How do you make wierdcore? Like how do you just go "I'm gonna put black squares on a picture of grass and say 'don't look at them' !"?
hello!! :) ill answer here with a few tips:
- find good base images!! i use pinterest and imgur, as well as looking through old photos i have. if u see something that would be a good wc image, save it! build an archive! ive even gotten images from screenshots of memes and youtube thumbnails. follow weirdcore blogs here on tumblr to find inspiration! here are a few of my wc friends! >> @8mys @elckip @awd00men @home03 @unorcadox
- think about your feelings! kinda scary, but a central part of weirdcore is portraying abstract emotions! weird phrase bouncing around in your head? make it a caption! only have one sentence to describe ur mood? smack it on!
- nostalgia!! a core element!! think about things from your childhood that make you feel nostalgic, scared, or even lonely.
- from the example you used, what makes that edit work is the fact it takes something mundane (grass) and makes it unnerving (adding the censor boxes and the urgent caption). its about being put in a place to view something normal that you somehow dont understand, similar to how we see the world as children! things are altered, unreal yet real at the same time, sort of like the uncanny valley effect!
hope this helps!! im also going to make a more detailed post about my personal editing process with more do's and don'ts of weirdcore, which ill happily tag you in!! feel free to DM if you have any more questions <3
i got a great ask from @demonic-screeching about how i do my shit, so i thought id make a more detailed post here! ive been making wierdcore on this blog since january 2021, so ive learnt a lot! more under the cut.
1. find a base image!! i use imgur and pinterest. imgur is especially great because its full of old ass images of the most random shit. you dont even need an account, just hop in and search for mundane stuff like 'hallway', 'field', 'house', etc! explore! screenshot/save any images you think would be cool in an edit- make your own personal archive!! they could even be stills from videos, memes, etc!
2. cropping! this is important. cropping determines the amount of context an image has, as well as focusing on a main point. weirdcore is about removing context, which makes images seem familiar yet unfamiliar at the same time. it also adds to the amateur quality of the aesthetic- "why has this person taken this weirdly specific photo?" 99% of the time they didnt! i just cropped the shit out of it!
lets use an example of one of my old edits :) cool concept, cool base image. but it seems like its missing something.... what if we........
cropped it all out????
it is now....... free of context! where are we? where are we going???? who fuckin knows man...... we just gotta gtfo real quick by the sounds of it. the cropping has also compressed the image, which makes it feel even more weird and nostalgic! which brings me to my next point:
3. compression. make sure ur edits are lookin cRUNCHY! weirdcore is about amateurism and nostalgia, so use any means to make ur photos look like theyre from 2003! my personal method is zooming out of the image on photoshop so it gets smaller, then screensotting just the image, then opening the screenshot up in another document and zooming in again to reveal the compression.
4. fonts and captions! these are not necessary, but add to an edit a great deal! common fonts in weirdcore are Helvetica, Arial, and Times New Roman because theyre Normal And Boring, which really adds to the amateur aspect of weirdcore. i like to experiment with gothic and 3D fonts which can give a more webcore-y feel. this site is great for making free 3D text that you can download and add to your edits in photoshop!
as for captions, experiment! use random phrases that are stuck in your head, the more abstract the better! weirdcore is a surprisingly good way to express weird and abstract feelings. keep things vague and intriguing. ask questions!
5. editing. again, experiment! i normally fiddle with the saturation, brightness, and contrast. don't max out every setting- try and think about how you want the image to look! light or dark? bright or dull? you dont always have to tweak things if you think theyre fine as they are. other good tools include liquify, bevel/emboss, smart sharpen, gaussian blur, and warp! liquify is my favourite because you can squish and stretch the image! you can also try warping your captions too! the blemish tool is also rlly good! it can give u some weird trippy blurred out effects.
clone stamping can also help you to morph and duplicate parts of the image too! its very cool
6. go insane!!!!!!!! throw all basic design principles out the window. ignore the rule of thirds. stretch things. make them crunchy ass jpgs. use horrible colours. think about what youd do if you were a child with access to photoshop in 1997, or a middle aged conspiracy theorist making images for their cryptid blog. or like idk some weirdo on myspace.
7. orbs. use the brush tool to make orbs! theyre really good for blocking parts of an image, adding an ominous presence, making shadows, or adding bright lights! shape them, stretch them, make them funny colours. you could also use rectangles, circles, stars, etc... any shapes are cool!
8. inspiration! follow weirdcore blogs on tumblr! ask questions! learn! other resources include the weirdcore wiki and the weirdcord discord server! its where i learned a lot of what i know now, its very active, and has tons more resources there!!
overall, just experiment. you never know until you try, and its fun to develop your personal weirdcore style! its a very broad aesthetic that everyone can contribute to, and a cool outlet!
and lastly, dont worry about followers and likes! online, weirdcore is very random. some of my edits i spent 4378294 years on get like 5 notes, while i can shit something out in 5 minutes that ends up becoming my top post. popularity is pretty irrelevant here. just have fun and do things your own way!
i didn’t really know what to do so it probably sucks
--- submitted by @demonic-screeching
i really like this!! its a great first edit. id maybe crop out some of the bottom/top of the image to just tighten things up a bit, and you could experiment by adding some sparkles perhaps? those are personal preference though. this isnt bad at all!! :) keep this image saved, and try out some more things to make a different version. you could even clone/erase some of the petals or leaves. just try some shiz.
Henlo, I made my own litol weirdcore image that's partially based off a childhood fear I had of the fog (weird, I know XD) and I wanted to show it because I'm proud of it :D
Also I drew the eye myself :3
hmm yes very cool!! i like the eye :) if u want constructive criticism, id suggest cropping it a bit more and making the image lower quality!!
nice bro! very cool how the clock is blurred. to improve this one, id maybe make the clock a pop-out zoom, so selecting the clock with a rectangle selection tool, then dragging the lil section out to upscale it, and adding a border! similar concept to this:
this would draw some attention. u could also crop the image to focus on the clock more:) and add compression
what is your favorite color palette or contrasting colors that make you think of weirdcore?
interesting question!! i mostly think of bright stinging colours that are right in the corner of a colour selector
right here:)
and generally contrasting colours!! like red/green, blue/orange etc. i also think blue and white works for webcore-inspired stuff.
and red text on dull neutral backgrounds also works well for me for some reason :)
