to be transparent. If it's white, make sure it isn't, for instance, in the subject's eyes, or they'll look as hollow as a Hallow E'en pumpkin! Colour a background you want transparent in a hue that doesn't appear anywhere else in the picture, then select that for your transparency.

If you want your file yet smaller and you haven't already reduced the image size in pixels, you can do it here. Click the 'Image Size' tab next to 'Color Table' in the lower palette. Reduce the size percentage or pixel measurements, then be sure to click 'Apply'.

The slimmed down computer image you finally evolve will be 'Saved for Web' as the picture only, without additional data that could weigh it down again.