- an editing program with a timeline (I’m using Adobe Photoshop) & familiarity with keyframes
- the Figtree font family [Google / Adobe Fonts]
- my PSD template [download]
For less experienced editors, I made a simple PNG overlay [download]. This tutorial will cover the PSD.
🙏 If you use either template, please link back to this post in your caption. 🙏 You can also tag #userreputayswift, I’d love to see what you make! :)
Animating Your Choices
Open the template and make sure Window > Timeline is checked. Press play ▶︎ on the timeline and you'll notice some of the graphics are already animated. Compare this with the final gif and you'll see we have some adjustments to make:
For this gif, we're going to hide the "Relationship Up/Down Arrows" and "Timed Choice" folders (click the corresponding eyeballs 👁️ over in the "Layers" window).
Now decide which choice your character is going to SELECT and click the arrow > next to that folder in the timeline:
This will open the folder. Now press the arrow > next to the image layer within this folder and you'll see all the keyframes I've added. Keyframes tell the program you want your graphic to do/look like THIS at THIS particular part of the timeline:
For the choice you're SELECTING, make sure the Playhead is positioned at or before the 100% opacity keyframe. Drag your cursor over both "OPACITY" keyframes and press "Delete."
Your gif should now look like this:
Getting closer, but we want to get rid of the glow around the UNSELECTED choices.
Open one of the choices you AREN'T SELECTING with the arrow >, then press the arrow > next to the image layer within this folder. This time we're going to highlight and delete the "STYLE" keyframes:
Repeat this with the remaining UNSELECTED choice and you're done!:
If you need to adjust WHEN these animations play, use the arrows > to open all the necessary choice folders and layers, hold CTRL and drag your mouse over each keyframe, then use your cursor to move them to the left or right in the timeline:
Animating Other Elements
Let's say you want to make the Gems glow when your character makes a Premium Choice. To achieve this effect, open (>) and select the "Style" keyframes on your Premium Choice. Then right click and press Copy. Center your Playhead with the first keyframe.
Then, scroll down and open (>) the "Gems" folder and the "Gem Count" layer inside. Click the Stopwatch ⏱️ to create a new keyframe at the Playhead, then right click the keyframe and Paste.
The glow should sync up with your Premium Choice:
You can use the same Copy and Paste method to replace the Relationship Down/Up Arrows with your own icons:
Go to File > Place Embedded > and open your desired icon. Then repeat the same steps as above to copy the keyframes from the "Relationship Up Arrow" or "Relationship Down Arrow" layer onto your icon layer:
If the sizing is off, delete ONLY THE "TRANSFORM" keyframes and center your Playhead with the first "Opacity" and "Style" keyframes.
Click the Stopwatch ⏱️ by "Transform" and shrink and position your icon in the top left of your canvas. Then center your Playhead with the last "Opacity" keyframe, click the Stopwatch ⏱️, and use your arrow keys to position your icon at lowest point you want it to reach.
To make the icon rise, simply swap the positions of your first and last "Transform" keyframes in the timeline:
Failing A Timed Choice
For this effect, we want the "Timed Choice" folder to be visible 👁️. Then, if you want your character to successfully make a choice before the timer runs out, just follow the steps in the Animating Your Choices section.
If you want them to FAIL, we don't need any of the keyframes currently on the choice buttons. Change the text on your speech bubble and choices before proceeding.
Now, drag the Playhead to the start of the timeline. Over in the Layers window, select your bottom choice, then hold CTRL or SHIFT to select all the visible bubbles and choices. Right click and select "Merge Layers":
These elements should no longer be animated:
In the timeline, open (>) the "Timed Choice" folder, click the arrow > next to "Timed Choice Meter," and copy the "Style" keyframes onto your new merged layer (as we did in the Animating Other Elements section).
You can stop here, or you can add a couple more keyframes to make the merged layer fade away. Center the Playhead on the central "Style" keyframe and press the Stopwatch ⏱️ next to "Opacity". Then, move the Playhead over to the last "Style" keyframe and set the "Opacity" to 0% in the "Layers" window.
And you're done!
That should be enough to get you started! Are there easier ways to do this? Probably. Feel free to send me an ask if you have any questions 🫡
#cute animals
#lana del rey
#photography
