Adhara Black

NOTE: if you view on the dash and you're on desktop, the format gets messed up. You can view this on my desktop blog or view it in mobile for the proper formatting. Click each photo to see the entire photo I included as tumblr will crop the images so that they're uniform in size.

i. Image Size

Before I do any subtitles, I make sure that my gif is whatever I want the final size to be (in this case, 540px x 380px). If you're making a set of gifs and they're all different sizes, then the same font size will look different on each of them and it will be harder to align everything.

ii. Creating an Action

I created an action for my subtitles (and use them for various other things, like coloring scenes). Here's an old tutorial on actions that I believe I read when I was learning to make gifs several years ago.

iii. Adding the Subtitles

First I make a new layer then create a text box. I write the dialogue that I have transcribed (top row; I have a note where I write down dialogue for scenes). I make sure to unify the position and effects (top right). I use Arial Rounded MT Bold for subtitles and have the font size at 19pt for most gifsets that are 540px. The smallest I usually go is 17pt for this font because I find it starts to look weird if I go smaller.

I right click the text layer and go to blending options, then add a drop shadow (top right) and stroke (bottom left). We then have the text in the bottom right picture.

iv. Placement and Alignment

I like to align my subtitles based on the position of the bottom line of text. I usually eyeball it and use the guides that appear, but if you want to be precise, you can make a new guide (top photo). Make sure to select horizontal orientation and then put what position you want the bottom line of text to be at—for this example, I did 20px above the bottom of the gif ([gif height] - [pixels from the bottom] = [position]; 380 - 20 = 360). The guide is shown in the bottom right image (it's turquoise) and I aligned the bottom of the text with it.

And that's it! If I need to, I play around with where the line breaks so it's more balanced, but in this case, I liked how it ended up so I just left it.

NOTE: If something doesn't make sense or you don't see the settings, click on the photo! They are cropped in order to unify the size, however if you click on it you will see the full picture I included. EDIT: For some reason, the formatting gets messed up for me when you click the read more on the dashboard. But if you go to this post on my blog, the photos seem to be in the correct places!

I. Create Your Base Text

First I create a new text layer and figure out my font settings (font, size, etc.). The text color should be white. The picture on the right shows my settings—I like to unify the layer position and effects so that it applies to my entire gif (note: I make frames from layers so it's necessary for me; I'm not sure if it is necessary if you do the text in timeline).

Change the blending mode to exclusion (right), which gives you the image on the left.

Right click on the text layer and go to blending options. First I select drop shadow and use the settings in the photo on the top right. Add gradient overlay. For this particular gifset, I used overlay for the blend mode (bottom left). The blend mode I use for the gradient changes based on the gif and the coloring, so play around with what blend mode looks best to you! Add color overlay. I also play around with the blend mode and opacity for each gif; in this case, I set it to color burn and 50% opacity.

This is what we have so far.

II. Create Text Outline

Right click your text layer and duplicate the layer. Open blending options and de-select drop shadow, gradient overlay, and color overlay (alternatively, you can right click and clear effects before opening blending options, but this is the way I do it). Go to the blending options panel and set fill opacity to 0%. Add stroke with the settings pictured in the bottom right picture (1px, white, inside, normal blend). The opacity for this gif is set to 58%, but I play around with the opacity for each gifset.

Use the arrow keys to offset the outline however you would like. I usually move it slightly to the left and up, as shown above.

III. Masking

Create a new text layer and style it how you would like. In this case, I just added a drop shadow with the settings pictured on the right. Move the text layer to where you would like it to be (left).

Use the rectangular marquee tool to select the area with your text layer (top left). Make sure you have the base text layer selected (top right). With your text area selected, add a mask by clicking the third button from the left in the layers panel (bottom right). Now we have the image on the bottom left.

Select the mask you created and invert it, which gives you the image on the top left. Hold the option key and drag the mask for your base text layer to the outline layer.

IV. Finishing Touches