hey everyone! i just joined cause i've been making text icons and stuff for a while, but i'm still an amateur, especially when it comes to animations.

i recently made an animation and i want to make it into a minimovie icon but i don't know how to get it onto a .jpg base and keep it as a .gif file, or just how to get them to merge in the first place! (i used ULEAD Gif Animator 5 to make the animation)

and also, are there any good animation programs that i can download without having to use a trial version?

Any help would be greatly appreciated!