You know what’s neat on the internets? Cinemagraphs. They’re just like animated gifs—or, they’re exactly like animated gifs—but they’re animated gifs for fancy people! Like you.

I classify cinemagraphs as a completely different species than the ubiquitous “animated gifs” that inhabit the message boards and tumblr posts of internetland. Cinemagraphs incorporate slight bits of movement into otherwise static digital images, adding a subtle stylish element.

Here’s a prime example from digi-artists Jamie Beck and Kevin Burg (proprietors of the above link):

Anyway, I’ve been trying my hand at making cinemagraphs. I’m using some complimentary software and this helpful online tutorial. I think for some first tries, they’re pretty good. My initial attempts seem to center around blinking eyeballs. In any event, I hope to have some more advanced ones in the future to help bring a little magic and class to my already sophisticated web presence.

I'm silly