Well, I can't vouch for it because I've never tried it but http://www.gifworks.com/ looks interesting. It's a gif creator that's purely done online... and it's free!
Ummmph. . .looks like a lot of work. Corel Graphics Suite 12 included an app (Corel R.A.V.E. 3) that outputs to Animated GIF, SWF, AVI and MOV formats. I've played with it but it takes a lot of time to draw everything. Maybe I'll pass on the animated graphics thing. Thanks all,