I decided to make an animated gif of a beating heart with a face. My plan was to enlarge and shrink the heart while the eyes blink and the mouth grows and shrinks.
This is a good example of what I wanted.
I made the heart in Adobe Illustrator before transferring it by layers into After Effects.
Screenshot from After Effects. I got rid of the scleras for an easier, cartoony look. I also added a few smaller hearts.