“I’m also just curious to know which tools and methods you found useful [...] So yes please reach out again (either on or off anon whatever feels comfortable).”
Please bear in mind that English isn’t my first language and that it’s difficult for me to talk about Photoshop features, so I hope this is comprehensible ;-; Anyway, things you did that I found useful:
- Using the Transform tool to change the size of images/logos, text and most importantly gifs (when you’re blending them). In the latter case in particular, I used to crop them separately before combining them in a separate document so I’d have to proceed by trial and error until the gifs finally looked good together. The way you do it is much more flexible and quicker. I tested it and it worked! The only downside is that the file size can become much larger with this method. I was going to ask how you managed to use it while still working on seven gifs at the same time (ie in the fourth gif of the set, the one showcasing the last part of Naya’s career), but then I saw that you lowered the gifs’ dimensions before adding them to the document... I had forgotten to do that lol. Good trick, this will definitely come in handy.
- Combining two different ripped papers in order to obtain a different shape... That was pretty clever. And using the pen tool in order to cut parts of these ripped papers. I had never used this tool and didn’t know what was its purpose. Still need to try it and see if I can work with it lol. And also working on the ripped papers and text in a separate document before adding them on the gif. That’s a good method, it helps to keep things organized.
- Using a document with a bigger height than the actual gif's and adding a shape to represent the small space between gifs on tumblr in order to create a continuous transition between the separate parts of Chris’ tribute to Naya. I didn’t really know how to connect images or passages or whatever from one gif to another like that, but now I think I could make it work after seeing how you do it.
- Creating an outline for the butterfly by duplicating it, changing its color and blending mode and moving it a bit. I’d seen people add similar outlines in other sets, but had no idea how they did it.
- Using the rectangular marquee tool to delete parts of the gifs. I wasn’t sure how this tool worked, so it was interesting to see you using it.
- Using the method import video to layers. I still haven’t figured out how to use it myself because my Photoshop (I use the 2022 version) refuses to open the vast majority of the clips I download and I don’t know why. So I always used the Load Files Into Stack method. Still, good to remember that I can use another method if I manage to figure out how to do so, lol.
- Seeing the settings of the noise filter you added for your gifs. I never used it for my own, but I really like how it looked on yours and might try it at some point.
- Letting me know about the existence of another Youtube Downloader website. (It isn’t available in my country for some reason, but it works when I activate my VPN)
- Looking at your list of fonts also gave me some excellent recommendations like Partsold and Soulwave.
I imagine some of these methods/tips might be self-evident for you haha, especially bc I don't remember any gifmaker explaining most of them in any tutorial (and I search for and read a lot of tutorials). So seeing someone doing these things in a screenrecord was incredibly helpful. Hope you post more videos showing your gifmaking progress, I watched the previous ones too and they're all fascinating (especially the Naya one bc the set is so incredibly gorgeous and complex) <333
Oh wow, thanks for this summary! It was very interesting to read. And no worries about the language everything was perfectly clear.
If I may just reflect on a few points and maybe provide some further tips:
Transform tool: big yes, use transform and use it often! And yeah I've only recently started resizing the images before dragging them to the gif file itself and it saves a loooot of storage. You can't always know what size you'll need but I'm usually good with sizing the height to whatever my gif's height will be, 500px for example, and then I'm already much better off than with a smart object that's actually twice the size I need. I've been shaving off hundreds of MBs this way. I often work with several smart objects within the same file and they add up so yeah resize before converting into smart object when possible. And play around with the transform tool as much as you like! Its user-friendliness is one of the things that puts PS miles above similar software for me.
Pen tool and image combos: the pen tool is an old friend of mine from my shitty Avatar still image edit days. Again I recommend playing around with it because it can be such a powerful tool. Not shown on the video but I separated the Naya image used for the butterfly from its background using the pen tool. So I would mostly use it for cutting or small adjustments. And yeah sometimes you just need different shapes, so again the transform tool can do a lot and the pen tool helps with those final touches. I almost didn't include this section of the ripped pages in the video but I'm glad I did.
Using other docs: I don't usually but when it's something like this where the bottom of one gif "bleeds" into the next one I think it's just way easier to get the bigger picture. And then the shape used to represent tumblr's 4px gap helps to then place it on your actual gif.
Outlines via duplicates: it's become a "popular"technique from what I can tell haha, and all it is is nudging a duplicate and putting whatever effect you want on it. I had a few different variations of the butterfly but also if you look at texts like Naya's and Santana's names, they follow the same principle of duplicating and nudging, only there I put the fill percent on zero and add a stroke. It's mostly to help the text or object pop more, distinguish it from the background. (I guess I didn't include this in the video put ended up adding those outlines later.)
Rectangular marquee tool: particularly useful when used in combination with a layer mask and, like with the TV sets, deleting the unnecessary bits. With the TV sets, I just put the scene/smart object and all its adjustment layers under the TV's layer and whatever parts weren't needed got cut via this tool. In cases like these and where I do want a rectangular shape in the end it's just faster than the eraser.
Importing video to layers: this was life-saving when I upgraded my PS and started using it instead of manual screenshots. Maybe check the file formats? Mp4 should work best and, iirc, PS might not import from formats like mpeg and wmv. If you found a workaround that's good too, but might be worth looking into this issue as well.
Noise (and other filters): noise is a funny one because I don't typically use it. To be honest, I don't spend all that much time on sharpening and adjusting gifs to perfection like more disciplined gifmakers than me do. I usually just slap the usual settings on lol. But both because this project was a love child and because I worked with some truly, truly low res footage I tried everything I could to make it not look like it has the grand total of two pixels. For reference, this is the video of Naya hosting GLAAD in 2011, used for the last gif. This is the official GLAAD video and it still looks like it was recorded from a pen I found on the floor. I can't turn something like this into HD but a careful balance of sharpening and especially noise creates a nicer look, I hope, or at least adds a charm to the low quality. Long story short, there are lots of sharpening and probably some noise tutorials out there that I recommend looking into because it can really elevate gifs. At first glance, these are the ones I could find.
On the topic of youtube downloaders, I just ended up sticking with that one but I'm sure there are loads out there, and in terms of fonts I have way too many haha. And end up really favouring the first half of the alphabet as an unfortunate result. But if you want to explore more gifs, searching for font recs and font packs is a great start, as well as websites like Dafont or 1001 fonts (my new fav).
All in all, very happy I could help and very impressed you got all that from a video running on times 64 speed haha. Thanks for sending this in, I hope I could provide further tips and as always I'm happy to walk through more gif stuff if needed.
Also! I don't know if you've seen the two other gif videos I've posted in the past but they're waaaay slower (and less complicated). Maybe those will be nothing new after this massive Naya one but in any case I have a proper tag for them now and hoping to post more in the future.
