Hey, there! I have been a part of the roleplaying community for about 5-6 years now and I’ve seen it change and shift in many different ways. One of the most drastic changes has been the increased focus on themes and graphics in addition to writing. While some have gained experience with html & photoshop to keep up with trends, not everyone has had the resources or opportunity to do so. This guide is meant to provide alternatives for those who don’t necessarily have the experience or resources but still wish to keep up with the trends in addition to a few need-to-dos when it comes to working with graphics! I hope you find this helpful!
I. THEMES
Blog themes are a big part of tumblr and in addition to having them set up be accessible, they need to portray an aesthetically pleasing visual representation of the blog when it comes to roleplays. While roleplaying has, is, and always will be more about the quality of the writing, it is undeniable that themes do play a role in how others view your blog. A good theme aids quite a bit in improving the first impression people. Here are a few things that I have noticed people should pay attention to when working on a blog theme.
MINIMALISTIC VS CUSTOM. Minimalistic themes are known to be very clean cut, and simple while custom themes are often a reflection of the character, containing graphics and color schemes that are busier in contrast to minimalistic themes. Minimalistic themes are a great choice when you don’t necessarily have the tools or the skills to make extensive graphics or tinker with html. I have often seen people attempt to make a custom theme but it doesn’t end up working out as well as they would have liked it to be. When using a custom theme, it is first and foremost important to make sure that it’s easy to navigate and will fit properly on all screen sizes. Usually minimalistic themes are good with these as well. You can find themes and tutorials at: themehunter / theme-hunter. There’s an abundance of themes to look through and tutorials as well for all kinds of theme effects!
APPEARANCE. As I mentioned before, it’s important to make sure that everything fits well properly on all screen sizes. I have come across way too many themes before with no regard to the fact that different screen sizes exist and end up having the text completely outside of the intended container box. It really isn’t the best look and makes it harder to read the text. Just ask a couple of your friends/followers if everything looks A-Okay and you should be good to go!
Readability is a major major major thing folks tend to forget. A pretty theme is useless if others can’t read what you write! Make sure there’s a contrast between your text and the background color (and that it’s a nice color & that it’s not some neon colors please no one wants to read that.) I highly suggest sticking to light colors when the background is dark or dark colors when the background is light. Go to opposite sides of the spectrum. Don’t make it bright red or green. It just doesn’t do well. Here’s a place where you can check the contrast for texts and another. In addition to that, make sure that it’s a good size font. It shouldn’t be something that people have to zoom in on or spend extra effort with trying to read. While small text looks good in normal tumblr posts on the dashboard, it doesn’t necessarily translate well into themes depending on the different fonts and what not you use so take that into account. There are TONS of fonts you can find to use in your theme on google fonts. Remember that different fonts have different line heights to take that into account when setting it.
Another important aspect of themes is the color scheme. If you have a certain color in mind, that’s a great place to start! paletton & coolors are great places to find good color palettes.
II. GRAPHICS
Graphics for roleplay blogs include theme backgrounds/images, promos, icons, etc. My go to program for editing is Photoshop, however, I know not everyone can afford or manage to work with Photoshop. Some good, free, alternatives to Photoshop are:
Adobe Photoshop Express ( very basic photoshop functions )
GIMP
Pixlr
There are amazing graphics tutorials that you can find at ItsPhotoshop. It’s been a great tool for me to learn many tips and tricks with editing and I’m sure that you will find it useful as well!
There are multiple elements that go into making a background images and promos. You need a base image, which is usually official/fan art of the character being roleplayed. You can use adjustments, filters, and textures to make your background image. Textures can be widely found on DeviantArt & resource blogs on Tumblr. I would highly suggest exploring different tutorials and experimenting with different effects to expand your skills and experience with them!
Icon PSDs are, similar to other graphics, require adjustments and filters and the like. Folks have made many PSDs that you can directly apply on icons in order to make things a bit easier on you! For the folks that don’t have Photoshop, here’s a great masterlist of GIMP editing for icons & more.
If you want a seasoned photoshopper/coder, there are many roleplay helpers around! Simply search up “rph” in the tumblr tags and you’ll come across many people willing to dedicate their time and effort to help you out with things. Make sure to check them out, the things they can do for you, and be courteous when asking them for help! There are also folks that do professional work as commissions. A few folks I know off the top of my head that do commissions are: @kaikc / @kannonbiraki / @strdnc. There are a bunch of folks that are highly experienced with what they do and can get you custom graphics and themes to your liking! I can make a masterlist of folks that commission works sometime if folks want.
Here’s a few more resources that can be helpful!
Photoshop for Mac & Photoshop for Windows
Photoshop brushes & how to load them
Textures + more textures & how to apply them
A shit ton of tutorials on graphics
A guide to blog typography + a bunch of fonts to boot
A shit ton of tutorials on html
A bunch of folks ready to help!
Here’s me bc I love to help with any questions
III. IMPORTANT POINTS TO NOTE
ALWAYS CREDIT if you use someone else’s art. It’s highly preferred that you ask them before using their work. Artists spend from hours to days to weeks working on things and the least they can get is recognition for their hard work. Make sure to have it present somewhere on your blog. And yes, you should credit the person if you use them as inspiration.
ASK PERMISSION when you use someone’s works or use their work as an inspiration for your own. I’ve seen countless people take my work or use it as inspiration for their own work without giving proper recognition or even asking. Folks spend an enormous amount of time and energy in coming up with something creative and new and executing it to match their vision is an absolute pain in the ass. Make sure to honor that and be courteous.
KEEP PRACTICING! Photoshop and coding skills really don’t come overnight and they take lots of time and tinkering around to be able to improve. I have gotten to the point I am at after years and years of working with them and trying new things whenever I can. It can be frustrating at first but there are many resources available to you! If you ever have any questions about anything, I can personally help you as well so don’t hesitate to send me an ask!
‘ well, i’ve been thinking of getting a pet for a while now and i thought that a cat would suit my lifestyle best. you’re a pet owner; what do you think? ’
‘ i’ve always wanted a pet and well cats are much easier to take care of than dogs, they’re quite independent, and they can get by even if i’m away for a few days on a mission. they match my personality really well, don’t you think so? ’
hey, there folks!! i apologize for the extended absence on this blog ( hello to all the new followers i got while i was away!! ) college had me tied up quite a bit but the quarter’s going to end soon and i’m going to have more time on my hands. i’ll be back rping but also, i’m going to be opening up theme commissions. i’ll have details up soon + other works i’ve done for reference up soon so hang tight!! i’m looking forward to coming back ♥
she's still have trouble with flower arrangement - not like ino, lucky girl, who knows every flower before it even blooms. pouting heavily, she lifts her arrangement up to ino's eyes. "i did this right, didn't i? the colours seem to match. how come mine never look like yours, ino?"
‘ hm? ’ eyes raise from the task at hand, assessing the other’s work with a quiet hum. ‘ it’s looking really good! you’ve definitely improved. the colors look really good and your understanding of focal points has really increased. you just need to figure out now what feelings you want to portray through your arrangements. each arrangement has it’s makers personality in it some way or another and yours are unique to you as are mine to me. ’
a wide grin spreads on her lips, pink softly dusting her cheeks. picking up a nearby white camellia, she reaches out to tuck it in place behind sakura’s ear. ‘ the choices you make in your arrangements shows your bold and yet loving personality all at the same time. they’re beautiful in their own right. ’
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