Evenin' everyone!

I apologize for the late update. I've got some stuff going on and I was hoping to post yesterday, but everything was unfortunately extended. I wanna tell you all about it, but I can't do so until this is over. With the way things are looking at the moment, it may be a while. ):
Otherwise, I can tell you that things are okay over here on my end. I've been feeling a lot better emotionally. The things that used to get me down/piss me off are no longer a problem and I hope that it stays that way. Nowadays, if I do get upset, it's from normal everyday things. You know? The difference is significant and extremely welcome.
Anywho.. Because you guys were such a great help these past couple of weeks, I have a few more questions for you. This week's topic is: emotes and gifs.

For Emotes: 1. How do you make them?
2. What programs do you use? The site for I'm trying to do this for recommended Adobe Photoshop and GIMP. Do you guys agree? Or do you use something else?
3. Can I use alternate programs? I mainly use Clip Studio Paint and Paint Tool SAI. I don't own Photoshop (I really don't like that you have to pay monthly to use it) or GIMP.
4. Who out there uses GIMP? Is it reliable?

For Gifs: 1. How do you make them?
2. What reliable tools (programs/websites/etc) are out there? Which do you recommend?

Unfortunately, that's all for now guys. I know I haven't been posting been very active artistically. I'm sorry! I've been really busy. But, between that, I am working on a few different pieces right now and I want to post them all at the same time. Thank you all for your continued patience and support. As always, it's appreciated. Until next time!

~ BoKo